Mine makes noise over bigger bumps. At first it bothered me, I could care less not.
Im pretty sure its the fact its metal on metal with no kind of spacer/rubber in between.
Mine is on the way. I'm looking forward to doign a bit of canyon carving afterwards.
EXWRX-
The best canyon road that I have found in 25 years living in the Bay Area (South Bay for me) is the road to the James Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton in San Jose. BUT--- to save yourself a lot of frustration, only take this drive, for sport, on a weekday. It's not that it isn't fun on a weekend, but there are just too many slow (and scared) drivers in front of you with NO PLACE to pass.
As part of my DIY/TEST of the Pulse Plugs, I will take this drive on a week day with a video camera.
If you want to try this drive, just take 680 South all the way and get off at just about the last offramp in San Jose before 680 becomes 101. I can't remember the street name, but a Google search will get you the street name.
Yeah, I'm familiar with that road, but I'd probably come up the back side, since I live in Livermore, but there are a few nice roads in the hills around Livermore that I'm more comfy driving on at an elevated speed, since I bike on them and have driven them multiple times.
Got it installed tonight. I took a quick drive and took some curves at irresponsible speeds. It definitely has more rear grip. The ride is just slightly firmer, and I noticed no extra noise. Overall, I'm ecstatic with them.
Through the course of this VERY long thread, fitfreaks have probably bought at least 30-50 Progress Rear Anti-Sway bars, and word-of-mouth from present owners has probably sold 50 more.
In THIS thread, there has been exactly ONE complaint about noise after the bar was installed.
FOR PEOPLE WHO INSTALL THIS PRODUCT IN THE FUTURE:
THIS BAR DOES NOT MAKE NOISE. If you have noise after installing it, you have not installed it properly- something is loose, or the bar is resting against some part of the undercarriage. If one or more of the attachment bolts/nuts have been left not properly tightened down, eventually the bolt will break and/or wear the bolt hole larger in the mounting plate of the bar.
The bar was designed for installation on STOCK Fits. In the suspension forum, there have been MANY people asking for help in solving spring/strut installation problems. If you have altered your suspension and the addition of this bar causes noise, the problem may be due to a combination of problems starting somewhere else in the suspension.
As has been stated many times, Progress researched and tested this design very carefully. NOISE IS NOT AN ISSUE WITH NORMAL BAR PERFORMANCE. IF YOU HAVE NOISE, FIND THE CAUSE AND FIX IT before damage occurs.
An additional hole is necessary for the Jazz in Europe, and possibly for the JDM model, but not for the US Fit.
<== Speaking from experience, since I didn't have to drill a hole last night.
Manxman, is this swaybar a direct bolt on? I think I read somewhere in this thread that an additional hole via drilling is necessary?
It is a direct bolt-on for USDM Fits. It uses the existing three holes in the bottom spring perches. JDM's have two holes in the perches. Assuming that the holes are in the same places (?), you could conceivably mount the bar using two holes per side and them drill the extra hole.
Great, just what I wanted to hear. I forget that this is an international website. Do you know if Progress will make a bar thats slightly smaller (17-19mm)? 22mm seems like overkill to me since this isn't a replacement for a tiny stock swaybar (civic/integra/tl/accord).
The 22 mm bar seems to do the job well, without degrading the ride quality more than barely noticeably. I would be willing to bet that since the bar is only attached at the ends, it is less effective per mm diameter than a bar attached at the ends and with middle links.
A lot of "experts" are going to do a lot of yakking about what is the proper sway bar diameter, and NONE of them know what they are talking about. Just because a 22 mm, or a 25mm, or an 18 mm bar worked great on whatever car you bought it for and mounted it on, that was YOUR experience with THAT brand of bar in THAT diameter on THAT car!.
ALL ANTI-SWAY BARS are SPRINGS, PERIOD (in the form of TORSION BARS). The "spring rate" of these torsion bars VARIES, based upon the METALS that were used to mix up the alloy of the steel, and the heat treatment that gives the steel its memory and bendability. Spring steel gets its "spring" from two processes- tempering and annealing.
Almost all cars and trucks come from the factory with FRONT anti-sway bars, but only high performance models come equipped with bars in the rear. With a simple Google search, you can find at least two manufacturers of after-market bars to fit the rear axle of any vehicle. Addco (in So. Carolina) is one. They make sway bars much larger in diameter than any of their competition. They are also known for making sway bars that break. The other makers use a smaller diameter with more "stretch", and those bars work just as well but don't break.
The Progress bar just happens to be 22mm in diameter. It works great because of the spring rate that was designed into it. A 20MM, OR A 25 MM Bar is not guaranteed to be stiffer. It just depends on who made it and how they did it.
People who try to tell you that "X" diameter bar is good but "Y" diameter bar is too stiff or too whatever-the-hell are merely demonstrating their ignorance UNLESS they are comparing bars from the same manufacturer who offers a choice for you to pick from for different uses of the vehicle.
