Swift spring & Whiteline F&R sways + RCK
Aug 12, 2010, 07:20 PM
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Swift spring & Whiteline F&R sways + RCK
One of the biggest selling points for me in buying a Evo was the mod-ability and after market support. Also I'm big into DIY, it's so damn rewarding when you do it yourself. So with my X I wan't to start with all the little things before I start chasing the power dragon. When it came to suspension coil-overs weren't really an option at the start, I wanted to get the basics taken care of before I drop a large amount of money on them and get them set up properly, I know some will say it's a waste of money because I'm just having to pay twice but if you look at from my point of view which was for $2000 I can get coil-overs or for $2000 I cant get springs, swaybars, roll center kit and wheels 
.
I decided on going with Swift springs because of the mild drop since it seemed as most people reported on improvements in handling with out sacrificing shock life. Next was for sway bars and I went with Whiteline, they have a good history and for value you can't beat it. My only concern was bar walking, their seems to be some fixes but I'm not sure this will be a huge concern for a DD. Lastly was the Whiteline roll center kit, after talking with Muellerized this was a must. I told them overall driving dynamics and fun were my priority and wouldn't not compromise in performance one bit. So this is where I'm at.
I'll be doing the install in my garage and I've done springs and rear sways before, their a cake walk. However I'm not to confident on the front sway, I'm not going to disconnect the steering rack only because I read some people where able to get around this and I don't want to get stuck with a dead horse. I also am renting a bushing press from Kragen for the ball joints, it seems straightforward just maybe awkward and some patients will be needed. I also brought a bucket load of curse words, coors light, and cigarettes for moral support. Wish me luck :rock:
If any of you guys got some tips or tricks on dropping the sub frame that would be great. The Hotckis pdf for the front sway is corrupted, anyone have it saved? Feel free comment away. Thanks in advance.
happy happy joy joy
Almost forgot the obligatory crappy cell phone before pic.
After
Day one in the books.
Of course with any install with a car that is new to you (had a 09 Lancer GTS) you gonna run into things. Luckily these things were dumb stuff, like: getting that plastic crap that covers the battery and window washer fluid back together nice and flush. And sometimes it's something that is out of your power, like the rear Whiteline sway bar holes to the end-links being deformed!!!!! So, the passenger side end ling would not fit into the medium and hard setting and after 15 times of calling each other a retard we took the sway bar off and tried to push the end link straight into the hole and what do you know, we're not retards at all, Whiteline is. So I guess I gotta eat crow on choosing their product. Here's a pic of it, kinda hard to tell.
I went to my drill set and my only drill bits are standard units so the bit was either to big or to small. So we set it to the softest setting and I'll see if muellerized can fix it or may be Whiteline can come through. Other then that everything was pretty non dramatic except that I have a new least favorite tool in the world. EFF YOU mechanical spring compressor. This tool sucks! It takes so long to do so little, I'll point this was the first time I worked with one. I got the stupid tool stuck in the bindings of the coil and also against the strut. I wish I had a impact gun :P.
(I wanna make something clear that I wasn't that sure on. It's recommended that you cut the bumpstops down. But I didn't quite know how much to cut. It seemed like others just cut one hump off, so I decided to take a pic of the difference of the rear bumpstop. Not sure if this is how the pros do it but this is how we did it, not a lot but not to much.)
THIS IS WRONG, DO NOT CUT BUMPSTOPS LIKE THIS
After going over the bumpstop adjustment with John Mueller I was informed that this is the wrong way to cut off the bumpstops. If you notice the part I cut off is smaller in diameter, this is because the bumpstops work in conjunction with the strut and spring so when the strut is compressed the bumpstop add a progressive rate along with the spring. I thought the bumpstops rarely came into play but after my demo drive John he demonstrated that hard jolt when cornering and hitting bumps and dips were the bumpstops not doing their job properly. I will be getting a proper adjustment soon.
Completed items in day one.
