[slides]

How well do swaybars help with handling for track days? looking at ECS tuning or Eibach swaybars.

I already have sport suspensions but wondering if its even worth the upgrade.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Reducing sway allows you to maintain contact through hard cornering, providing better grip and handling.

There are various upgrades like Eibach as you mentioned, H&R, Whiteline and UUC. All good upgrades really.

One of the best upgrade I've done my 335 was the sway bars, it was a night and day and something that really helped the car handle better. Especially for a car that doesn't have that much camber adjustment from the factory.

[DialedIn]

I have H&R 27/20 sway bars installed.

It's one of the best upgrades I've made. The car feels agile and responds to steering input without delay. The car rotates instead of leaning.

Ditch the sport suspension and get some fresh Bilstein shocks.

[SnapCoupe]

Originally Posted by Jeff@TopGearSolutions

Reducing sway allows you to maintain contact through hard cornering, providing better grip and handling.

There are various upgrades like Eibach as you mentioned, H&R, Whiteline and UUC. All good upgrades really.

One of the best upgrade I've done my 335 was the sway bars, it was a night and day and something that really helped the car handle better. Especially for a car that doesn't have that much camber adjustment from the factory.

To piggy back on OP's question, did you do both front and rear sway bars at the same time? I have been contemplating doing the front on my car since its cheap and easy but I wasn't sure if it would be worth my time.

[DialedIn]

Originally Posted by SnapCoupe

To piggy back on OP's question, did you do both front and rear sway bars at the same time? I have been contemplating doing the front on my car since its cheap and easy but I wasn't sure if it would be worth my time.

The rear sway bar is a giant pain to install. The old weak one comes out easily, but the new stiff one requires that you lower the rear subframe and gently find all the right angles to push it through and into place.

It is the rear one that is in desperate need of upgrading, so I wouldn't recommend doing just the front. But if you are doing the rear I recommend doing the front as well to achieve perfect balance. The stock front is beefy, but it has weak sections and it is hollow, so a thick solid sway bar will be an improvement even if it is the same diameter.

Originally Posted by SnapCoupe

To piggy back on OP's question, did you do both front and rear sway bars at the same time? I have been contemplating doing the front on my car since its cheap and easy but I wasn't sure if it would be worth my time.

I installed an E93 M3 front sway bar and left the rear stock...I don't race, but it definitely does make a big difference around town/spirited driving just by itself.

[Wurx]

I did a lot of research on upgraded sway bars and ended up going with an E93 M3 front bar. My goal was to improve the feel on the street.

After researching, I concluded that you don't really want to significantly increase the stiffness of the rear bar on a car that does not have an LSD. I don't know for sure if that's correct, but it's the conclusion I came to mostly based on the fact that the M3 only has a slightly larger front bar and a much larger rear bar. I thought that the difference must be that the M3 has an LSD.

I also read on the Turner Motorsport website that the aftermarket front swaybars are a huge increase in stiffness and aren't really a great fit for an otherwise stock suspension or for combining with a stock rear bar. Check out that writeup if you haven't already.

http://www.turnermotorsport.com/t-te...-e92-sway-bars

Another positive aspect of the M3 front bars is that they are still hollow unlike the solid aftermarket ones and this make a considerable difference in weight.

[bbnks2]

Originally Posted by Wurx

I did a lot of research on upgraded sway bars and ended up going with an E93 M3 front bar. My goal was to improve the feel on the street.

After researching, I concluded that you don't really want to significantly increase the stiffness of the rear bar on a car that does not have an LSD. I don't know for sure if that's correct, but it's the conclusion I came to mostly based on the fact that the M3 only has a slightly larger front bar and a much larger rear bar. I thought that the difference must be that the M3 has an LSD.

I also read on the Turner Motorsport website that the aftermarket front swaybars are a huge increase in stiffness and aren't really a great fit for an otherwise stock suspension or for combining with a stock rear bar. Check out that writeup if you haven't already.

http://www.turnermotorsport.com/t-te...-e92-sway-bars

Another positive aspect of the M3 front bars is that they are still hollow unlike the solid aftermarket ones and this make a considerable difference in weight.

I agree with Turner in regard to balance. M3 sways are decent for most street cars with modest off the shelf coilover spring rates.

However, aftermarket sways are massively stiffer. Makes me wonder if Turner might be off on their numbers. The M3 bar feels drastically different I don't see how it can only be a 7% change over stock. A 27mm bar induced massive under-steer and again felt like 200% change not 50%. I wish manufacturers were more clear on their products... My guess is they didn't actually bother determining how much stiffer than stock their product is. If they did then they would just publish it lol.

To add perspective, the M235iR race car runs H&R 28mm/22mm solid sway bars with 18k/17k (progressive rear) spring rates. With stock springs those sways would be pulling tires off the ground. The car will feel twitchy on the street. Higher spring rates help to counter the affect of the sway bars pulling up on the inside wheels in roll. Not to mention, the stiffer sways will feel horrible riding over bumps on the street.

Stiff sways are ideal for flat pavement where little suspension travel is required. They become too much of a compromise outside of that.

