PTN

thanks anyway. anyone else with a stock 6MT RSB looking to get rid of it?

captain

I am with Pooch... I am going to keep mine in case I want to change back or for when I sell the car.

cuspeeder

can i install the comptech swaybar in my driveway? or do i need to take it to a shop and lift the car to do it?

jchcmax

I did it in my garage, no lifting 'cuz I'm skinny enough to fit underneath.
The stock bar will come out without removing the exhaust. It just takes pulling it out at the correct angle.

Lore

Did you have to remove any of the wheels?

angler67

How long did it take you? I asked Tustin Acura about installing it and the service guy said they had not installed one before. I am kind of wary doing it myself.

I've been driving on the ASpec susp for 1 wk now and while it is a bit rough, the cornering ability is amazing, even with the stock Mich Pilot AS's.

I also love the Blue LED's...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...552_resize.jpg

cM3go

that is either a really bright LED or a nice camera shot

Chingrin

I just changed mine in my garage. Backed the car up on ramps and crawled under the car. What took the most time was figuring out the swing arm bolts need an allen wrench to hold the bolt still when removing the nut. Took me about an hour from start to finish. I have a AT so the difference was noticable. The car feels more responsive but as for a MAJOR difference...its tough to say since I usually don't drive that fast. Will add to this review later when I drive my brother in laws with out the sway bar for a better comparison.

chusteveb

I have a 6MT and installed the A-spec suspension and then the Comptech RSB both myself within a weeks time. I love this setup. This is how I would have wanted the TL to come from the factory (for me anyways).

I also compete in SCCA; I may even try to put the TL on the track a couple of times this upcomming season.

theactivist

I have Comptech Anti-Sway bar in a box and i want it installed. Not sure where to go besides a dealer. anyone have specific suggestions, especially in The Bronx, Westchester, or Manhattan (prefer not queens or staten) beyond DIY, do/don't go to dealer, and other unhelpful suggestions?

thanks!

subinf

I installed the rear sway bar at my shop...it took about 15 minutes. The hardest part for me was getting it around the exhaust (since Ive modified my exhaust my hangers dont come out as easily). Cant say that I noticed much different, (6spd) although going around turns on the freeway seems to be more stable (probably just in my mind). I picked up the bar from comptech. Installing the swaybar requires no mechanical knowledge, and can be done in a driveway.

cuspeeder

i saw that i can could get the swaybars on ebay.......but it says it reuses factory end links......is that a problem? should i just get it from the comptech website then? i would like to save some money though

PoochaKannInc

From eBay or Comptech, the swaybar does use the factory end links. So its not like you are getting less from eBay (if the seller is trustworthy).

Lore

I got it (with a friend) from some Acura dealer in the state of Washington. It arrived earlier this week and according to my friend, everything looks in order.

angler67

Wow, it was very easy once I figured out how to use the 5mm Allen wrench to loosen/tighten the swingarm bolts. I did it in my garage and it took about 30 min after I figured out the swingarm bolt issue. My Garage is up on a little curb so I did not have to get ramps.

The tools: (all I used) 5mm allen, 12mm socket and 14 mm socket and a crescent (14mm) wrench
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ced_resize.jpg

The swaybars: (silver is Comptech, black os stock)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ced_resize.jpg

The ramp:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ced_resize.jpg

The garage:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ced_resize.jpg

jchcmax

It's easy, about 45 minutes and the wheels don't need to come off.

integr89

What is the allen wrench used for? Had anyone posted pics on how the endlinks are loosened? I have all the tools needed, and the bar is in my trunk. I can't wait to install this today by myself... but I want to preplan everything so I get it done in the time you guys said it's going to take.

034482m

Would I not need a torque wrench to instal the RSB since it instructs you to tighten the nuts to a specific torque?

thks

bklynpanman

Yes you can and will notice a difference.. take a turn at 35 and you will see

integr89

are you saying that you could get the bolt off at 35? Again, what is the allen for? I know where it goes... but why would I turn that when I could try at the bolt-nut?

integr89

Somebody please help me... my car is on the ramp, and I'm just trying to work at the end links... they are a b**** to budge. I tried WD-40, and the crescent wrench... perhaps a bigger crescent?

Lore

Yeah, now I'm all confused since I thought you were supposed to use the allen wrench to take those off, but I guess I'm wrong!

I should get under the car to take a look...

subinf

The allen wrench is used to fit inside the bolts on the side of the swaybar. You can only get the nuts off so far before the entire unit begins to turn. The allen wrench holds the bolt in place while you take off the nut. I believe its a 14mm wrench. I cannot remmeber the size of the allen wrench. If you do not have an allen wrench you can use some vice grips once the nut comes off a little ways to clamp down on it so it wont spin freely. Its really easy to understand if you are just looking at the different things that need to be unscrewed. You dont have to remove the wheels or exhaust....just twist the oem bar a little bit and it will come out.

SafeSex

SEARCH is your friend

see Swaybar Install Pics in 3G Garage

angler67

I do not think you will "need" a torque wrench, but if you have little or no experience working on cars, you will feel better if you tighten to the specified values.

Also, torque wrenches are typically long and the space is tight unless you have the car up and wheels off, which I was not inclined to do.

I just applied a little elbow grease.

angler67

I just gave a stout tug with the crescent to loosen the lock, then the nut and bolt rotated together (tightly). I then put the allen wrench (5mm) in the end of the bolt and with one hand holding the allen to steady the bolt, used the other hand to remove the nut. For me both nuts were tight all the way to the last few threads. Both sides were the same for me.

