Hello,

First I wanted to say that I was pretty skeptical about the RSB. Mainly because being a MT I didn't think it would be a big enough jump to make any true real life noticeable difference. It does.

But second let say just how big of a pain in the ******* ass this install was. Which really shocked me considering it's a six bolt, four step install. Of course, I'm in OH so if you're in S CA or Florida I'm sure this won't be as big of deal to you.

Well the hex key in the end link bolts stripped like butter. All four, top and bottom. And I mean immediately with little pressure. So IMHO, if you live in an area with snow/salt, and are doing a RSB install, just go ahead and buy new endlinks from the get go. They are only $18 each and it will likely save you time in the end.

So I bought new end links, go back for day #2, and can't get the damn things off. Ultimately we had to break the top of the old end links off, wedge a wrench between the mounting plate and the ball bearing inside the endlinks, and pop it out. That way we were able to put vice grips on the round bearing to get enough torque to break the nut loose.

Did that on one side and it worked fine. I'm thinking "finally"... get to the drivers side, nope. That nut was rusted on the bolt completely. The impact was turning the bearing in the vice grip and shaving it down. Lol. 4 hours later I ended up drilling down through the hex in the bolt, then down through the nut. It still wouldn't come off. In the end I drilled so much of the bolt that I just took a hammer and broke it in half. The nut never came off.

So my RSB install was roughly 6 hours over 2 days, two new endlinks, two hurt hands, an elbow that's still shaking, and a back that's on fire. Lol

/end rant

Impressions:
The car just feels more solid. It's more noticeable then I thought it would be. When you first start to take a turn, it feels the same, but once you reach the apex the car is still there with you, ready to pounce. This is really noticeable on S curves or I think I can even feel it when merging back and forth across lanes on the highway. I went with the hard setting btw.

Worth the $130? Yes. 6 hours of painful install? Debatable.

 

nice review...i installed mine over the weekend too.

6 hours tho!? that sucks man...sorry you ran into so many issues.

took me mabye 45 mins tops.

 

If the hex key holds up and you have no problem removing the end links this is a max 20 min install including jacking and wheel removal. Lol

But if you strip the hex, good luck. I've changed clutches in less time.

Edit: Having a sawzall would have cut 3 hours from my time btw.

 

i love my progress rear sway bar. great on exit ramps. i have mine on the less stiff setting. should i go ahead and change it to stiff? i was worried about stock susspension?

 

i set mine to stiff on my TL-S. feels great.

mahar, fully agreed. if you strip it...game over.

what setting do you have yours on?

EDIT nevermind, i see you went with stiff.

 

Yea I went with the stiff setting.

Right now I have my yellows at probably 3/4 hard. Now that I have the rsb installed I plan to turn down my shocks quite a bit. I figured hard on the sway and softer on the shocks would be a better route to go.

You guys think anyone will buy my oem mt rsb? I see FS threads but no one ever buys them. And I mean even for like $20. If not I'm just going to toss it. Lol

 

Yea, took me a while to install as well. Of course I stripped the endlink bolts so then I decided to grind them off haha. I noticed a difference on the first couple of drives, then I must've gotten used to it or something.

 

I just picked one of these up and am waiting for delivery. Couple of questions:

• By doing this, there is no more independent suspension, a both sides are linked, right?
• Does this mess at all with the VSA?
• I heard if you need new endlinks to go with Moogs. Anyone care to share a link? Better suggestion(s)?

Cheers!

 

i'm gonna try and sell my type-s RSB...i'll let you know how it goes.

 

I went with Moog endlinks

 

You already have a rear sway bar. You are just upgrading it. It's a much bigger upgrade for AT guys then it is for MT guys.

No. Well if anything it makes it better...???

Wow nice ninja edit. Lol. After reading on the forum I stuck with OEM end links. When I do my clutch I'll install a type-s fsb and I will go with the beefier type-s front end links. I try and stick with OEM stuff as much as possible. I don't see where you can really gain anything from an aftermarket end link...