PROOF-
ALL OFF-ROAD VEHICLES have suspension systems with FAR MORE travel than any car, and particularly any high performance car. All of the off-roaders have anti-sway bars to keep them stable at highway speeds. There are at least 6 different manufacturers of sway bars, all offering different diameter bars. Depending upon what amount of lift you might have given your off-road vehicle, your sway bar will need to have either more, or less, spring rate to compensate for the top-heavy nature of the altered vehicle. One maker's 25 mm bar may work even better on your truck than someone else's 30 mm bar DEPENDING UPON HOW IT IS MADE.
Someone needs to buy Manxman a beer -- he's been using a lot of caps & red text today.
A shovel only works to get rid of B.S. within arm's reach. The caps and red letters are to get the attention of the people who want facts, not the "expert wannabees". They don't listen to anyone but themselves. I'll take the beer though.
I understand. Sometimes you feel like you're trying to talk sense and no one's listening. That's when I shake my head and walk away before the blood pressure goes up.
A shovel only works to get rid of B.S. within arm's reach. The caps and red letters are to get the attention of the people who want facts, not the "expert wannabees". They don't listen to anyone but themselves. I'll take the beer though.
I'm assuming you would be refering to me since I'm the only person who brought up the diameter issue. I am flattered you would even think of me in such a manner, but it is just my personal opinion and nothing more. For a vehicle such as the Fit, I prefer a smaller bar with some flexibility. I did not in any way, shape or form say 22mm is bad so save your blood pressure from rising.
You need to relax a little and not overreact to any comments you find unsatisfactory. That'll reflect poorly on your character and might scare off potential prospects who might have valid questions towards this product.
Got it installed tonight. I took a quick drive and took some curves at irresponsible speeds. It definitely has more rear grip. The ride is just slightly firmer, and I noticed no extra noise. Overall, I'm ecstatic with them.
Just a technicality . . . What you're getting is LESS rear grip, which helps the rear of the car rotate better. Sway bars work by loosening the end of the car they are on, which gives better grip to the opposite end of the car. That's why when you have a FWD car that understeers (front end pushes in corners) and add a stiffer rear sway bar, the car grips more in the front and rotates better.
A lot of "experts" are going to do a lot of yakking about what is the proper sway bar diameter, and NONE of them know what they are talking about. Just because a 22 mm, or a 25mm, or an 18 mm bar worked great on whatever car you bought it for and mounted it on, that was YOUR experience with THAT brand of bar in THAT diameter on THAT car!.
ALL ANTI-SWAY BARS are SPRINGS, PERIOD (in the form of TORSION BARS). The "spring rate" of these torsion bars VARIES, based upon the METALS that were used to mix up the alloy of the steel, and the heat treatment that gives the steel its memory and bendability. Spring steel gets its "spring" from two processes- tempering and annealing.
Almost all cars and trucks come from the factory with FRONT anti-sway bars, but only high performance models come equipped with bars in the rear. With a simple Google search, you can find at least two manufacturers of after-market bars to fit the rear axle of any vehicle. Addco (in So. Carolina) is one. They make sway bars much larger in diameter than any of their competition. They are also known for making sway bars that break. The other makers use a smaller diameter with more "stretch", and those bars work just as well but don't break.
The Progress bar just happens to be 22mm in diameter. It works great because of the spring rate that was designed into it. A 20MM, OR A 25 MM Bar is not guaranteed to be stiffer. It just depends on who made it and how they did it.
People who try to tell you that "X" diameter bar is good but "Y" diameter bar is too stiff or too whatever-the-hell are merely demonstrating their ignorance UNLESS they are comparing bars from the same manufacturer who offers a choice for you to pick from for different uses of the vehicle.
PROOF-
ALL OFF-ROAD VEHICLES have suspension systems with FAR MORE travel than any car, and particularly any high performance car. All of the off-roaders have anti-sway bars to keep them stable at highway speeds. There are at least 6 different manufacturers of sway bars, all offering different diameter bars. Depending upon what amount of lift you might have given your off-road vehicle, your sway bar will need to have either more, or less, spring rate to compensate for the top-heavy nature of the altered vehicle. One maker's 25 mm bar may work even better on your truck than someone else's 30 mm bar DEPENDING UPON HOW IT IS MADE.
Correct. When it comes to comparing one bar to another, all things must be considered. Very nice post, but too much reading this time of night . . .
manxman
can i use this bar with my Tein coilovers setup?
i have a JDM and i think i gotta drill another hole on each side, but is dat safe though? wont dat affect the integrity or the strength of the spring perches?
__________________
EVIL Prevails when GOOD MEN DO NOTHING
I'm assuming you would be refering to me since I'm the only person who brought up the diameter issue. I am flattered you would even think of me in such a manner, but it is just my personal opinion and nothing more. For a vehicle such as the Fit, I prefer a smaller bar with some flexibility. I did not in any way, shape or form say 22mm is bad so save your blood pressure from rising.
You need to relax a little and not overreact to any comments you find unsatisfactory. That'll reflect poorly on your character and might scare off potential prospects who might have valid questions towards this product.
leehom-
No, not referring to you regarding comments on bar diameter. Several other "experts" have repeatedly used diameter as the only indicator of "good" or "bad" bar quality. You are new to these forums and have asked for information, and it is to you that I have written the facts.
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