This was without a doubt the most time consuming part of the process.

My pics a few posts above show the size of the crescent I used. It should be of decent size to get some leverage on the nut.

Without jacking the car up or using a ramp the space was tight, but doable. I have a 40+ chest so I'm not so skinny, but was able to comfortably get under there.

034482m

Ok thanks. By applying elbow grease, did you mean you tighten the nuts as tight as you possilbly could given the little amount of space you had to work with?

If that is the case I will just tighten the nuts a much as I can. The only thing am worried about is tighting the nuts too much. If the specs say 50ft/lbs and tighten it to say 80ft/lbs what is the danger?

Thanks

gman44116

iTrader: (1)

Bushing bolts are 16 ft lbs
Link nuts @ each end are 29 ft lbs.

I would not be so concerned about how tight you get them. Just get the old link nuts off!! That is the hardest part.... You can almost be within a few ft lbs at those levels. Good luck..

PS, I replaced mine after 14 months with the car. I could not get the link nuts off and had to bring it to the shop. They did it in 15-20 minutes and charged $35. It is always fun to do the work on your own car, but the last place I want to be is under a dirty, salty undercarriage. Strained my damn neck!!

Lore

My friend and I just installed them in his garage this afternoon. We used some wheel ramps, backed the car up onto them, and got underneath to do the work.

His car is about 10 months old, mine is about 13 months old. We did his first.

The two link nuts on his car were very hard to remove. We sprayed WD-40 on them to try to loosen them up but couldn't manage, but what DID get them to finally come off was using one of the suspension arms in kind of a scissor motion (when you form a first). We used a 9/16" wrench which fit perfectly. For the one on the passenger side of the car, I put the wrench almost parallel to the ground (but angling slightly up so I can rotate it counter-clockwise) with it facing the front of the car. Then I grabbed the suspension arm (also solid steel) and squeezed like I would if I was putting the two arms of a scissor together. That brought it loose - far easier than trying to pull the nut loose using a crescent wrench. For the driver side nut, I put the wrench parallel to the ground but this time facing the rear of the car. This allowed me to squeeze with the other suspension arm and loosen the nut. With his car, this took the longest since we had to figure out the best way to remove the nuts. We probably spent 30-40 minutes tinkering with just the nuts.

We had a "persuader" -- a thick steel bar that we could use for additional torque -- but the car wasn't high enough to do that.

In any case, once we got the link nuts off (using my "squeeze" method) we undid the bushings and removed the bar by simply rotating it down and out. On his car, we did have to pull down on the exhaust ever so slightly to get it out. On my car, though, I was able to remove the bushing brackets first and rotate it out without pulling down on the exhaust.

We put some machine grease on the new bar's bushings and rotated it back in to the link arms. On his car we actually put the bar upside down by mistake at first but corrected it quickly one we realized they wouldn't fit with the bushing mounts.

Tightened the bushings first using a socket wrench then did the link arms. Had an allen key handy in order to hold the bolt steady as I tightened the nuts. We didn't use a torque wrench with it - just elbow grease and making sure it was tight.

It took about 1 hour to do his car and all of 30 minutes (if even that) to do mine.

Lessons learned:
1. Use a regular non-adjustable wrench -- 9/16"
2. Use the "squeeze" method to remove the nut. This involves giving about 3 inches of space between the wrench and the suspension arm that you squeeze together. This is an amazingly effective technique - it worked on my friend's car after we figured it out AND on my car that's immediately what I did - I didn't even need to WD-40 my car. Basically took me 5 seconds each nut to loosen and another 4-5 minutes using the allen key and wrench to actually get the nut off. This was hard to do on my back!
3. Use an allen key to hold the nut in place while you loosen/tighten the nut.
4. No need to remove the wheels. Either drive it up ramps (or curb, etc) or use jack stands on both sides of the car.
5. No need to remove the exhaust. Simple rotation will get the bar out and back in place quickly.
6. Torque wrench might have been handy, but with the link ends we wouldn't have been able to fit the sockets over the bolts to get to the nuts. We just elbow greased it.

Hope that helps!

Lore

I couldn't edit my message anymore, but I wanted to add this:

When you "squeeze" the suspension arm and the wrench together, it doesn't hurt the suspension arm at all. You're not really using it to do anything other than have a place for your fingers to grip as you bring the wrench TOWARDS the arm.

Using the tailend of the 9/16" wrench is perfect because it wraps around the nut entirely and doesn't allow it to slip or strip the nut like the crescent wrench.

Whodini

Cool. Thanks.

avtech1

Just bought a used 08 TL Type S 6MT, with 42500 miles; Ive noticed most of you guys have the 04-05 body... I am new in the TL world. What suspension upgrades would be relative to the 6MT 08 Type S? Any inputs and recommendations would be welcomed.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

the reason why everyone has a 04-05 body in this thread....its from 2005 (THREAD REVIVAL).

the comptech RSB is no longer made. if you run a search there are many options. it just depends on what you are looking to get out of the suspension (handling/looks/a little of both).

there are FSB, RSB, and the suspension itself...aspec suspension, after market lower springs, aftermarket shocks, aftermarket coilovers....to cover the basics. if you run a search (and limit it to the 3G section), you will find an endless amount of reading on everything you could possibly want to do.