[Michal]

Sorry for bumping this topic up.
I have a stock e90 - I love the spring rates as they are just fine for city.
What I do hate is the body roll.
I am keen to invest in sway bars but I dont want anything like lifting wheels or twitchy steering.
Do you believe that 28/20 upgrade from Eibach would cause this?
What would you recommend as an upgrade?
Either I am considering M3 ones or maybe the rear M3 and front Eibach?
I feel the front is rolling really bad..
Thanks

[Skoidat69]

I have a UUC sway bar front and hochkiss front.. I have a UUC rear minus the bushings which I will sell cheap AF $75+shipping

[whyzee125]

I haven't experimented or ridden in cars with others so I can't really compare, but I have an e90 M3 front bar on mine and it's a very noticeable upgrade over stock. I'm not going to say it's the best bc I literally have no idea, but it does what it's supposed to lol so I'm happy with it.

[Raptor04]

I recently upgraded to the UUC bar. Their service was as I read many times. They advertise their awd xi front bar as a tubular 30mm bar. It's actually 25.5mm tubular. They also included bushings that weren't the right size. They were too big and allowed the bar to move side to side inside the bushings. I had to source new bushings and brackets from energy suspension parts. The bar does make a difference but UUC service is not good. However they did deliver the bar to my address fairly quickly.

I also have 22.5mm m3 rear bar but recently disconnected it. I'm enjoying my current setup with no rear bar and UUC front bar for xi.

[Michal]

Originally Posted by Raptor04

I also have 22.5mm m3 rear bar but recently disconnected it. I'm enjoying my current setup with no rear bar and UUC front bar for xi.

May I ask why did you disconnect it?
Thank you

[Michal]

Originally Posted by whyzee125

I haven't experimented or ridden in cars with others so I can't really compare, but I have an e90 M3 front bar on mine and it's a very noticeable upgrade over stock. I'm not going to say it's the best bc I literally have no idea, but it does what it's supposed to lol so I'm happy with it.

So you run stock rear bar and M3 one on the front?
Have you considered upgrading also rear one?

[Michal]

I am also concerned of putting bigger sway bar on rear axle when having just open diff..

[Michal]

Originally Posted by Skoidat69

I have a UUC sway bar front and hochkiss front.. I have a UUC rear minus the bushings which I will sell cheap AF $75+shipping

Sorry I am based in Czech Republic - the shipping cost would be too high but thanks for the offer..

[Raptor04]

Originally Posted by Michal

May I ask why did you disconnect it?
Thank you

Trying different setups. Suspension setup is a lot of trial error and experimenting. Based on my spring rates, dampeners, alignment settings, bump stops, tires/wheels, ride height, bushings, and spring preload....it all affects ride quality and handling; the bigger front bar and no rear bar feels great for me as it gets rid of a alot of understeer on the awd car. The m3 rear bar made it really stiff and actually created more understeer for me. No rear bar also means better compliance over uneven bumps. Again, this is just my current setup and the xi awd cars are completely different tuning than rwd cars mainly due to limited front dampener and sway bar options. Everyone will have a different setup based on their specific car and what they feel is best for them, but Suspension tuning is never ending it seems like.

[whyzee125]

Originally Posted by Michal

So you run stock rear bar and M3 one on the front?
Have you considered upgrading also rear one?

Correct. No, I haven't. Most people seem to say the rear is better left stock. It's a big job to change and a few have gone back to stock afterwards as it makes the rear lose a noticeable amount of traction.

[Michal]

Originally Posted by whyzee125

Correct. No, I haven't. Most people seem to say the rear is better left stock. It's a big job to change and a few have gone back to stock afterwards as it makes the rear lose a noticeable amount of traction.

Hmm, thanks..
Last qs - before fitting m3 sway bar, did you consider solid HR or Eibach one?
Thx

[Agypsy]

greetings!
i've got an e90 335i sedan and i just installed the H&R sway bar kit (Part # 72490) 27mm front, 22mm rear with Hotchkis end links on stock shocks and struts. i've had them on for about a week. i drove out to FCP Euro in Connecticut which is about 180 miles round trip from NYC. our roads are the worse in the country, so this was a good test. there's no comparison to stock. these are way heavier and way thicker! they definitely helped to tighten the whole suspension system together. everything feels a lot more precise.

i used to get some lateral movement above 90 mph and these have completely fixed that problem. cornering confidence is way up now. i think the included upgraded bushings add a lot to the overall improvement as well. so from experience, i would now say that upgraded sway bars should be at the top of the list for essential upgrades.

[Michal]

Originally Posted by Agypsy

greetings!
i've got an e90 335i sedan and i just installed the H&R sway bar kit (Part # 72490) 27mm front, 22mm rear with Hotchkis end links on stock shocks and struts. i've had them on for about a week. i drove out to FCP Euro in Connecticut which is about 180 miles round trip from NYC. our roads are the worse in the country, so this was a good test. there's no comparison to stock. these are way heavier and way thicker! they definitely helped to tighten the whole suspension together. everything feels a lot more precise.

i used to get a some lateral movement above 90 mph and these have completely fixed that problem. cornering confidence is way up now. i think the included upgraded bushing add alot to the overall tightness. so from experience i would now say that upgraded sway bars should be at the top of the list for essential upgrades.

Ola, do you run them on stock suspenstion / m sport suspension or coilovers?
How about traction assuming you don't have LSD.. Thanks

[Agypsy]

Originally Posted by Michal

Ola, do you run them on stock suspenstion / m sport suspension or coilovers?
How about traction assuming you don't have LSD.. Thanks

hi, i'm running completely stock suspension (non-Msport) no lsd.