sway bar vs. lower tie bar

sup ppls just curious, i wanted to know wuts the difference between a sway bar and a lower tie bar? also hard is an install? Now i have '00 LS can't i just order a GTZ sway bar and have put it? thanks

Yes you can put in a GTZ/Eclipse GT rear swap bar, as I did. The sway bar is a bit more complicated to install than a lower tie bar. The sway bar's purpose is to keep the wheels from wanting to press into the body as the vehicle corners by pushing back against the cornering forces. A tie bar merely reinforces the rear crossmember and braces against the control arm pivot points. That way, the control arms don't push into the crossmember and can instead do their job. Flex = bad.

Hey auto 9 how tought is the install? and is there a noticable difference?

Um for me, I don't really know. I did other suspension modifications at the same time so I couldn't really single it out. But logic would suggest that it couldn't have just done nothing.

I wouldn't waste money an a lower tie bar. I was once going to get one until I read that Road Race Engineering won't even sell them for the Eclipse because they are pretty much just decoration. The crossmember in the Eclipse and our Galants are rigid enough.

hey Dan thanks for the reply....would u recommend on getting the sway bar from the GTZ? Is it a direct fit or slight mods.?

It's a direct fit. You may need to swap out the sway bar bushings though, as it's 1 mm thicker than factory.

and on these sway bars how do you install them?
anyone feel like making a tut? what's a bushing etc etc?

help people out in the posts please folks

There are two bushings that hold the sway bar to the crossmember. If you look under your car you'll see two little U shaped thingies that the sway bar passes through...those are it.

A rear lower tie bar on my Integra is definetly noticeable...I can stick it to the twisties quite nicely now. It stiffens up your ride, however...get prepared for some bumpiness. I know these kick ass while leaving your trunk free, unlike a rear upper strut brace. I really don't know how well it will work on a 3500+lb car though.