which front sway bar for a 128?

[bozola]

I guess it depends on what your requirements are.

Mine were as follows:

Low cost
Reduce a the body roll a bit around corners.
No radical changes.
No track requirements.

Luckily, I had to luxury of trying another forum members 128 with the setup that I got prior to committing to my setup.

In the end.. the sway bar I chose did exactly what I want. it just tightened it up a bit.

[nato-main-man-5am]

Cool. I think our requirements are similar. I don't have an E92 bar available to me, but a Dinan bar is a possibility -- and they appear to be similar in terms of specs. The big difference is that you started with a Sport package, and mine is non sport. I'm not sure how to juggle that aspect.

[bozola]

I think it will be the same....

It will tighten the body roll a bit.

[nato-main-man-5am]

[nato-main-man-5am]

Originally Posted by fboutlaw

Too stiff without doing the rear.

I'll sell you my Dinan one. (Same as M3 26.5mm, but painted blue)

The deal is done. Mounting soon. Thanks for the lovely blue bar.

[nato-main-man-5am]

Installed this morning. Obviously I need to drive a bit more over familiar turns but so far, I am very pleased.

1. Jack up the car and put on jackstands in the front. This was by far the hardest part, since there is no central place for a jack, so it meant jacking up from the rear jack points, which meant getting the second jack stand in place was very precarious. Definitely need to invest in some ramps.
2. Unbolt the big splash guard under the motor (8mm socket). Tons of little screws. Annoying but easy.
3. Unbolt the factory sway from the endlinks (16mm + adjustable wrench) torque setting appears to be 45lbs from the factory, on my car. So that is what we used when putting on the new sway, as well.
4. Unbolt the bushing brackets of the factory sway bar (13mm). It appears the torque setting from the factory is below ten lbs on this one, or the tool we had couldn't tell us what was what.

Reverse to install new bar.

(Note that the photos are of the factory sway. I was so excited to be getting the new bar in that I completely forgot to take a photo of its sexiness before securing the splash guard in place and mostly covering it....)

[xerox445]

This is the "central" jack point.

[nato-main-man-5am]

Originally Posted by xerox445

This is the "central" jack point.

Oh, that's f***** up. I read the manual, and it only pointed out the four edge points. So we only half looked for the central one. Doh!

[jaf89f]

are you sure you don't have the sports suspension, you have the sport wheels...

[nato-main-man-5am]

I think that's just the angle of the photo. I think in brown they don't even offer sport as an option for some reason. In any event I didn't pay for it, the wheel sizes match front and rear, and they are both fat..... So I'm thinking it's an optical illusion, unless you are seeing some marking on the wheel that indiactes something, and then i'm totally confused!

[bozola]

So... do you like?

[nato-main-man-5am]

Yes, I am pleased. It will take a week or so for me to really suss itout.

It is a different cornering experience, in a sense more aggressive and a little harder, like I'm fighting against the curve a little more. But it's also more precise, like when I make that effort, the reward is a tighter turn. I guess I have introduced an earlier onset to a little understeer?

My buddy who assisted on the install thinks the biggest improvement in handling will be replacing the run flats, and I think that's the next upgrade I will consider, but i'm in no rush. This small mod has definitely sharpened things up a bit, and i'm not ready for a big investment in wheels and tires.

(Lowering and hardening the suspension are not appealing since this is a DD on crummy roads, speed bumps, etc. -- so those aren't on the list, at all.)

[bozola]

Yes. replacing RFT is worth it.

It completely changed my car.

[nato-main-man-5am]

What did you choose? Does the fact that you have the sport suspension mean you had more choices that I do, since I don't have the sport suspension?

[bozola]

IMHO, there are only 2 choices..

Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 or AS

Continental DW or DWS.

[3liter1]

Originally Posted by Nathan_h

Yes, I am pleased. It will take a week or so for me to really suss itout.

It is a different cornering experience, in a sense more aggressive and a little harder, like I'm fighting against the curve a little more. But it's also more precise, like when I make that effort, the reward is a tighter turn. I guess I have introduced an earlier onset to a little understeer?

My buddy who assisted on the install thinks the biggest improvement in handling will be replacing the run flats, and I think that's the next upgrade I will consider, but i'm in no rush. This small mod has definitely sharpened things up a bit, and i'm not ready for a big investment in wheels and tires.

(Lowering and hardening the suspension are not appealing since this is a DD on crummy roads, speed bumps, etc. -- so those aren't on the list, at all.)

See this old thread. This was my experience and others comments...

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=528964

[nato-main-man-5am]

Originally Posted by bozola

IMHO, there are only 2 choices..

Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 or AS

Continental DW or DWS.

WIth 18 inch wheels front and back?

[nato-main-man-5am]

Originally Posted by AudiS4

See this old thread. This was my experience and others comments...

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=528964

Cool. I am not crazy.

[bozola]

I have 17" wheels. I didn't upgrade them when I bought tires.

[nato-main-man-5am]

Oh, I thought the sport package came with 18inch wheels.

[Dafttt]

Originally Posted by Nathan_h

Oh, I thought the sport package came with 18inch wheels.

17's, but I'd also like to point out that I F-ing LOVE your color. So much jelly from this end!.. Thanks for the write up, and if you noticed a difference that's all that matters. I'll probably be doing something very similar as an E92 M3 sway has come across my table (DIY of course).

[nato-main-man-5am]

It's not tough to DIY if you are mildly handy. And it definitely makes a difference. Less roll, for sure, but also more effort to turn/increased understeer. Depending on my mood, that's occasionally annoying, but usually nice. Of course, my issue is that I don't have the sport seats, so really sharp cornering puts me against the door! But that's not the fault of the mod :-)

And thanks for the color props. There was a long thread about how people hated this color (mostly people who had only seen it in car show photos) but I was lucky enough to see one in person (the first, and until me I understand the only, such car in NorCal) and really liked it. I cannot count the number of times strangers have seen it in a parking lot and complimented me on it. The gfriend just rolls her eyes, now, it happens so much. It meant waiting an extra 8+ weeks for a special order from Germany, but it was worth it.