The Write-Up
A common handling upgrade to any car would be to replace the stock sway bar with
a thicker version.
There are two ways you can do this on our Z's:
1. Buy an aftermarket set.
These can be baught from TurnerMotorsports.com with a 28mm Front,
and a 19mm Rear. It's up to personal preference as to how big you want them to be, but this brings us to option 2.
2. Buy a sway bar from an 6 Cylinder Z3!
Here is a list of the car and what size sway bar they have.
1.9 Roadster: Front 22.5mm | Rear 14mm
2.5/2.8 roadsters: Front 24mm | Rear 15mm
3.0 Roadster: Front 25mm | Rear 15mm
3.0 Coupe: Front 26mm | Rear 17mm
M Roadsters: Front 23mm | Rear 18.5mm
M coupes S52: Front 23mm | Rear 19mm
M coupes S54: Front 23mm | Rear 18.5mm
Since our 1.9 came with a front 22.5mm sway bar, I decided to beef it up a little and chose the 3.0 Roadsters 25mm front. This is almost a 3mm difference and should make the odd understeer on the Z almost gone. I haven't chosen a rear yet, but will most likely go with the 3.0 Roadster again.
a thicker version.
There are two ways you can do this on our Z's:
1. Buy an aftermarket set.
These can be baught from TurnerMotorsports.com with a 28mm Front,
and a 19mm Rear. It's up to personal preference as to how big you want them to be, but this brings us to option 2.
2. Buy a sway bar from an 6 Cylinder Z3!
Here is a list of the car and what size sway bar they have.
1.9 Roadster: Front 22.5mm | Rear 14mm
2.5/2.8 roadsters: Front 24mm | Rear 15mm
3.0 Roadster: Front 25mm | Rear 15mm
3.0 Coupe: Front 26mm | Rear 17mm
M Roadsters: Front 23mm | Rear 18.5mm
M coupes S52: Front 23mm | Rear 19mm
M coupes S54: Front 23mm | Rear 18.5mm
Since our 1.9 came with a front 22.5mm sway bar, I decided to beef it up a little and chose the 3.0 Roadsters 25mm front. This is almost a 3mm difference and should make the odd understeer on the Z almost gone. I haven't chosen a rear yet, but will most likely go with the 3.0 Roadster again.
The DIY
Coming Soon! The part is almost here!
Supplies
Sway bar either new or used
Front Sway Bar Links (2) [31351091764]
Rear Sway Bar Links (2) [33551131131]
Front Sway Bar Bushing (2) Matching new bar
Rear Sway Bar Bushing (2) Matching new bar
Lubricant: White Lithium Grease, Silicone Spray, etc.
Front Tools:
13mm Wrench or Socket
16mm Wrench or Socket
Supplies
Sway bar either new or used
Front Sway Bar Links (2) [31351091764]
Rear Sway Bar Links (2) [33551131131]
Front Sway Bar Bushing (2) Matching new bar
Rear Sway Bar Bushing (2) Matching new bar
Lubricant: White Lithium Grease, Silicone Spray, etc.
Front Tools:
13mm Wrench or Socket
16mm Wrench or Socket
Front
Step 1: Locate the sway bar under the front of the car and remove the bushing bracket bolts, these are 13mm and there are 2 bolts on each side. Torque the nuts to 22 ft-lbs.
Step 2: With both brackets removed let the bar drop.
Step 3: Remove the bracket bolt and washer on both sides of the control arm, these are 16mm. Torque these to 44 ft-lbs.
Step 4: remove the sway bar link bracket and transfer it to your new one. These need a 16mm and a 13mm. Torque these to 22 ft-lbs and the ball joint that connects to the sway bar to 16 ft-lbs.