Swaybars....and an oil change

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sirwilliam
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Swaybars....and an oil change

Post by sirwilliam »

Well, yesterday I sucessfully changed my father's oil in his G35 w/o lifting the car up :roll: :lol: Yeah, the 500 pound 6ton Craftsman pro low profile jack is better suited for mini's or smart cars :roll: I have a lot more respect (even though I already had it in general) for the G35 car design and engine...<will finish after I inhale some bfast!>

<story continues>...So anyhoo, I went out at 7:30PM to do the oil thinking it would be quick and I would be back in to watch Chuck and Heroes in HD. Not the case. I have never worked on the G35 or even looked at the underneath before so I figured the jack would reach a nice jacking point. Not the case. I first crammed my body under the car to remove all the bolts holding the plastic undertray on. I have a huge cranium so the only way to fit it under the car was to turn it sideways (yes, that is how low the car is). Luckily my father bought a pair of nice LED work lights to go w/ this fancy (but useless in this situation) lift. I would also like to add I was doing this in the cramped carport b/c that is the only flat level surface at my parent's house (so no real room to get on the sides of the car to do anything...you could have space if you moved some cabinets to the back instead of the side but that would be too logical so my mother is against it :roll: )

===========================================================================================

...so now the part in the story that ties into suspension:

So anyhoo, I get the tray off and look underneath. Wow. Perfect access to the oil pan and the oil filter w/ little mess...but what do I see but one of the beefiest sway bars I have ever seen (yes, this is where the story actually brings up the topic of suspension)...and one of the secrets to why the car feels solid with little roll/flex when I drive it (compared to my forester it is a huge difference).

The stock forester comes w/ the same 21mm front sway bar as the WRX STi. The rear however comes w/ wimpy hollow 17mm sway bar. I replaced that w/ the stock WRX STi 20mm rear sway bar and beefier mounts. I thought that was a good upgrade until I saw the monster on the front of the G35 (I can only assume the rear is beefy as well). I do have a COBB 25mm FSB that I was hesitant to install UNTIL seeing the beast on the G35 (had to have been at least 35mm-40mm). I guess I will have to get the matching rear, too.

What are your thoughts on swaybar size?

============================================================================================

...<the end of the oil change> After getting the bolt loosened on the oil pan, I managed to just get the oil pan to fit under the car. Little did I know that the last oil change I did horribly deformed the interior space of the oil pan, decreasing the space to hold oil. Also, it deformed in such a way that even after the center drain screw plug was removed and the breather flap was opened, it wouldn't allow draining oil to enter (ask me how I found this out during the oil change :roll: ). So after using my gloved finger to force down the mutated interior through the drain hole, let the oil drain, use almost an entire Washington Post newspaper to wipe up the oil on the ground under the no profile car (no kitty litter on hand), change the oil filter, put the oil pan bolt back on, put new oil in, drain mutated oil pan into empty Mobil 1 5 quart container, put undertray back on w/ bolts; I was done for the evening. :lol:
Last edited by sirwilliam on Tue Oct 21, 2008 8:40 am, edited 5 times in total.
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Re: Swaybars....and an oil change

Post by Sabre »

So you're saying....
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Re: Swaybars....and an oil change

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Sabre wrote:So you're saying....
Yes, keep getting interrupted at work...the nerve of people! :lol: Story is now pretty much complete.
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Re: Swaybars....and an oil change

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sirwilliam wrote: The stock forester comes w/ the same 21mm front sway bar as the WRX STi. The rear however comes w/ wimpy hollow 17mm sway bar. I replaced that w/ the stock WRX STi 20mm rear sway bar and beefier mounts. I thought that was a good upgrade until I saw the monster on the front of the G35 (I can only assume the rear is beefy as well). I do have a COBB 25mm FSB that I was hesitant to install UNTIL seeing the beast on the G35 (had to have been at least 35mm-40mm). I guess I will have to get the matching rear, too.

What are your thoughts on swaybar size?
I've driven a 350Z pretty hard, never a G35. The Z swayed just like any other modern FR (cept that yummy C6). Let me propose the possibility that you are missing two things: what they're attached to (really special bushings/bearings) and what they're made out of (anything from pasta to rebar). In either case, it doesn't really matter what the girth of the unit is (har har), what matters is where and how it mounts and what its material characteristics are.
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Re: Swaybars....and an oil change

Post by sirwilliam »

avriette wrote:
sirwilliam wrote: The stock forester comes w/ the same 21mm front sway bar as the WRX STi. The rear however comes w/ wimpy hollow 17mm sway bar. I replaced that w/ the stock WRX STi 20mm rear sway bar and beefier mounts. I thought that was a good upgrade until I saw the monster on the front of the G35 (I can only assume the rear is beefy as well). I do have a COBB 25mm FSB that I was hesitant to install UNTIL seeing the beast on the G35 (had to have been at least 35mm-40mm). I guess I will have to get the matching rear, too.

