Got BFR59Z yesterday

[Cloudland]

hey i've finally got the whiteline bfr59z yesterday, local dealer had some delay with orders from them, but the price is not bad, trade price at around NZ$185 + GST

will jack up the car today to have a look, and have it installed if every nut is happy to get loosed

the eibach springs still sit in the box. have to find the time and tools first.

some photos:

[Nate]

nice! ... good luck with the install

[platypus]

yeah - don't stress its a 15 minute job - 1/2 hour if you've never loosened the endlink bolts, and about 5 minutes if your car isn't lowered - no jack required!!!

[boostedbatman]

Welcome to the Whiteline Swaybar club.
You'll love the difference

[Cloudland]

thanks guys, i had it installed this afternoon, lots of wd-40 seemed to work, plus a little guts to push the rachet really hard.

however i have a few concerns:
1st, to me this is a real concern, the bushing came with the sway bar is no doubt of larger diametre, with the stock horse shoe bracket, the bushing has distorted a bit, how's the situation on Ur cars? should i adjust something, or just live with it?

see the pic:


2nd, i was rather a bit paranoid with this, there seems no way to tell if the sway bar sit right in the middle, i used my hand roughly measured the distance between the two ends of the sway bar and the tires, should i worry about this? maybe it's supposed to let it settle itself?

thanks everyone. will test drive it when sun goes down.

[twilightprotege]

mine is exactly the same as yours. it'll be fine. and yes it settles itself.

i thought it was strange that the front sway had rubber rings to keep it in place but the rear doesnt...hmmmm

[Cloudland]

hoo hoo, i feel relaxed.

had a run just now, set to the middle hole, the body-roll is apparently reduced. there is virtually no body roll at lower speed and not so tight corners, but it can feel funny at times with tigher corners, i thought i was feeling what U described as "the front is swaying, the rear is not". guess i need some time to get used to it.

side note 1: i took off the mazdaspeed axle-back, and put the stock back. once my wife found out that i could sell that "new noisy thingy" she wanted it to go. anyone here is interested?

side note 2: i did installation in the small garage with rear hatch door opened, the garage door scratched the hatch door when i raised the car. now i'm ready to prepare all the paint scratches, i guess. how do U guys handle with scratches like this:

[deruss]

well done Cloudy.

Don't worry about the settle of the bar - that's what all the lube is for

bummer about the paint tho.....

have fun

[Nate]

OUCH that looks deep, i guess you would have to fill it and spray it ...

[platypus]

the bar moves side to side in motion anyway

whats really interesting is to get behind a BJ-1 at a bit of speed in a long corner (perfect example a freeway on ramp) you can see the sway bar, sway and the two rear wheels flex and change camber.... tis a beautiful thing to watch

and the reason only on the BJ-1 is because the sway bar goes below the torsion bars, not above like on your car

while i'm thinking of it - i found it was easiest to do the foward facing bolt up first, and then the lowert bolt.... also when doing the link arms, make sure you use a 14mm ring spanner, while holding the centre with an allan key... best to use gloves, as this can and will hurt if your pulling hard enough



paint... that sucks arse dude... respray or proper touch up paint... - infortunently it will still stand out due to the indentation... but its sure beats rust

[Cloudland]

thanks everyone. i'll see how much the local "touch up" guys charge for it.

Originally Posted by ahb11m

also when doing the link arms, make sure you use a 14mm ring spanner, while holding the centre with an allan key... best to use gloves, as this can and will hurt if your pulling hard enough

yes i had to use the allan key, but i have to say it's much easier than i thought. only the last few turns need the key. the endlink bolts are much easier than the bolts holding the muffler as i tried last time.

gloves are necessary, i just used a rug to hold the wrench when i need a bit more push, had 3 small cuts on the fingers.

[Cloudland]

hey this is what i'd call upgrade. the sway bar feels great, i have not yet exploited it's full potential, but it definitely improves the handling. i'm seriously considering have the front sway bar replaced as well.

[platypus]

hehe, was waiting for that response to come in

fantastic setup they are, only problem is the i want more factor

try driving a different car, to keep you in perspective i take my dads protege out (same car bigger engine) reminds you how bad the handling was

[nalawa]

Hey Guys,

Well I'm finally in the position to follow the leader and replace my rear sway bar with a Whiteline BMR53 (98 BA Hardtop). Started getting some quotes and the best so far is $156.00 from Dr Shocks at Brookvale in Sydney. Also I noticed that it only comes with the D bushes so I was wondering if it is worth changing the link bushes at the same time? I priced a set from Dr Shocks and they recommended NOLTEC bushes for $20.00 How doe this sound to those in the know and has anyone got anything to say about NOLTEC bsuhes, personally I have never heard of them.

Cheer in advance

Chris

[Cloudland]

hey ahb11m, 6 words for the bar: i love it, i want more!

seriously, i'll get a quote on installation of the front sway bar. btw, anyone put the rear bar on the 22mm setting? with or without the front bar upgrade?

i guess i'll do the positive castor strut rotation thingy shortly. yeah right havn't done that.

to nalawa, not sure about the bushes, but U might want to upgrade the endlinks, it's probably the weakest link in the chain.

[platypus]

well don't go too crazy, but yes i;d recommend going the further mods
'

nalawa, that all sounds pretty good and the bar sounds well priced.. is this fitted???
coz the whiteline price is $166.36 plus GST and freight
which would probably total 200

[chipa]

I'll be ordering the BFR59Z as soon as I'm back from QLD. I swear I'm the only BJ owner without one!

[platypus]

i don't

but thats cos the 59z won't go on my car

[chipa]

Originally Posted by ahb11m

i don't

but thats cos the 59z won't go on my car

sorry should I say people with real BJ's??

[platypus]

theres a word for what your being, and it starts with c


hint number one its not chipa

yes i have a scrape on the ground sway bar install on my car - as is common to all series one