saleen rear sway bar!

[tbomb]

robert, ive been trying to find out where to get the ES bushings all day; where did you get yours from? EE has them for a 95-97 but not a 98. frustrating. if i cant get the ES bushings for the saleen bar, im getting the EE bar that comes with the bushings. supossedly, the bushings make a HUGE difference.

thanks.

looks like a lot of interest in these sway bars, im glad i posted this now i actually saw someone else mention them in a post yesterday and i checked it out.

 

[espnfreak]

front or rear?

 

[tbomb]

jas, 98-00 only require an upgrade of the rear sway bar. 95-97 need an upgrade of the front one as well (well, not NEED an upgrade, but if youre gonna do one, you should do the other - saleen has both of these - i thought i saw the front one for like $60 on their site.) the stock front sway bar on the 98-00 X is 'heavier duty' than the 95-97.

 

[aldive]

Originally posted by tbomb
the stock front sway bar on the 98-00 X is 'heavier duty' than the 95-97.

The stock bar for the earlier models is not a solid bar.

 

[tbomb]

al, yeah, thats what it is. the earlier bars are hollow, i think.

 

[Robert]

Originally posted by tbomb
robert, ive been trying to find out where to get the ES bushings all day; where did you get yours from? EE has them for a 95-97 but not a 98. frustrating. if i cant get the ES bushings for the saleen bar, im getting the EE bar that comes with the bushings. supossedly, the bushings make a HUGE difference.

thanks.

looks like a lot of interest in these sway bars, im glad i posted this now i actually saw someone else mention them in a post yesterday and i checked it out.

I ordered them through Explorer Express. Have you tried calling them to see if maybe they just aren't listed or what they would recommend? I would think the rear bushings would fit since the rear bar is supposed to be the same from '97 to '98. Your '98 bar is a thinner diameter than my '97 is, only yours is solid.

 

[tbomb]

robert,

yeah, i called them and they said that the only energy suspension bushings they have for a 98 are the ones that fit on the explorer express rear sway bar - the EE sway bar is thicker than the stock one, so they wont fit on my stock one, or the saleen one if i get the saleen one. i emailed energy suspension yesterday and havent heard baclk from them yet.

im leaning towards getting the EE one in a few months, i know the saleen one is a good deal, but id rather keep it simple and when i get the EE one, they give me the bushings i need - i have had so many 'problems/inconveniences' with mods ive done lately (i.e. rims, tranny cooler, etc.), that for a while id rather be safe than sorry. i might still get the saleen one - im waiting for a reply from willychu, i sent him an email and an IM, but he signed off right after i IMed him...hes probably busy lately.

thanks.

 

[Diablo3305]

any word on this issue.. ???

 

[WillieChu]

Hey guys sorry it took me so long to come across this post. I can try to help shed some light on this subject since I have already installed the Saleen Sway Bar.

Saleen sells the sway bar with out any mounting hardware. They claim the stock bushings fit, hahaha, that's total BS! Stock bushings will NOT fit on the Saleen Sway Bar. What I did was go to the local auto parts store with my sway bar in hand and asked them for bushings that fit. I ended up getting Energy Suspension bushings which are polyurethane. (The ones that happen to fit are from a 79-93 Mustang, but don't quote me on it, I installed it over 2 years ago).

The reason why Saleen is having a blowing out on their sway bar because they will no longer need it anymore. The new 2002 Explorer is an independent rear, as you all know. Saleen needs to get rid of it!

Explorer Express sells the entire kit and it's also slightly thicker, (but not by much) and more money.

-Willie

 

[Fantasymon]

Well do you recommend it?? How much did you pay for it? How much did you end up paying for the bushings?
You have the Cobra-R's like me. Mine are hitting the swaybar on full turn. My dad wont let me put spacers on. Will this make a difference for the better or worse as far as my tires hitting the sway bar?

Thanks a lot!!

Grant-P

 

[tbomb]

grant, i spoke to willie a few days ago and he said he highly recommends the saleen sway bar (i only say this here because i dont when he might get back to check this thread.)

also, his cobra r setup...does it look like my truck on my webpage? heh, i saw his truck and loved it, and i got the exact same setup hes got the 1" spacers that i used to have, though.

as far as your sway bar issue, grant, saleen is selling the rear sway bar, your tires should only be hitting the front sway bar (which i think saleen also sells, but this shouldnt make a difference...i dont think...you should still get rubbage.)

