mko
05-05-2008, 07:35 PM
OK I see everyone got crazy about RM Racing rear sway bars, so I decided to do a little review of what is available out on the used or OEM parts market. So let me begin:
Available from your dealer, on-line shops, local junkyards:
If you are lucky you'll find a 7G GS 4g64 DOHC, but by the time you come to your sences that you actually have found a DOHC 7g, you'll probably forget what you have come to look for - and in this case it's a rear sway bar for our 7Gs. Doing my research I used mainly two web sites for information about rear sway bars, and thanks to Peano and Dangerdanj I have accomplished what I had in mind.
http://www.dangerdanj.com/addco_rsb_install.htm
http://socallifestyle.com/swaybar/tutorial.html
If you take a look you'll see that there are three sizes available for our Gs. These are 12mm out of 7g GS, 15mm out of 95-99 2g Eclipse/Talon/ and 18mm out of 95-99 2g Eclipse GSX AWD. Now I personaly havent seen a 12mm out of GS, but it happens that I own the other two. Also the 15mm sway bar is available out of other cars that share the same suspension as 2g Eclipse and 7g Galant. That would be Crysler Sebring / 1995-2000/ and Dodge Avenger /1995 - 2000/; these cars come with rear sway bar stock depending on the letters / ES or whatever they have/ and it is 15mm. In order to install the sway bar you'll also need the lower control arms and the end links that these cars are equiped with. The 18mm bar that is in the GSX is a really nice piece, but as Peano mentions in his tutorial, there is a problem with exhaust pipe clearance, and more exactly with the loop over the rear cross chamber. I had the same problem with this bar even with my stock piping and when it was time to install the 3'', it was impossible to have them both at the same time. So I started thinking about solution of the problem........................................... ........................................... and I got it.
Now, this is where people got it wrong. For some reason 8G Galants share the same rear suspension as 7g, so in this flow of ideas the sway bar and lower control arms have to fit as well. So I went to the junkyard on a mission to prove that and this is where my tutorial starts:
I'm leaving the pictures a little bigger so its loud and clear, and I wont be talking about tools and where to start from - there is enough info in the other two tutorials.
So,....
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee291/okm12346/HPIM0262.jpg
The three bars top to bottom
1. 2g Eclipse GSX AWD - 18mm, exhaust clearance issue
2. 2g Eclipse/Talon/ GST/TSI/ - 15mm - very good choise
3. 8G Galant - 18mm - the better choise
I got out the "old" control arms and 15mm sway bar.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee291/okm12346/HPIM0283-1.jpg
Installed the 8g lower control arms with end links / end links are not the same as the ones that I pulled out/
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee291/okm12346/HPIM0282.jpg
The clearance with the 3'' exhaust - It has a good 1/2'' to 3/4''.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee291/okm12346/HPIM0284.jpg
18mm 8G sway bar installed on 7G.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee291/okm12346/HPIM0285.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee291/okm12346/HPIM0287.jpg
I didnt realize untill I saw the picture that I didnt stick the sway bar in between the two lower control arms, but I guess Ill do it over the weekend, cuz Im too lazy right now.
This is how its supposed to look
http://www.dangerdanj.com/addco_rsb05.jpg
http://www.dangerdanj.com/addco_rsb04.jpg
Now, why I wrote 7G - 8G in the title!
Well, I swapped parts from 8G to 7g with no problem, so there is no reason why 7G to 8G wont work. So, for all you 8G-ers who are wondering right now, you can do it if you dont have it at all. Some of you do, some dont. The trick is that you cant cross match them like 7g/2g Eclipse or the other cars I mentioned/ control arms with 8G sway bar or 7G sway bar with 8G control arms. It just doesnt work - the 8 sway is a little shorter wide wise.
I can say there is a huge difference in handling between 15mm and 18mm, and it allows me to upgrade to 22mm Addco bar which is pretty sweet, so I'll enjoy my "new" mod and hopefully you will too.
