Rear Sway Bar or Lowering Springs?

[CoolMistLX]

Hi everyone!

Now that I have my front bumper upgraded, I feel that it is time to address the way my car rides on the highway because I think that's what I hate the most about this car. The Integra I was driving for the previous 10 years sat a bit lower to the ground (stock suspension), which I'm sure helped to reduce the amount the car got blown around the road at higher speeds. I feel like I can't even drive the civic in a straight line once I hit 60.

I've done some searching around this forum and I believe Webby mentioned somewhere that a rear sway bar helps a lot with this "floating" feeling. For those of you that have also experienced this, and have already made suspension upgrades, what do you feel would be most effective at making my LX sedan feel more plated to the road? Rear Sway Bar, lowering springs... something non-suspension related like better/stickier tires?? I eventually want to lower the car a little bit, but my current goal is to simply feel more comfortable daily driving my car at 60-70 mph, and I don't currently have the funds to upgrade more than one thing. (This car is only used as a daily driver.)

Thanks for your help!

 

[webby]

@Nix @Dar-Dar @Pauly99to17 may have experienced one before the other...before they did both.

 

[Monk]

Beef up the rear sway bar, no issues with floating with mine.

 

[Pauly99to17]

Sway bar first. Then I would suggest Eibach lowering springs (moderate drop) and finally tires.

 

[Michal006]

At the moment I'm on Eibach ProKit springs which are stiffer than stock, but it's still not stiff enough for me. Definitely get the sway bar and springs if you can.

 

[Nix]

These guys nailed it. Sway bar first. 22mm Progress bar is great. Don't waste your money on the hugely overpriced 24mm bar. The 22 should be a nice improvement for you.

 

[CoolMistLX]

These guys nailed it. Sway bar first. 22mm Progress bar is great. Don't waste your money on the hugely overpriced 24mm bar. The 22 should be a nice improvement for you.

Would you recommend the Progress Sway bar over the Eibach one without upgrading the front as well? It's only a daily driver, so I wasn't sure if I should just stick with the 19mm Eibach.

Thanks for all the replies, everyone!

 

[Dar-Dar]

Would you recommend the Progress Sway bar over the Eibach one without upgrading the front as well? It's only a daily driver, so I wasn't sure if I should just stick with the 19mm Eibach.

Thanks for all the replies, everyone!

Go with the oem 2013+ civic si rear sway bar. It is 20mm and costs less than $75.

 

[Monk]

Would you recommend the Progress Sway bar over the Eibach one without upgrading the front as well? It's only a daily driver, so I wasn't sure if I should just stick with the 19mm Eibach.

Thanks for all the replies, everyone!

In answer to your question, I'd choose the Progress 22. But @Dar-Dar suggestion is a $100+ savings......
If you have stock sway's front & rear, you only want to beef the rear.

 

[CoolMistLX]

Thanks for the help, guys. I didn't even think about using an OEM Si bar. I think I'll definitely either go with that or the Progress 22mm.

 

[Pauly99to17]

Just to give you an idea of what kind of change you're going to get with the Progress 22 mm sway bar.
Makes the stock one look like a coat hanger. (2012 LX sedan

 

[CoolMistLX]

I think that's the first picture I've seen comparing any sway bar to the stock 11mm. Crazy the difference... although it is 2x the thickness! I can't wait to get mine swapped out for something a bit bigger.

 

[Bulkybear]

What size is the stock rsb on the Si?

 

[CoolMistLX]

What year? The 2013 is 18mm and the 2014 is 20mm

 

[Bulkybear]

2012. After lowering springs I'm trying to figure out if the 22mm from progress is worth it.

 

[CoolMistLX]

2012 is only 15mm.

 

[NoMoreNissans]

i have an LX

i also have the progress 22mm sway bar and way fatter than stock tires. car still floats around a bit on the highway in high wind. its definitely an improvement though

 

[CoolMistLX]

Good to hear. I can certainly understand being blown around when it's windy, since even my Teg did that. I'm hoping a larger sway bar will significantly reduce or eliminate that same type of feeling when it's not windy, or when driving near large trucks on the highway. My RSB is finally scheduled to be delivered today. Can't wait to get it installed!

 

[NoMoreNissans]

Good to hear. I can certainly understand being blown around when it's windy, since even my Teg did that. I'm hoping a larger sway bar will significantly reduce or eliminate that same type of feeling when it's not windy, or when driving near large trucks on the highway. My RSB is finally scheduled to be delivered today. Can't wait to get it installed!

Id suggest getting some upgraded bushings to go with your RSB

http://www.amazon.com/Moog-K90397-S...im_auto_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=1KFYA2AVD65BMWDVEFRK (I know it says 'endlink' kit but thats a mistake its actually the 2 bushings, not the 2 endlinks which are sold seperately. Theres a link to buy them on this same page

• Moog K750126 Sway Bar Link
• Moog K750125 Sway Bar Link

When I installed mine everything was all good on the stock OEM sway bar bushings for about 2 months and then I started hearing noises due to the increased stress on them from the stiffer bar. Eventually the OEM bushings snapped completely and my car was clunking around everywhere until I installed these Moog ones, problem 100% solved. They're cheap so you might as well do it right from the start.

also check out this thread http://9thcivic.com/forum/threads/moog-endlinks.8058/

My OEM endlinks held up fine. Just the bushings wore out in my case. I installed both upgraded Moog versions for the hell of it

 

[CoolMistLX]

I actually have some Moog bushings at the house just waiting for the bar. [emoji6] (And i ended up ordering double what i needed by accident). I decided to keep the stock end links for now, but may swap those out in the future too.