 

HAHA!

Thanks for the intel. I was looking at doing the Type-S FSB as well - but it sounds like a real PITA to have to DIY drop the subframe. Any idea if this is really a big deal for a shop to do?

 

I got the Moogs because they don't use the allen key bolts.

I heard the Momo endlinks were pretty sweet though.

 

LOL! Serves me right for trying to formalize thoughts without coffee. Do you have part numbers you can pass along? I went to the MOOG website and only managed to find front endlinks. Same parts (MOOG-K90342/MOOG-K90343)?

 

Meh, I just put anti-seize on those bolts so if, which is unlikely, I ever have to get down there again it won't be that big of a deal.

I know these are the oem parts #s

04-06

51320-sda-a05 link, r.fr
51321-sda-a05 link, l. Fr
52320-sfy-j01 link,r.rr
52325-sfy-j01 link, l. Rr

07-08 (Type-S)

51320-sep-a01 link, r. Fr
51321-sep-a01 link, l. Fr
52320-sfy-j01 link, r. Rr
52325-sfy-j01 link, l. Rr

 

Just post it up on the stuff for free thread. Someone in the community would take it before you throw it away

 

My install was a PITA too.

I luckily had already bought new endlinks and bolts so I was ready to go; I could tell they weren't going to open just by looking at them but tried anyway and obviously they didn't open up.

I ended up using a sawzall+dremel to cut out the old endlinks. It took me 4 hours total; but it was worth it for me...going from that flimsy crap I had in there to this stiff heavy bar was a pretty noticeable difference. I went with soft since I have AT and figured it would be enough of a difference for me.

 

Well that makes me happy. Misery loves company. Lol

 

Those are the correct part numbers. If you go to the advance auto parts website, enter a promo code to get a good discount. You can find codes on google for like $15, $20 off, or 30% off or something. There's a ton of them.

 

I have an 05 AT, Im thinking about getting a RSB...any recommendation and other parts I will need in the process?

Thanks

 

^read the thread!!!!

Cliffs
-if rusty or stripped you'll need new endlinks.
-progress bar comes with new hardware to mount.

 

I bought the end links for the same reason, I had to cut the bolts.. took me about the same time 6 hrs over 2 days

the RSB is great, however a word of warning for those who are at stock height... and this is just my expereince...

I have it on the stiffer bushing..

I push my car a lot into the corners and after 2 years my sub frame ended up ripping near where the RSB was attached.. it happened on my passenger side.. I ended up getting the bracket/frame welded..

did some reasearch and I have found others who had similar issues.. now I am not sure because of my ride height but from speaking to some folks at the weld shop they have seen it before on other cars and mentioned it was all folks who were not dropped

I also remmeber reading our subframe aint the best.. at least the rear subframe... now that it is welded though everything feels normal.. I will be dropping my car though in the next couple of months and will be pushing the corners again

 

When I installed the Progress 24mm bar, I also installed Tein SS coilovers lowered about -1.7" F&R, plus put on Yoko S-Drive 245/35/19" tires.

The difference WAS ALMOST UNBELIEVABLE. WOW.

best handling FWD car I have ever driven.

I have owned a new 07 Civic Si that handled better then my TL before the suspension mods, but afterward, it outhandled my 07 Civic Si !!!! AWESOME

 

My install also took damn near 4 hours with 2 of that figuring out how to get the bar through . I was working with the stock jack on the ground and scraped the shit out of the bar.

I went with the soft setting on stock end-links and after driving around I noticed a solid improvement in cornering. Now I wish I would've went with the stiff setting since I've been too lazy to change it.

Definitely worth it.

 

Dude, I felt the same way-love the RSB, but it was a bitch to get on....

 

I noticed this morning going over some old brick roads that something is loose back there. Lol

I can't even fathom what it could be. I touched the endlinks and the sway bar, nothing else.

 

I'm looking for a type-s RSB. Do you still have the bushings and brackets?