Just for the record the Sebring and the Avengers come with 19mm stock front sway bar which is 1mm more than ours. And I have it installed too, but no pix - sorry
This mod costed me :
8g rear sway bar $10.00
8g lower control arm x 2 = $20.00
end link x 2 = $ 6.50
total : $36.50
Available from your dealer, on-line shops, local junkyards:
If you are lucky you'll find a 7G GS 4g64 DOHC, but by the time you come to your sences that you actually have found a DOHC 7g, you'll probably forget what you have come to look for - and in this case it's a rear sway bar for our 7Gs. Doing my research I used mainly two web sites for information about rear sway bars, and thanks to Peano and Dangerdanj I have accomplished what I had in mind.
http://www.dangerdanj.com/addco_rsb_install.htm
http://socallifestyle.com/swaybar/tutorial.html
If you take a look you'll see that there are three sizes available for our Gs. These are 12mm out of 7g GS, 15mm out of 95-99 2g Eclipse/Talon/ and 18mm out of 95-99 2g Eclipse GSX AWD. Now I personaly havent seen a 12mm out of GS, but it happens that I own the other two. Also the 15mm sway bar is available out of other cars that share the same suspension as 2g Eclipse and 7g Galant. That would be Crysler Sebring / 1995-2000/ and Dodge Avenger /1995 - 2000/; these cars come with rear sway bar stock depending on the letters / ES or whatever they have/ and it is 15mm. In order to install the sway bar you'll also need the lower control arms and the end links that these cars are equiped with. The 18mm bar that is in the GSX is a really nice piece, but as Peano mentions in his tutorial, there is a problem with exhaust pipe clearance, and more exactly with the loop over the rear cross chamber. I had the same problem with this bar even with my stock piping and when it was time to install the 3'', it was impossible to have them both at the same time. So I started thinking about solution of the problem........................................... ........................................... and I got it.
Now, this is where people got it wrong. For some reason 8G Galants share the same rear suspension as 7g, so in this flow of ideas the sway bar and lower control arms have to fit as well. So I went to the junkyard on a mission to prove that and this is where my tutorial starts:
I'm leaving the pictures a little bigger so its loud and clear, and I wont be talking about tools and where to start from - there is enough info in the other two tutorials.
So,....
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee291/okm12346/HPIM0262.jpg
The three bars top to bottom
1. 2g Eclipse GSX AWD - 18mm, exhaust clearance issue
2. 2g Eclipse/Talon/ GST/TSI/ - 15mm - very good choise
3. 8G Galant - 18mm - the better choise
I got out the "old" control arms and 15mm sway bar.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee291/okm12346/HPIM0283-1.jpg
Installed the 8g lower control arms with end links / end links are not the same as the ones that I pulled out/
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee291/okm12346/HPIM0282.jpg
The clearance with the 3'' exhaust - It has a good 1/2'' to 3/4''.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee291/okm12346/HPIM0284.jpg
18mm 8G sway bar installed on 7G.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee291/okm12346/HPIM0285.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee291/okm12346/HPIM0287.jpg
I didnt realize untill I saw the picture that I didnt stick the sway bar in between the two lower control arms, but I guess Ill do it over the weekend, cuz Im too lazy right now.
This is how its supposed to look
http://www.dangerdanj.com/addco_rsb05.jpg
http://www.dangerdanj.com/addco_rsb04.jpg
Now, why I wrote 7G - 8G in the title!
Well, I swapped parts from 8G to 7g with no problem, so there is no reason why 7G to 8G wont work. So, for all you 8G-ers who are wondering right now, you can do it if you dont have it at all. Some of you do, some dont. The trick is that you cant cross match them like 7g/2g Eclipse or the other cars I mentioned/ control arms with 8G sway bar or 7G sway bar with 8G control arms. It just doesnt work - the 8 sway is a little shorter wide wise.
I can say there is a huge difference in handling between 15mm and 18mm, and it allows me to upgrade to 22mm Addco bar which is pretty sweet, so I'll enjoy my "new" mod and hopefully you will too.
Just for the record the Sebring and the Avengers come with 19mm stock front sway bar which is 1mm more than ours. And I have it installed too, but no pix - sorry
This mod costed me :
8g rear sway bar $10.00
8g lower control arm x 2 = $20.00
end link x 2 = $ 6.50
total : $36.50