I replaced the factory end links on my 2000 hardtop with the VB&P adjustable end links and polyurethane bushings. It's as quiet as ever and the poly has firmed up the bar a little. I'm sure the factory metal (aluminum) end links are fine, but there is no way I'll ever break one of the VB&P adjustable ones.

If you order poly bushings, be sure to measure your sway bars before hand to get the correct ones. Lots of these sway bars have been changed from original.

Good luck... GUSTO

 

Item 2. There is no pulling inward of anything. Also, thighten them as fast as you want. Sway bars go up or down. I have seen many of your posts / questions on this subject and you are simply over-anaylzing the whole thing. I'm not flaming you but you need to actually get under the car and see what is going on. When you remove ANY individual end link, there should be no UPWARD or DOWNWARD movement of the sway bar. If you remove ONE link and the bar springs upward or downward on that end, it means that the bar has been biased / preloaded / pre-sprung into a "less than static / at rest" position. It also doesn't matter a great deal how long the links are for our purposes. Just adjust them to the length of the stock links that you remove, make them both the same length on both ends of the bar and forget it. And yes, I just installed these same bars and end links on Sunday and have no issues whatsoever. Took about 2 1/2 hours start to finish including beer breaks.

 

No, Preload means if the sway bar is under pressure while the car is sitting normal. Zero preload means there is no pressure on the bar with the car in it's normal state.

As the car bounces straight up and down as it goes over bumps the sway bar will simply rotate in the brackets, both ends of the bar are pulled up and down together at the same rate. The bar will not be twisted under any pressure. As the car goes around a corner and the body starts to roll then one end of the bar is pulled up while the other is pulled down. This causes bar to twist. The more the body rolls the more the bar is twisted. The twisting bar tries to keep the body from rolling. The more the bar is twisted the harder it tries to push the body back level. Once the car come out of that corner and is back level again then the bar will return back to the untwisted state. When you go into a corner the other way then the bar is twisted the other way. Zero preload is simply when the bar is in the non-twisted state.

So with the car sitting normal, adjust the end links to a length where the end link mounting bolts can be installed without having to pull or push the bar into place. This will be zero preload.

Just for an example, if you adjust the left end link longer by 5 turns, and the right end link shorter by 5 turns, then this is going to put the bar in a twist, or preload the bar. This is not what you want. If the bar is preloaded then the car is going to lean slightly right when sitting normal. Again this is not what you want.

If you are going to use a lift be sure it is a 4 post drive on type where the cars stays sitting on its tires. If you use a 2 post lift where the tire are hanging down the bar will not be correct when you set it back down on the ground.

 

That right there Speedy ^ is an excellent explanation. But I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts he starts another thread asking how its done.

 

Nah, I think I'm gona just post all my questions in this thread only...

 

Thanks for clearing things up. I understand much better now. Next question is - should I install the new Bilstein shocks first, and then install the endlinks & sway bars, or does it matter. Later when I go over to Z06 wheels and tires, would I need to readjust the endlinks?

Thanks.

 

In theory, the shocks, wheels and tires won't make any difference once your end links are properly adjusted. What will affect the end link adjustment is if you adjust any of the spring bolts, like if you lower the car. Then you would want to recheck your end link adjustment.

Glad I could help!

 

Some things are hard to explain in text. When you are talking to someone in person it is easy to see if they understand what you are saying. If you see they don't understand you can re-explain it using different terms. In text you don't have that feed back so sometime it takes a while. Even though this is the Tech forum there is everyone from very technical to little technical people here. So sometime with a less technical person it may take a few extra explanations to get the point across. But with the vast amount of super technical people on this forum the less technical people can really learn a lot, and that is what makes this forum so great!

 

You Sir, have an excellent outlook. Glad theres folks like you around