Swift springs installed, all nuts torqued to factory specs and bumpstops cut down. Whiteline rear sway-bar installed on softest setting. I went to take a little drive just to enjoy a little bit of the fruits of my (should say out) labor. Now I know the car needs alignment so this is just a quick first impression. Ride height is very nice, not to slammed. Driving at speed the car is actually softer or has a more compliant ride, I like so far but is it to soft? Keep in mind I only have the rear sway bar in and it's at the softest setting. Took a mellow non dramatic turn and the car is definitely flatter but not race car Porsche flat. The rear wants to fallow you around but the front still feels mushy and under steering in mid corner. Something the front sway should fix. I also think the rear sway bar needs to be stiffer at this point but we'll see when it's all done. That's kinda all I want to add because this project is far from done. I'll try and add a pic of the new stance later.
Next up: Front sway bar and roll center kit (not looking forward to this one).
Day 2
Started with the Whiteline roll center adjustment Kit, now we'll be working on the lower half of the front suspension. You'll have to take the lower control arm out which isn't that bad, only 2 bolts. Next is the pita part, pushing out the oem ball joint. This is were the problem starts, we didn't notice it but the alignment of the adapter that the ball joint gets pushed into was barely off. What happend is we smashed the LCA into the ball joint and then the ball joint busted through the other side. I thought I was eff'd, had to run to Kragen to find a better adapter. Luckily we found one and we're able to press the old joint out. I had to do a little filing to the LCA to clean up what we smashed but everything turned out fine.
Here's the old ball joint, they both got pressed through.
Here's the new one's pressed in.
The tie rod is probably the easiest thing to put on. We didn't mess with the toe to much, just eye balled it. Cars getting dropped off tomorrow at Muellerized.
After we got everything back on we decided to not have a go on the front sway bar. These installs were time consuming and its tough just to get the gang together to lend a hand. Also I think it would be to sketchy to do with just 2 jack stands.
So took the car for a quick drive just to check things out. My steering wheel is left of center but it didn't pull so I figured it'd be ok to go around the block.
First thing I noticed is the steering is lighter and has a nice consistent feel to it. After the springs went in the steer got a little heavier and the wheel wants to straighten itself out more. With the RCK in the steering feels so much better and neutral, the steering wheel won't fight back at you when you corner and you get much better front end feel, it's doesn't feel as mushy or push as I stated the drive after my spring sway bar install.
Whiteline RCK is the icing on the cake, I highly recommend it to anyone who wants more car feel.
Next up is alignment and front sway bar.
. I decided on going with Swift springs because of the mild drop since it seemed as most people reported on improvements in handling with out sacrificing shock life. Next was for sway bars and I went with Whiteline, they have a good history and for value you can't beat it. My only concern was bar walking, their seems to be some fixes but I'm not sure this will be a huge concern for a DD. Lastly was the Whiteline roll center kit, after talking with Muellerized this was a must. I told them overall driving dynamics and fun were my priority and wouldn't not compromise in performance one bit. So this is where I'm at.
I'll be doing the install in my garage and I've done springs and rear sways before, their a cake walk. However I'm not to confident on the front sway, I'm not going to disconnect the steering rack only because I read some people where able to get around this and I don't want to get stuck with a dead horse. I also am renting a bushing press from Kragen for the ball joints, it seems straightforward just maybe awkward and some patients will be needed. I also brought a bucket load of curse words, coors light, and cigarettes for moral support. Wish me luck :rock:
If any of you guys got some tips or tricks on dropping the sub frame that would be great. The Hotckis pdf for the front sway is corrupted, anyone have it saved? Feel free comment away. Thanks in advance.
happy happy joy joy
Almost forgot the obligatory crappy cell phone before pic.
After
Day one in the books.
Of course with any install with a car that is new to you (had a 09 Lancer GTS) you gonna run into things. Luckily these things were dumb stuff, like: getting that plastic crap that covers the battery and window washer fluid back together nice and flush. And sometimes it's something that is out of your power, like the rear Whiteline sway bar holes to the end-links being deformed!!!!! So, the passenger side end ling would not fit into the medium and hard setting and after 15 times of calling each other a retard we took the sway bar off and tried to push the end link straight into the hole and what do you know, we're not retards at all, Whiteline is. So I guess I gotta eat crow on choosing their product. Here's a pic of it, kinda hard to tell.
I went to my drill set and my only drill bits are standard units so the bit was either to big or to small. So we set it to the softest setting and I'll see if muellerized can fix it or may be Whiteline can come through. Other then that everything was pretty non dramatic except that I have a new least favorite tool in the world. EFF YOU mechanical spring compressor. This tool sucks! It takes so long to do so little, I'll point this was the first time I worked with one. I got the stupid tool stuck in the bindings of the coil and also against the strut. I wish I had a impact gun :P.