 

Shock damping is dependent on spring rate, swaybar rate in included since it is a torsional spring; to properly set it up you can't just go firm on the swaybar and soft on the shocks. They have to match.

Turning the konis up too high without the spring rate to match can cause th car to skip over bumps. The tire will lose contact with the ground when it hits a bump because it has too much rebound damping. It will feel like it corners better until you encounter your first bump mid corner.

The swaybar changes the handling balance. The shocks only fine tune the turn-in and exit characteristics.

The larger swaybars do take some of the independence out of the suspension. On a street car that has to stay planted over bumps, this is very important. It's not uncommon for a car with a large rsb to lift the inside rear tire in a hard corner.

One problem I had with the large fsb is the inside front tire wanting to lock up easier when trail braking and you can't put the throttle down as soon when exiting a corner. It's trying to link the sides together so as the outside compresses it tries to lift the inside a little.

Anyone interested in setting the car up right, there's a lot of information on this board. There are several variables to take into consideration when deciding to run it on soft or firm. You can make the car handle worse on firm in some cases.

As for better handling, the only way to know is to take it to the limit and see what happens. Judging handling by bodyroll alone is not accurate.

 

I have the Koni supercup kit with the Neuspeed "sport" springs. And I really don't know what the spring rates are. I can find the race rates but not the sports. They are mild for sure though.

Anyways, I know it's set, try, set, until you're happy. I also knew I'd want the sway on hard and then I'll adjust the shocks as I go to my liking.

Right now I'm probably 75% stiff on my Konis and I don't like the ride nor the characteristics. So I'll be playing around with it this weekend to find the sweet spot.

 

I'll also be modding the strut bar and rear deck so I can quickly adjust the shocks.

 

let me know what you plan on doing with the rear deck.

 

Sometimes it's worth it to pay professionals to install it. The misery and pain and lack of proper tools can turn a 45 min install into hours of pain.

 

Seems every time I want to make an upgrade you chime in and cause me to second guess if I would be improving my vehicle. I did not sip seafoam into my intake or whatever, so I feel good about you talking me out of that one. Anyways, I dont understand much about suspension and don't really want to fool with anything else, I am not even sure if your post pertains to only replacing the rear sway bar... But, just want to double check, is it still a good idea or could i introduce new problems?

 

Finally got around to installing my Progress 24mm adjustable RSB with the Ingalls sway bar end links the other day and here's what I have to say. More responsive, no more loose feeling steering wheel, & improved handling. Thank you Progress 24mm adjustable Rear Sway Bar. I want a aftermarket front sway bar now, so I can move the rear sway bar to the stiff setting for even more handling improvements. Shout-out to Excelerate for the group buy and making this upgrade possible .

 

^ Fron what I understand, the FSB isn't as important to do. Best bang-for-buck is to get an OEM Type-S FSB. Iirc, they're 27mm, same as the 6MT FSB; however, the Type-S one is solid, whereas the 6MT is hollow. From what I've read, that makes enough of a difference. If you're upgrading from a 5AT, even better!

Also remember that you need to lower the subframe to install the FSB, which adds time and PITA factor.

 

Progress Rear Sway set to track setting on a Type S....pure amazingness in terms of handling....DONE (the Rear is tighter than....you finish the statement xD)

 

I agree with this.

Type-S FSB all the way!

 

A larger FSB is nice as well. You don't want to do it without first doing the rear bar. I used the H&R 28mm but the Type S 27mm will work as well. High speed stability is greatly improved.

 

I'll be doing the type-s fsb/endlinks when I do my clutch install.

Question though: Does ES or anyone make nice poly bushings for the fsb? Or is everyone rocking the stock bushings?

 

I haven't checked but they usually have just about every popular size in stock. You may have to search under a different model than the TL but I'm sure they're out there. That's what I did back when I had the stock 5at front bar. IMO, these bushings are very important because you get deflection on both bushings so the bar does not react until the body is leaning a bit. It's pretty important to have it react nearly instantly.