scratch-n-sniff

ok as i have been reading progress, comptech, and nuspeed all came out with sway bars.

competch and progress being 22mm and nuspeed being 19.

the diffrence people are telling me is that the progress bar comes with polyurithane bushings wich im guessing is lika hard plastic but the comtech comes with rubber. im guessing the rubber gives more than the poly ones so poly would be the material of choice

my question is.. i already have the comptech bar (not installed) could somone point me in the right direction to buying aftermarket bushings for this. im not shure if they come in diffrent sizes, materials etc. but i do want some poly bushings for my ride so if anyone can point me in the right directin thatd b awsome

thanks, TJ

JTso

iTrader: (2)

A little search will yield this result...

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20115

green_henry

Based on the above-referenced thread, I bought the 22mm Energy Suspension black bushings from energysuspensionparts.com. They shipped immediately.

Unfortunately, I'm still waiting for my sway bar to arrive, so I haven't been able to install it yet. However, the bushings and the bracket hardware appear to be very high quality. They even came with a small tube of grease. For <$20, you can't go wrong.

As soon as I get everything installed, I'll make another post.

green_henry

Ok, first thing to note: 22mm is too small! Even though they appear to be the same size as the rubber bushing from Comptech, the 22mm Energy bushings won't go all the way around the sway bar, leaving a small but significant gap. I was surprised because somebody on another thread felt that the 23mm bushings were slightly too large. I ended up doing the install with the rubber bushings which fit perfectly.

As noted on other threads, the Comptech rear sway bar is a great upgrade. The handling is noticeably better, and it feels much more like a rear-wheel drive car now. This really seems to be the best way to spend < $200 and achieve noticeable improvements.

So, I will live with the rubber bushings for now. If I get bored, I may order a set of 23 mm bushings from Energy Suspensions.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

Are you sure? I installed the same 22mm bushing and they fit perfectly. I would double check the installation.

green_henry

Hmmmm That's interesting. I'm glad that yours worked out for you. Maybe my sway bar is on the high side of tolerance and my bushings are on the low end of tolerance. Unfortunately, I don't have a set of calipers to check.

Did you start with rubber bushings and then switch to poly? I'd be interested in hearing about the the differences.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

Yes, I started with the rubber and switched to the poly. Can't really tell the difference during normal driving, and I forgot to establish a baseline for comparison such as using the G-Tech. If nothing else, the poly bushings will allow the swaybar to function close to it's full pontential and last much longer than rubber bushings.

vwong

When you see the gap, was it just after you put the bushing on the bar? Or was it after you install everything (like in the pic above)? If you still see a gap after the complete install, then I would agree that the bushing might be too small. But if you see a gap after you put the bushing on the bar, and not yet onto the car, it's fine. Once you tighten the bushing brackets, the gap will close. This is normal. The 5 different swaybars (Suspension Techniques, Neuspeed, & Progress for the Prelude, Neuspeed for the Integra, and Progress for the TSX) I installed before all had the gap, but once I mounted them on, the gap closed.

ForceSHO

Its presidents day and the president w/fedex just dropped off my progress bar today.... too bad, i also got a pile of snow here... can't touch this for week or two

Axygos

I noticed the gap too on the energy suspension busings but after they were installed there was no gap!

Don't know if they make too much of a difference in and of themselves... but hey <$20 doesn't hurt to try.

Do notice one thing with the new sway-bar recently (besides the significant improvement in cornering)... when it's really cold and I start driving the car, there is a definite creaking sound from the rear when I hit a bump or the car goes over a small dip. The creaking goes away within 5 minutes. My guess (total guess) is that the sound is coming from the bushings just being cold... Does the polyurethane contract in severe cold? Maybe with the friction of the sway-bar moving (rotating slightly) in the bushing warms it up and the sound goes away! Who knows???

green_henry

You know, you're probably right about the gap closing after install. I noticed the gap prior to the install, and I didn't think it would close after it was all torqued up--and I didn't want to go through the hassle of finding out that it wouldn't close after going through all that work. The rubber bushings had no gap right out of the box, and I didn't expect the poly bushings to compress that much. Thanks for letting me know.

