2K2 TLS

I installed my comptech sways about 1 month ago. I was very careful when i installed it because I heard about all the sqeeking problems people had. So when i installed them I used all the teflon tape supplied on the rear sway bar and I also used all the grease on top of the tape just to make sure.

Well 1 month later sure enough they started to sqeek. I didn't know what else to do, I couldn't just leave it because the noise was annoying and it made my car seem cheap for making such a noise if you guys know what i mean.

I got this idea, I took the stock rubber bushing and took a small jigsaw typr blade to it. I worked on the bushings for about 1 hour each to bore out the hole and make it bigger to fit the largers comptech sways. After getting the size to fit i installed the stock rubber bushing onto the somptech sway and NO sqeek!!!! didnt even have to use grease or tape. If you guys have this problem and have the time to do this i would suggest it, youll NEVER have sqeeking problems again. goodluck

Austin519

2k2 TLS:
pics?

Austin519

mr tl

very good idea dude. i just assumed it would be too hard to open up the factory bushing anymore. i was thinking of fitting rl bushings (which are 1mm smaller than the comptech bar)

how much rubber is left on the factory bushing though?

mr tl

i went out and did it. turned out pretty good. used a dremel tool instead. the bar also swivels less, which i think is a good thing

2K2 TLS

Austin519: sorry dude no camera but it fits just like stock. Looks the same way it did with the stock sways.

Mr TL: There is a pretty good amount of rubber left and after you tighten down the bushing it grips the bar REALLY tight, i can't ever see the bar moving from side to side anymore.

edgalang

Wait a sec, are you guys telling me that the Comptech set doesnt even come with custom rubber bushings? I was always under the impression that they did, and if that was the case, then why didnt you modify the Comptech bushing rather than the stock?

Austin519

2k2 TLS:
"Austin519: sorry dude no camera but it fits just like stock. Looks the same way it did with the stock sways. "

Only reason I ask is because I have no idea what bushings are But I'm going to install my sways soon so I better find out...heh heh.

Austin519

edgalang

Well now I'm all confused (not sure about Comptech), but for the NEUSPEED rear bar it comes with

1: 25mm solid bar
2: Custom metal brackets (replaces whimpy stock brackets)
2: Custom non-rubber bushings (that fit!)
2: 1way end link nuts (rubber washer built it to prevent loosening)
4: Bolts (longer and beefier than stock)
4: Washers (To go between the bolt head and the brackets)
1: packet of special greese.

the rubber bushing is what hold the bar from wiggling in the bracket. You need the bushing because the bar actually twists and you do not want metal to metal contact. What confuses me about the comptech setup is that I thought that it came with all of the stuff mentioned above.

P.S.
As for snook, after 20k miles, the bars still seem to work fine from initial install. I think I installed the bars prior to my 15k mile oil change.

Austin519

edgalang:
Good explanation...I understand now...so the sway bars actually twist when they stabilize the car? Cool

Austin519

bobatimez

can you please help me? im unfamiliar with the sways. i went to look in the old box they came in. all i found was two rubber blocks that fit around the skinny bar. i couldn't find one for the thick bar. isn't the thick one the rear and the skinny the front? i hear the sound in the back of the car.

what do i need to get/buy, etc and whateverelse to solve this problem?

thank you

edgalang

Here's the best way for me to help users visualize what the bar actually does.

Take a paper clip and make it straight. Take both ends and make a 90 degree angle with it forming somewhat of a wide "U". The ends of the paper clip are help by the end link nuts (independantly attached to each side whe wheels are mounted on) while the center of the bar near the joins are held by the bushings/bracket combo. Now hold both ends of the clip with each hand and imagine taking a sharp left turn. What happens is that the right wheel will naturally go up and the left wheel will hang farther down away from the body since the car is now tilting right. Try this while holding the paper clip edges and you'll see how the sways work to "fight" the roll of the car. The thicker the clip, the harder it is to twist, just like the real thing.

The only bad thing about sways is if you plan on taking the car offroad, you will literally loose the independant suspention of the left and right side of the wheels since by adding beefier sways, you're trying to make them act as 1 solid unit. Now this is where the argument comes in for my setup. If I never take my car offraod, then fine, no bigdeal I will then have the least amount of body roll of all the sways available, but if I go over ruff terrain all the time and force my bars to twist more than usual, sooner or later something is bound to break. Well, at least thats the general idea. The real gamble is if the brackets that hold the bar in place is strong enough, which amoung against other opinions I'm betting it is)

edgalang

OK....correct me on this one if I'm wrong, but the reason why you see the 2 extra rubber blocks is that the Comptech sways DID come with custom larger size bushings for the rear (they better do! You can verify this by looking at these rubber blocks and you should find 19mm imprinted on it...which means they are the OEM bushings and that the comptech bushings are already installed in teh car) and the reason why you didnt find one for the other bar (the front bar which BTW is NOT skinnier than the rear bar) is that the comptech, just like Neuspeed re-uses the STOCK rubber bushings and brakets for the front since it literally is the exact same size, just different sidewall thickness.

