Not for purchase but will if need be. This is not a feeler thread for a group buy either.

Hope this stay here and not in classifieds due to the nature of the request.

I have a vendor and possibly another on fabricating performance sway bars for the RL. Don't ask who please. They are very well known.

So, I need a set of front and rear sway bars to make this happen. I would volunteer mine but I need them to drive unless I want my car down a month.

Anyhow, this will benefit many here if they make it to market. Again , not a feeler, not a group buy, not really an ad.
PM if you have an extra set.
thanks

 

Sounds great. Has the preliminary work already been done that a thicker sway bar would fit and how much work would be involved in swapping the sway bars? (Some cars are really easy to swap, others are a real PITA)....

I hope you are able to find a set. Check junkyards too.

Chris

 

Oohhhhh man, I would sooo get one when its available!

 

I don't own a RL yet, but I'm looking into purchasing one in the near future. To improve the handling I'm planning on installing the A-Spec suspension and 19" Ron Jon wheels.

So, I'm curious what the handling characteristic is of the RL. Does it understeer, oversteer or is the handling neutral? I'm assuming that it understeers. If it understeers, then only a larger rear swaybar would be required.

 

I believe they are very cheap to buy from the dealer (like 60 bucks for the rear).

 

Overall a fairly neutral car, some understeer under low speed corners, but under power due to SH-AWD, it is actually remarkably neutral.

The bigger bars would help reduce the body roll while having a minimal impact against the road compliance of the car. I would look forward to having a decent set of aftermarket bars from Eibach, H&R or any other reputable manufacturer. One thing to watch out is the bushings that usually come with the aftermarket bars where one does get increased noise due to the bushing which would detract from the qualities of the RL.

It is probably best to use the factory bushing if at all possible.

 

Factory bushings would not work as the bars would be larger.
I always use marine grease which gives me a solid 20-30k miles before a re-grease. The company is a very reputable company which has been mentioned above. Looking to possibly get them to do less than their usual minimum

 

If you are thinking of using other bushings. I would highly recommend the teflon based bushings that H&R uses with their sway bars.

Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

 

What is the size of the front and rear swaybars on the RL?

Also, what size will the aftermarket swaybars be?

 

Depends on the year.

2009 has thicker bars, front is hollow. Look on Acuranews.com under specs for 09, then go to same under archive, for any of the other years.

 

The questions begs if the 09 sways will fit earlier models.

 

OK, I found the swaybar size info on Acuranews.com.

The 2005-2008 has the following:
front = 29 mm diameter solid
rear = 17 mm diameter solid

The 2009 has the following:
front = 30 mm diameter hollow, 6.5 mm wall thickness
rear = 19 mm diameter solid

The increase in the rear swaybar stiffness = 56%

Here is the link which has the formula for calculating swaybar stiffness --> http://www.kormanfastbmw.com/tantiswa.htm

The front swaybar is a little harder to calculate the stiffness since the 2005-2008 is solid and the 2009 is hollow.

 

After checking the part numbers, the '09 rear swaybar would be a direct bolt-on part. You would just need the rear swaybar (#7) and rear swaybar bushings (#8).

 

The front bar is actually stiffer in the 05-08 based on the numbers you have below IMHO.

It is lighter and when combined with the stiffer rear bar, the car will actually understeer less depending on how they played with the shocks and the spring rates.

 

The new front sway bar should be stiffer, not softer: a tubular section of steel is stiffer than a rod of the same diameter.

I has some questions: how do some of you get/post the part numbers and MSRP's for the oem parts? Can you post up the prices for the '09 sway bars and maybe figure out what's needed to retrofit the front one (as was done above for the rear)?

 

i purchased the rear sway for an 09 Rl and the bushings for about dealer cost..around $57. bucks and will probably try to install over this coming weekend..i'll take pics when it's completed.. as you'll see in the above mentioned pic part#2 51308-SJA-900 BRACKETis the same part for 05-thru-09 meaning all you need is the bushings and the bar and should be a direct replacement