What are your thoughts on swaybar size?
I've driven a 350Z pretty hard, never a G35. The Z swayed just like any other modern FR (cept that yummy C6). Let me propose the possibility that you are missing two things: what they're attached to (really special bushings/bearings) and what they're made out of (anything from pasta to rebar). In either case, it doesn't really matter what the girth of the unit is (har har), what matters is where and how it mounts and what its material characteristics are.
My car sways/rolls like a leaf in the wind. I will take what I can get to help. And, yes, I know it will never handle like a Corvette but I am trying to balance comfort and height w/ better handling. Tricky but doable. I have some strut tower bars (that help a little once installed), will install the beefier 25mm bars, upgraded endlinks, and some upgraded GR-2 or AGX struts to go w/ my swift sport springs...maybe throw in a set of new stiffer bushings all around...think that should help. I also thought about going the Tein wagon GT coilovers w/ EDFC but not sure about the ride height. I need a little bit of clearance to be able to get up some nasty driveway entries.
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Re: Swaybars....and an oil change

Post by avriette »

sirwilliam wrote: My car sways/rolls like a leaf in the wind. I will take what I can get to help. And, yes, I know it will never handle like a Corvette but I am trying to balance comfort and height w/ better handling. Tricky but doable. I have some strut tower bars (that help a little once installed), will install the beefier 25mm bars, upgraded endlinks, and some upgraded GR-2 or AGX struts to go w/ my swift sport springs...maybe throw in a set of new stiffer bushings all around...think that should help. I also thought about going the Tein wagon GT coilovers w/ EDFC but not sure about the ride height. I need a little bit of clearance to be able to get up some nasty driveway entries.
Just remember that the stiffer you make your suspension, the grippier your tires have to be. You can accomplish that by making them wider, or by spending ore on the size you've got. But really beefy sways is only going to make the car plow hard (big front sways? eek!) or come around. Without roll, though. Can you get those fancy Perrin anti-lift links for your car?
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Re: Swaybars....and an oil change

Post by sirwilliam »

avriette wrote:
sirwilliam wrote: My car sways/rolls like a leaf in the wind. I will take what I can get to help. And, yes, I know it will never handle like a Corvette but I am trying to balance comfort and height w/ better handling. Tricky but doable. I have some strut tower bars (that help a little once installed), will install the beefier 25mm bars, upgraded endlinks, and some upgraded GR-2 or AGX struts to go w/ my swift sport springs...maybe throw in a set of new stiffer bushings all around...think that should help. I also thought about going the Tein wagon GT coilovers w/ EDFC but not sure about the ride height. I need a little bit of clearance to be able to get up some nasty driveway entries.
Just remember that the stiffer you make your suspension, the grippier your tires have to be. You can accomplish that by making them wider, or by spending ore on the size you've got. But really beefy sways is only going to make the car plow hard (big front sways? eek!) or come around. Without roll, though. Can you get those fancy Perrin anti-lift links for your car?
Tires are decent (Falken 912s) at 225/45/18...but I could always go wider based on my future decisions w/ suspension. The COBB sways are both 25mm for Front and rear that will be installed. IIRC, there was something w/ the anti-lift kits not working on the foresters b/c it was already semi-designed into the suspension/frame...I will have to search for that info and get back.

Found it:
Whiteline doesn't recommend an ALK for the Forester because the rear mount design is nearly identical to the ALK one. Just get the Offset Caster bushings put in, they are a lot cheaper and the result is the same when you put them on a Forester as using an ALK on an Impreza.
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Re: Swaybars....and an oil change

Post by chicken n waffles »

i'm no suspension guru, but fwiw the cobb adjustable rear sway i had on the sti, even at its softest setting, was too stiff and never inspired much confidence in aggressive twisties (the front sway was a work of art, though). the rear end slid all over the autox course. wasn't an endlink issue (kartboys). wasn't a tire issue (ecsta spts). even brian garfield commented that it was too stiff and he asked me if i had dialed it up to the stiffest setting. when i informed him that it was set otherwise, he cursed at cobb as if they could hear him from fedex field. i was going to look into a whiteline rsb before i sold the car, but now i'll never know.
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Re: Swaybars....and an oil change

Post by sirwilliam »

chicken n waffles wrote:i'm no suspension guru, but fwiw the cobb adjustable rear sway i had on the sti, even at its softest setting, was too stiff and never inspired much confidence in aggressive twisties (the front sway was a work of art, though). the rear end slid all over the autox course. wasn't an endlink issue (kartboys). wasn't a tire issue (ecsta spts). even brian garfield commented that it was too stiff and he asked me if i had dialed it up to the stiffest setting. when i informed him that it was set otherwise, he cursed at cobb as if they could hear him from fedex field. i was going to look into a whiteline rsb before i sold the car, but now i'll never know.
Maybe I should go w/ whiteline instead...they have been around forever and all the old skoolers swear by them.
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