So...this does makes more sense, since all this time I ASSUMED that comptechs came with the appropriate brackets that wrap over the new oversized bushings...but if they dont, then natually it would make sense that it squeeks if you have too much rubber and not change the size of the bracket. If adding tape and or grease does not help, then you are forced to "trim" down the bushing with a file or somesort to get the hole that the bar twists in bigger.

mr tl

the comptech bars comes with bushings, but like all aftermarket bushings, they are plastic. the sway bar is metal. metal on plastic does not make a pleasing sound.

at first id use grease, it would wear out every 3 months or so. then i put teflon tape, it was there for 2 weeks and got pretty shredded (though the bar was not making noise...yet). you have to open up the factory rubber (rubber=no noise) bushings 3-4mm's (depending on which tl you have)

i drove around all morning and re inspected everything. looks good. no more fooling around with grease and teflon tape. its a completely factory look, which is also good

thanks for the tip 2k2 TLS

2K2 TLS

ok guys heres the deal. the front comptech bar is the same diameter as the stock bar so you use the stock rubber bushings, thus there is no need for tape or grease in the front bar thats why theres no sound from the front.
The rear comptech bar however is a larger diameter then the stock one. so comptech supplies you with after market plastic bushings. these bushings when rubed against metal give that sqeeking sound. tape and grease IMO are only temporary fixs. So what i did was took the stock rubber bushing that came on the stock rear sway and bore the hole so its bigger and it will now fit on the larger comptech sway. since its rubber no need for tape or grease. oh yea you have to use the stock metal brackets to hold them in place.

2K2 TLS

just did a test with 5 people in the car and went over speed bump and took high speed turns and sure enough no noises.

Road Rage

I have onloy had my bars on a short while, but I used only the tape and no squeaking.

The Comptech bushings are polyurethane - you can adapt the factory bushings, but remember that the stiffer poly bushing will not deflect as much, and will give a sharper, more precise and consistent turn in - that is why racers use them, since a solid bushing will not change the suspension attitude fractionally over a short interval, leading to possible attitude change in mid-radius of a turn.

Turboara

the problem is though, a good chunk of the performance gain is due to the stiffer polyurethane bushings vs. the stock rubber ones, so using the stock rubber bushings doesn't utilize the full potential of the sways. I know many people (not on Acuras)who notice a decent improvement by only upgrading to polyurethane bushings from the stockers and using the stock sway bars.

edgalang

Ah, so thats what I call the bushings. The aftermarket ones that come from Neuspeed aren't rubber, but are more of a plastic feel to it.

Now I could understand why people would think the brackets would tear if put with a much larger rear bar since apperantly Comptech reuses the stock brackets/bolts combo.

mr tl

your right. but im not going to be putting new teflon tape on the bushings every month. and i havnt noticed any difference performance wise

Road Rage

How about drilling the Comptech bracket, tapping it, and installing a Zerk fitting? Then one could lube them now and then easily and quickly.

Re: The stock rear bushing as a necessary evil - there seem to be quite a few Forum members with the Comptech anti-roll bars, and very few commenting on reguloar re-taping- is it possibloe that properly done they do not need frequent rework?

Road Rage

Just got my kit for this - they claim one can do 2-3 coats in one day without waiting for the old Z-2 to set up, which is akin to watching paint dry on the thrill-ometer. Anybody try it? Daryl? Bueller...Bueller?

Austin519

RoadRage:
Where the hell did that post come from? I wouldn't pay for that accelerator stuff...I'm sure it's true but I mean you can only do like one bottle with it, and it costs 3x what it does for the frickin polish...what a rip!

Austin519

Road Rage

Ooops, wrong thread! Earth to Road Rage, come in Road Rage.

t-rd

Two funny things I notice some of you are doing:

1. Use bored out stock rubber bushings? What's the whole point of the polyurethane bushings then?! Polyurethane bushings are there to reduce flexing. I think noise isn't the primary concern. Switching back to the stock rubber bushings defeat the whole purpose. Almost like saying you do not want a stiffer ride with a lowered suspension.

2. Just found out from reading some previous posts that the front Comptech anti-sway bar is the same diameter as the stock one?!? Honda/Acuras are mostly front wheel drive, and you want a larger rear anti-sway bar to reduce understeer. With this pointed out, I see no point of getting an entire set of Comptech anti-sway bars (more expensive than just the rear one). I got just the rear Neuspeed one for my Accord and it works just fine. Essentially the front bar in the Comptech set is wasted... please correct me if I'm wrong. The Suspension Technique set for the Accord is said to actually induce oversteer. Several members experienced this and sold their front ones and put the stock one back on.

Mr Hyde

The front Comptech is the same overall diameter, but it has a thicker wall than OEM making it stiffer than OEM.

Road Rage

It strikes me as odd that people post to a thread without having read the other posts - in this one, I and others have stated that the poly bushings have a perf benefit not matched by boring out the stock rubber bushing, yet it was mentioned 3 or 4 times.

Turboara

Also, the poly bushings have a perf benefit not matched by boring out the stock rubber bushing.

(j/k RR, I've got too much free time at work today)

Road Rage

How about drilling a hole in the brackets, tapping them, and adding a Zerk (grease) fitting. Then one could lube 'em up at will, quickly, easily. Use bearing grease, Moly grease, silicone grease, POTFE Pipe grease, any old goo you can stuff into a grease gun. More fun than a day at the Sex Gizmo shop looking for love lubes...

BTW, someone should mention that the poly bushing provides a benefit not matched.....

2K2 TLS

IF it is true about using the plastic bushing being better then the rubber ones for performance then please tell me why comptech uses the rubber ones in the front????

Road Rage

What is your point? It is not just black and white - suspension tuning involves turn-in response, shock impact, etc etc. Apparently Comptech found that given the suspension design and geometry of the TL, the front bushings work well. There is no conflict in that. Too stiff bushings raise harshness, esp in the front end, which is why racers use pooly end link, control arm, etc bushings. For a street driven car susceptible to a wide range of road conditions, a hybrid mix as in the Comptech setup can make perfect sense. And no one has complained about the results, so what is the point?