Road Rage

They were Comptechs, did it myself, no problems whatsoever. I already had a 5mm male hex socket so that is what I used to loosen the end links.

My kit came only with the PTFE tape. Just to make sure, I called Comptech and "Joe" told me that they have decided to go with the tape over the grease.

I am overall delighted with the improvement. Most of the roads here are smooth, very little skittery, crowned roads as you see in New England. I think if I lived in Connecticut I would not install them, as they do reduce compliance and wheel independence in corners where there are irregularities as you radius through.

They add a small amount of harshness on expansion joints in straight ahead driving, but as I am performance oriented, this was not a deal breaker.

If you are contemplating only a simple mod, this one is hard to beat - I should have done it earlier.

So, I guess I am done..as if! There are RES and new mystery mods galore ahead.

dj5

Replaced my OEM sways a couple of weeks ago with the Comptech sways. Took about two hours but no probem if you have the proper tools especially the hex.

When I removed the OEM front sway bar and compared to the Comptech bar, there did not seem to be much of a difference. I weighted the bars and the weight was the same. Not sure if there is any difference between the OEM front sway bar and the Comptech sway bar. However, there is a noticeable difference in the size of the rear sway bars.

Also have the Neuspeed front strut bar. IMHO, didn't see that much of a change in handling after adding the strut bar and changing out the sways.

Also added a DEI shock sensor that weekend as well. Well worth the $25 investment.

mackdaddy

RR - I can't believe you're just now getting around to doing this! I just assumed you had these all along (shows how much attention I pay!) Good move, welcome to the machine.........

dj5 - are you stating you didn't feel a diff after adding the sways, or just after the Neuspeed upper. I'd agree with the Neuspeed upper on our cars, really not much diff. On my mom's Accord, it made all the diff. in the world (as they have no OE strut brace that connects between the towers.)

The Comptech sways on the other hand are like night / day on our cars. A no-brainer for the enthusiest.

Jim

my2sense

I dont have sways yet... buy me one for x-mas?? Anyone???

Caprirooster

dj5,

Did you add the shock sensor yourself?

Thanks,
Cap

oblio98

Hey RoadRage! We "Nutmeggers" like our sway bars too!!

(That is, those of us that can actually DRIVE our TL-S's. [Those with trannys])

Good luck with them.........

:-jon

Mr Hyde

Never realized you didnt have sways RR. Welcome to tey club, and..............What took you so long??? :p

tea elle

I kind of want the sways because I drive the canyons a lot here in so cal, but then again, the roads to have their flaws and it sounds like I'd pay a price in ride comfort by doing it.

See, I love to drive hard, but most of the time I'm with my gorgeous woman by my side. And you know, she's holding my hand and stroking my arm and we're talking and driving and life is blissfull. Sway bars don't sound like they'd compliment my every day driving. But when its time to blow through traffic, or tear down Mulholland drive, I'd probably love them even more than the hand holding and arm stroking.

Does that make sense? I know most of you guys are young, single and out there looking for excitement at every turn....

dj5

Hi Cap,

Yes, installed the shock sensor myself. Took about 15 minutes.
I ordered the DEI shock sensor from www.autotechs.com.

Used the instructions from this site for my install. The instuctions from http://www.acura-tl.com/forum/showth...r+installation

http://public.fotki.com/novawhitety...sensor_install/ were the best instructions but don't seem to be able to access now. I may have a hard copy that I could send to you.

snook789

Yes the difference in the front is Comptechs is a solid bar...

Acura3200

you tell him jon!

(I'm on my 2nd tranny too, POS got completely stuck in 2nd gear AGAIN today too... )

mackdaddy

I don't think so Tim. I was told by Comptech that everything is the same (between OE and thiers) other than wall thickness.

If that bar was solid, you'd know it (when lifting it!!!)

Maybe I'm wrong, but that's the info I got!?

