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Old 12-26-2014, 04:21 AM   #1
Hardymon
 
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Question Sway bar questions, BMR vs LSR vs LG

So I've been searching around, and having a bit of trouble finding objective data that I can understand/apply to my situation when it comes to sway bars.

I have 2010 2SS RS, mostly stock and it's my daily driver. I'm not currently racing it, and don't have any plans to race, but it's not out of the question in the future.

I like the cushy ride, but don't like wallowing in the turns. I would like to get to a "neutral" handling state.

So, all that said, I've narrowed down my choices to BMR, LSR and LG. All three are three-way adjustable front and rear, and have the flanges to prevent movement, and they are all fairly close in price right now with the current deals going on.

My first question is, would I be better off with different bar sizes front to rear? Justice Pete mentioned something about the ZL1 benefiting from different sized bars because of the wheel offset in the stickied thread, would that still apply here? This would knock the LGs out as they are both 35mm.

Next does anyone know how these three manufactures stack up stiffness wise? It looks like the LSRs are more than 50% stiffer than the BMRs, but I couldn't find any info on the LGs which are much bigger than the other two.

I've heard some mentions of sways being too stiff, can anyone elaborate on this further?

I've also read that stock links can rip out of the lower arm with the upgraded sways, is this common, or more of a race application issue, and following on with this, are those little link reinforcements that BMR sells worth it in a DD application?

Thanks in advance.
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Old 12-26-2014, 08:27 AM   #2
Unrulie
 
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I swapped out only the rear bar with the BMR sway bar on the first hole setting. It eliminated all the understeer, gave the car a much more neutral feel. Didn't change the ride at all, just better handling. BTW I did BMR toe rods and trailing arms and links too. Been on the car for over a year with no problems.
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Old 12-26-2014, 04:11 PM   #3
JDP Sales
 
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I am going to throw you a new curve ball..

I suggest upgrading to the FE4 style sway bars from the 2012+

With the older style sway bars it is advisable to get rear endlink tabs braces and rear endlinks as the force from the stiffer bars can break the OEM endlinks and pull through the endlink tab on the LCAs.

If sticking with the older style, I'd recommend Part # SB030, ELK009 and ELK004.

On the 2010-11 GM used an inboard style sway bar that has endlink pick up points very close to the pivot points of the lower control arms. In 2012+ they changed the design to the style of the ZL1 and 1LE that have further outboard pickups closer to the spindle. When we do a sway bar upgrade on a 10-11, generally we'll update the lower control arms and endlinks to accommodate for the newer style and go with the newer style bars; this is a much more stable and effective setup and isn't much more expensive than the parts fore-mentioned.

Basically the package I have in mind would include BMR Part # SB039, GM ZL1/1LE front and rear endlinks, hardware and 2012+ Rear lower control arms.

Judging from your post, this will be a great setup for you that will be quiet, perform better and be a more efficient setup than with the older style bars.

Feel free to call, PM or email me anytime and let me know if I can help get you setup.

Best regards,

Tyler
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Old 12-26-2014, 11:47 PM   #4
Hardymon
 
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I appreciate the thought Tyler, and I have looked at upgrading to the fe4 setup, but as I mentioned, I don't currently have plans to race in any meaningful way and more importantly, based on everything I've seen, this would effectively double the cost of my install. That's money that I was planning to put towards lt headers. If I get serious with any kind of racing in the future, I will absolutely make that upgrade, but for now, I feel the money would be better spent elsewhere. I do see the sense in upgrading the links and will factor those in, and will include the BMR ELK009 support.

I was really hoping to find more info on the LG set up since google hasn't turned up much review or spec wise, and they're the only ones I don't really know much about.

The set ups I'm looking at are BMR SB030 with ELK004 links, the LG 2288 kit or the LSR 793-1052 with the BMR links. The best sale prices I've seen separates these set ups by only $55, with BMR currently coming in as the least expensive, but also the least stiff, (assuming that the "massive 35mm" LG bars don't have super thin walls).

I'm currently leaning more towards the LG set as it falls in the middle price wise, and based purely on the OD of the bars, should be the stiffest, but I am a little annoyed with the almost complete lack of info about them.

On any of these setups, given my limited knowledge, I'm planning to use the middle setting on the front and the stiffest setting on the rear in order to maximise roll reduction without going too far towards creating oversteer.

I was hoping someone could indicate any difference in stiffness/ride feel, build quality, and any difference in the NVH area between the different links as this may end up being the deciding factor for me.

Last edited by Hardymon; 12-26-2014 at 11:58 PM.
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Old 12-30-2014, 12:35 PM   #5
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The FE4 upgrade isn't much more than the FE3 setup when put together properly. I'm glad we could talk it out with you and explain the differences and advantages. You'll be much happier going this route. Thanks for the order and let me know if I can help you further!

Best regards,

Tyler
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