 

[WillieChu]

Originally posted by Fantasymon
Well do you recommend it?? How much did you pay for it? How much did you end up paying for the bushings?

Yes, I recommend it only because it's cheaper and looks nicer. I don't recall how much I paid for it, I think it was around $120, (two years ago). The bushings are no more than $20.

Originally posted by Fantasymon
You have the Cobra-R's like me. Mine are hitting the sway bar on full turn. My dad wont let me put spacers on. Will this make a difference for the better or worse as far as my tires hitting the sway bar?

Actually, YOU have Cobra R's like ME Adding spacers will definitely make a difference for the better because your over all width is wider, thus less likely for a roll over. Many people don't like spacers and feel it is unsafe. I've been driving with the spacers for over 40,000 miles now and have not had any problems. With the spacer, sway bar and the Cobra R Rims my handling has improved dramatically. About your tire and front sway bar rub, the question you should ask yourself is, "When you are driving, how often do you turn your wheel to full lock?" Probably not very often unless you are making a U-turn. With 265's I wouldn't worry about spacers but that's only my opinion. The reason I had to use
spacers is because the upper control arm was rubbing against my 285 size tires.

Don't get the front sway bar, it's a waste of money. The stock front sway bar is more than adequate.

 

[Fantasymon]

nicer? when the hell is anybody goona see your sway bar??j/k.....

Well when I go to college I may just put a 3/16" spacer on without telling my dad.

What does a new swaybar do? Like just for turning? Will I notice a difference right away?
So everything would be about $80? ($60 for swaybar w/ shipping +$20 bushings).


How hard is it to install it?

Thanks!
Grant

 

[Slick]

Willie, I have a 95 Sport, Do you think I should go with the saleen rear sway bar or the explorer express? because if saleens are $50 thats like 1/3 what the EE ones cost!

 

[flyguy]

Anyone know where I can get some cheap ones for my '94?

 

[NITELIFE]

These things are RED, COOL!

Just ordered one! I will post my results as soon as I install it.

Willie- do you remember where you were able to find the bushings for your swaybar? And.... Is there any way that you could confirm your bushings' part number in case I can't find them locally and have to order them from somewhere. That would be great if you could!

BTW- those N2 shocks look like a pretty good deal, too. They look like Bilsteins to me. I think I'll order those in a couple of weeks- if they still have some.

--mark

 

[WillieChu]

Fantasymon, if you happen to attend car shows, they also judge the undercarriage of your car. Not only is the sway bar red, it's also very well constructed, no weld spots anywhere on the bar. The sway bar prevents body roll while cornering. Some people will notice the difference right away and some people might not it really depends on how well you know your car.

Slick, it's up to you which brand you purchase. If you know about cars and don't mind working on them I would go with the Saleen version. If you're a car idiot, then get the Explorer Express to save you the trouble.

NITELIFE, unless I can find the receipt, I'm not going to be able to confirm the part number. Any good auto parts store will have it. Just make sure the bolts line up also. The shocks Saleen sells are Bilsteins and way over priced.

 

[NITELIFE]

The shocks are in the clearance section also. Going for $50 each. Is this still overpriced?

--mark

 

[WillieChu]

$50 is CHEAP! Buy them!

 

[98greyxlt]

Originally posted by Fantasymon

How hard is it to install it?

Thanks!
Grant

Grant -

it's pretty simple to install... i was changing out my rear shocks at the same time, so i did it when the shocks were out. the bar connects at four points, one on each end, and at both turns in the sway bar (this is where the bushings go).

just jack up the rear of the car at the rear differential (don't contact the differential cover with the jack or else you might cause a leak), disconnect the bottom part of your rear shocks, remove the old sway bar, install the saleen, and rebolt your shocks (in this step, a smaller jack will help you get the rear shocks compressed so that you can bolt them back on). i've heard of some people that have been able to do it without removing the old shocks, and now that i think about it, i don't see why not...

all in all, pretty simple. as for ride... willie's right, it all depends on how well you know your truck. with your bigger tires, i can't imagine you're cornering that hard anyway...