(I wanna make something clear that I wasn't that sure on. It's recommended that you cut the bumpstops down. But I didn't quite know how much to cut. It seemed like others just cut one hump off, so I decided to take a pic of the difference of the rear bumpstop. Not sure if this is how the pros do it but this is how we did it, not a lot but not to much.)
THIS IS WRONG, DO NOT CUT BUMPSTOPS LIKE THIS
After going over the bumpstop adjustment with John Mueller I was informed that this is the wrong way to cut off the bumpstops. If you notice the part I cut off is smaller in diameter, this is because the bumpstops work in conjunction with the strut and spring so when the strut is compressed the bumpstop add a progressive rate along with the spring. I thought the bumpstops rarely came into play but after my demo drive John he demonstrated that hard jolt when cornering and hitting bumps and dips were the bumpstops not doing their job properly. I will be getting a proper adjustment soon.
Completed items in day one.
Swift springs installed, all nuts torqued to factory specs and bumpstops cut down. Whiteline rear sway-bar installed on softest setting. I went to take a little drive just to enjoy a little bit of the fruits of my (should say out) labor. Now I know the car needs alignment so this is just a quick first impression. Ride height is very nice, not to slammed. Driving at speed the car is actually softer or has a more compliant ride, I like so far but is it to soft? Keep in mind I only have the rear sway bar in and it's at the softest setting. Took a mellow non dramatic turn and the car is definitely flatter but not race car Porsche flat. The rear wants to fallow you around but the front still feels mushy and under steering in mid corner. Something the front sway should fix. I also think the rear sway bar needs to be stiffer at this point but we'll see when it's all done. That's kinda all I want to add because this project is far from done. I'll try and add a pic of the new stance later.
Next up: Front sway bar and roll center kit (not looking forward to this one).
Day 2
Started with the Whiteline roll center adjustment Kit, now we'll be working on the lower half of the front suspension. You'll have to take the lower control arm out which isn't that bad, only 2 bolts. Next is the pita part, pushing out the oem ball joint. This is were the problem starts, we didn't notice it but the alignment of the adapter that the ball joint gets pushed into was barely off. What happend is we smashed the LCA into the ball joint and then the ball joint busted through the other side. I thought I was eff'd, had to run to Kragen to find a better adapter. Luckily we found one and we're able to press the old joint out. I had to do a little filing to the LCA to clean up what we smashed but everything turned out fine.
Here's the old ball joint, they both got pressed through.
Here's the new one's pressed in.
The tie rod is probably the easiest thing to put on. We didn't mess with the toe to much, just eye balled it. Cars getting dropped off tomorrow at Muellerized.
After we got everything back on we decided to not have a go on the front sway bar. These installs were time consuming and its tough just to get the gang together to lend a hand. Also I think it would be to sketchy to do with just 2 jack stands.
So took the car for a quick drive just to check things out. My steering wheel is left of center but it didn't pull so I figured it'd be ok to go around the block.
First thing I noticed is the steering is lighter and has a nice consistent feel to it. After the springs went in the steer got a little heavier and the wheel wants to straighten itself out more. With the RCK in the steering feels so much better and neutral, the steering wheel won't fight back at you when you corner and you get much better front end feel, it's doesn't feel as mushy or push as I stated the drive after my spring sway bar install.
Whiteline RCK is the icing on the cake, I highly recommend it to anyone who wants more car feel.
Next up is alignment and front sway bar.
Oct 15, 2010, 09:24 AM
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I was hoping you could update us on the front sway bar install. I just purchased one, and I wanted to see what was all involved in the installation. I know this thread is already a couple months old, but the help would be appreciated.
Oct 15, 2010, 10:27 AM
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i think it has to take off the sub frame...and that is how my installer did it. i didn't know until i saw installed the rear sway bar and looked at the manual for the front.
Oct 17, 2010, 01:44 PM
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Good choice in hardware! I had the Swift Springs on my car, but I thought that the ride was a little too soft, and went ahead and went with KW V3's. Good choice on the RCA's, the performance that they deliver is incredible. On my car, I only went with a Robispec rear sway bar set to the second to the softest setting. I have little trust right now on the stock end links to handle anything stiffer.
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