So, I guess I'll give it another try if/when the rubber bushings deteriorate--or when I get bored.

Any idea how long I can expect the rubber bushings to last?

yadfgp

I just did my CT RSB install last night. And I'm wondering if I did something wrong. I used all the right parts from what I know.

I used Formula Five Prelube... http://store.summitracing.com/egnsea...8&autoview=sku

Also the ES Stabilizer Bushing Set ENS-9-5126G

And the car seems to handle noticeably better. Feels more in tune with the road. I only drove it for maybe 5 minutes total after it was completely installed. Thing is I heard a sound in the rear of the car. I wouldn't say it was the squeaking sound so many others had complained about. I'd say it was more of a soft grinding or maybe creaking noise. Maybe the same sound Axygos ^^^^^ had mentioned. And I had the this sound over small dips in the road small bumps etc. I would have hoped to not have heard a single sound at all. Is this normal? The sound seemed to get worse the more I drove so I stopped driving and am afraid to go drive as it is. Maybe after it breaks in a bit more the sound will go away? Do the squeaking that you guys hear, is it squeaking like a mouse? That sort of squeak?? Anyways, when I got back from driving, I took a quick peak under the car. And the bolts on the bearings, only maybe 2 of them are completely flush. The other 2 there is a slight, but noticeable gap, nothing major though. Should I tighten up the lesser 2? So that theyre more flush like the other 2? Also on the 2 end link's, there is maybe a half centimeter of thread going through the nut. I think I remember the stock RSB being a little bit tighter originally but I'm not sure.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

You need to tighten the bolts on the D brackets. The endlink will show less thread due to the thicker swaybar.

yadfgp

Ok I'll do that right now, thanks JT

BTW What are the D brackets? Also so there shouldnt be any sound at all? Eve nduring a break in period?

yadfgp

Ok, I tightened up the bolts on the bushings and now all 4 of them are pretty much flush. There is a slight smidgeon of a gap on 1 of the bolts. I took some pics of the 2 end link's to show how tight those are.

[IMG]ftp://kong@kloyo.serveftp.com/Upload/Kong/DSCF0452.JPG[/IMG]

And the other 1...

[IMG]ftp://kong@kloyo.serveftp.com/Upload/Kong/DSCF0445.JPG[/IMG]

yadfgp

Went ahead and tightened up the 4 bolts on the bushings. All of them are now completely flush except for 1, which has an itsy bitsy tiny smidget amount of gap left. Just barely noticeable. I took a couple of pics of each of the end links to show tight those are as well...





And the other 1....





Also after tightening up those bolts, I took a quick test drive and still hear that same wierd grinding noise.

xenonhid

I'm hearing Too many problems with the COMPTECH RSB! I'm going with Progress RSB that already includes PolyU brushings.

yadfgp

Ok, whilst waiting for a new response, I jacked the car back up, and tried tightening the 2 end links for starters. When tightening I did notice that there was still a bit of looseness in both of them. There was a point where I couldn't really tighten them any further. Which for both of them happened to be about a 120 degree turn. Then I also tightened all 4 bolts just a little bit more, they are as tight as they can go. I might go for another spin in a few if none of you respond

yadfgp

PROBLEM SOLVED!!!!

It was the endlink's damnit! They were to lose. Just got back from driving and now there are no sounds at all So basically for anyone who runs into this same problem. Make sure you tighten the nuts on your end link's as tight as you can.

moda_way

No offense to those experiencing issues, but most of these are installation problems. The Progress is a nice bar too, so you won't go wrong, but it installs the same way.

LoveMyTL-S

I've heard of peeps putting teflon tape on there to quiet the RSB. Question: does the teflon tape wrap around the bar, inside the bushing?

curls

LoveMyTL-S

Gotcha, thanks. BTW you live in my home town.