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Old Aug 19, 2006 | 11:40 AM
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Default Sway bar questions

I crawled under my 99 C5 this morning to fix a little leak. While under the rear end I noticed that the sway bars are red. I bought the car in April and was told about several other mods in had but nothing was mentioned about the sway bars. I figured that stock sway were black, but I could be wrong. Anyway, any idea how to tell 1.) if the are after market and 2.) the manufacturer. I looked around but did not find any stickers or stamps on the bars.

I also found that one of the plastic black end links were broken in half. I did some further looking around and found that both the front end links are black plastic. The broken rear link is black plastic but the other rear end link looks like cast aluminum. What is that all about. Should I replace the broken one only or replace the three plastic ones or replace all 4?

Thanks
Jason
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Old Aug 19, 2006 | 12:03 PM
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Maybe that one was just painted...replace all of them if you are gonna do it
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Old Aug 19, 2006 | 12:49 PM
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Originally Posted by pewter99
Maybe that one was just painted...replace all of them if you are gonna do it



Here's some of the sway bar dimensions. If they're the base bars, I'd recommed upgrading to Z06 bars at the same time (one of my favorite upgrades). Either way, I'd recommend installing a full set of metal end links.

23mm, front; 19.1mm, rear --- FE1/Base
25.4mm, front; 21.7mm, rear --- FE3/Z51 97-99
28.6mm, front; 23.6mm, rear --- FE3/Z51 00-04
30.0mm, front; 23.6mm, rear --- FE4/Z06
31.75mm, front; 25.4mm, rear --- Hotchkis
38.4mm, front; 27.5mm, rear --- GM T1

Last edited by BanditDude; Aug 19, 2006 at 12:53 PM.
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Old Aug 19, 2006 | 12:54 PM
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There is another sway-bar diameter made that's between Hotchkis and T1. VE has it in their catalog.
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Old Aug 19, 2006 | 12:55 PM
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Thanks the the help, I ordered adjustable metal end links from Vette Brakes & products.
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Old Aug 21, 2006 | 10:52 PM
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Damn, I thought my FRC with the Z51 had at least one of the same sway bars as a Z06. Looks like I need both, oh well!
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Old Aug 21, 2006 | 11:22 PM
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Originally Posted by mac_99tr
Thanks the the help, I ordered adjustable metal end links from Vette Brakes & products.
Are you planning on road racing? Why the adjustable links as opposed to the HD C5 solid endlinks? Aren't the endlinks from Vette Brakes & products $109.00 a piece? You could get brand new ZO6 sway bars(kit) and HD solid endlinks for about $360.00 for the whole shootin match.
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Old Aug 23, 2006 | 03:41 PM
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Originally Posted by mfrejek
Aren't the endlinks from Vette Brakes & products $109.00 a piece?
Actually it is $109.00 for a set of 4, according to Vette Brakes & products.
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Old Aug 23, 2006 | 06:55 PM
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Originally Posted by Mike94ZLT1
Damn, I thought my FRC with the Z51 had at least one of the same sway bars as a Z06. Looks like I need both, oh well!
Yup. True story. Change your anti-roll bars to the Z06s and put the metal end links on too. That and '04 Z06 shocks are two of the best mods I ever made to my suspension.
You must have been thinking about the springs. Your front spring is the same one as the Z06s.
HTH,
Robert
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Old Aug 23, 2006 | 07:23 PM
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And depending on you VIN the rear bar is the same as well. If so, you'll only need a front Z06 bar.
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Old Aug 23, 2006 | 10:12 PM
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Originally Posted by Dan_the_C5_Man
And depending on you VIN the rear bar is the same as well. If so, you'll only need a front Z06 bar.
I thought Generous Motors made that running change in 2000, not '99.
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Old Aug 24, 2006 | 07:11 AM
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Here's a tip that a lot of racer folks use...

If you decide that you want to have adjustable end links, like if you want to corner weight the car, you only need one per bar. If you get two stock metal links and two adjustable links, that's all you need, and just adjust the links on one side...
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Old Aug 24, 2006 | 05:51 PM
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Gentlemen,

I don't mean to hijack this post, but I recently called Hotchkis and asked them if I could purchase their 1 inch - 25.4 mm rear bar - my Z06 pushes into corners more than I like - and their answer was a very quick "NO, we only sell our bars in sets."

Does anyone know where a quality, hollow C5 rear bar can be purchased that is close to 1 inch - 25.4 mm in diameter?

.
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Old Aug 25, 2006 | 08:35 AM
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go to ecklers.com and try part # 45543 (25.4 mm Rear Sway bar)
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