Road Rage

Nutmeggers:
I spent 18 years of my life in Stamford, know the roads well! Roads here are generally flat and billiard smooth, so they really respoond welolo to a low roll center. The roads I recall in Westport, Fairfield, Ridgefield (Beverly Hills East) were paved cow paths, with crowns and lots of bumps, wjere suspension compliance is important, and tuning similar to German cars (loots of wheel travel) is more advantageous than US tuning (stiff, such as sprined/barred TL)/ I am not saying it won't work, just might not be my cup of tea for the roads I know there.

Hyde:
After I did the springs, I guess I doidn't think the anti-tollo bars would make a signficant improvement - i was wrong - they do. So I guess I was dumb, fat, and happy.

dj5

NOT

The Comptech front sway is hollow just like the OEM bar.
The rear sway bar is solid.

pianoman41

I'm thinking if anyone is going to know, it'll be Tim since he sells the stuff....

sniper5

I don't think Tim is right this time. Comptech front sway is not solid, just has a thicker inside wall. I kinda doubt that also, since it ways just as much as the stock bar. Considering that comptech doesn't even make the busihing for the rear sway that they include in the package, i got a feeling all we are really getting is a bigger rear sway.

Road Rage

I do not see what the confusion is - the front bar is hollow, the inside wall is thcker, so it is stiffer. That is Advantage 1.

The rear bar is thicker and stiffer. Advantage 2.

The rear bushing appears to be polyurethane, less resistant to flexing, more precise location of the bar. Advantage 3.

So the way I see it, Ctech gives you 3 benefits.

mackdaddy

Agreed. This shoudn't be an issue with you all, you know this!!!!

dj5

Agree with #2 and #3 but not sure that I can agree with #1.

Comptech says that the walls of the front sway bar are thicker, but i'm not 100% sure that is true. I weighed both the OEM and Comtech bars on a scale (not an extremely accurate scale) and saw no difference in weight. Would think if the Comptech bar had thicker walls it would weigh more. Maybe it performs better somehow but to me they looked identical. If sold seperatly, I would only buy the rear Comptech sway bar.

I have them on my car and will leave them on. Bought both the Compech sways and Neuspeed strut bar from this site. Great service..

edgalang

Believe me, I've done a butt load of research/phone calls when I was trying to decide which sways to get. Comptech claims that the front side walls are thicker, but unless anyone has any measurements, then we're only going by faith. I for one weighed the front bar myself stock vs Neuspeed and let me tell you, although I may have lost the data (since I didnt really care for it since the scale was only a household one, and didnt find the result too legitimate), I do recall that the weight of the aftermarket Neuspeed bar was almost doubled. I also pondered with Tim and asked if the Comptech bars can be sold seperately, but since it was not, I opted to go with Neuspeeds.

As for the people saying that having a too stiff of a rear bar will cause oversteer to be true, you are not taking into account that the front sways are also completely solid, and that the weight and stiffness of the front will still be greater than the rear unlike if I went with the Comptech front and Neuspeed rear setup. I have tried many times to try and spin out on a nearby parking lot doing slaloms (dry pavement, and the parking lot was big enough to reach at least 80 mph...it's for a horse race track) and have yet to complete a 180 degree spin. Since my front is still 2mm thicker than the rear and both bars are solid, I still experience the same understeer as I would with any front wheel drive car. The one thing I do recall though is that I never turned VSA off, so maybe next time I go and show a friend what sways would do for handling I would try the same runs with VSA off.

P.S.
The last time I did a run around the parking lot to show my uncle what sways bar do, I walked around the car to briefly inspect the exterior body and let me tell you, I've never seen sidewall damage as bad as the one on my right front tire. When I gave the controls to my uncle, for some reason he would favor one side over the other and we would do nothing but full throttle counterclockwise circles. After seeing the effects of my run on a 215 size tire, I wonder how bad it would be if I changed it to a 235/45 size tire using the stock rims.

(If Yokahama offered the AVS db on 215, I'd get that instead...but 235 is the smallest I could go on that make of tire)

Outlook

Quick question, is the DEI the same as the AU-84TP at that site mentioned?