Installed Cobb Sways Yesterday - Review and installation summary

Hi all,

 

I set aside several hours yesterday to install my brand new Cobb Front and Rear Sway Bars and reinforcements. This is a short write-up on the install, recommendations for time/headache savings, and lessons learned.

 

The drive & review of Cobb Sway Bars (install notes below)

 

As soon as I left the garage, it was obvious. I'm one of those guys who notices every little thing about my car. Immediately the steering was different. It turned in more immediately, was much crisper in it's steering placement and the car felt solid. The driveway I was leaving is in terrible condition and I noticed no decrease in ride quality going down it.

 

I drove around quite a bit yesterday with my wife and I. I'm going to go against the grain here and point out the biggest benefit to these Sway Bars:

 

The stock seats are finally perfectly suited. Previously my 5'10 180 pound frame would slide right out of the seats under everyday turning. No more. I feel securely planted in the seat even under hard times. It has greatly improved my happiness with these comfortable seats and day-to-day driving.

 

Lean is gone. Not like Porsche Boxster S gone...the car will lean a hair and then just stop. You just feel it start to move and then go solid. It's incredibly satisfying, because you still get the feeling of the car transitioning but then all the nastiness of body lean/roll is gone. It feels like a sports sedan should, except that it highlights the lack of damping. If you are going 45-50mph and quickly turn your wheel left-right-left, you'll feel the car squiggle under it's lack of damping. It's not at all a bad thing....the car was under-damped stock, but you wouldn't notice it because the car couldn't transition as quickly. Now it just highlights it....

 

The effect of these sway bars on everyday driving is dramatic. You drive more comfortably everywhere, you drive faster down windy roads because it feels so much better. This isn't just a modification that shows improvement when taking a corner at 7/10ths or beyond....this tightens the car up. The steering going straight feels about the same...maybe more steady, less twitchy. But as soon as you enter the slightest turn, it just feels planted.

 

Let me be clear: Stock, the LGT feels like a Honda Accord in any form of corners. I did NOT enjoy driving it on anything other than straightaways. With the Cobb Sway Bars, I finally own my Sports sedan...whether the handling limits went up or not does not matter to me...the subjective feel of the car has improved dramatically in almost all conditions with no adverse effects.

 

The wife and I (it's her car) took it out last night and she was whipping it around turns with a grin on her face. She actually felt like the ride quality improved on back-roads, as it rode smoothly but without the side-to-side undulations. She liked how it turned even when going through a stop-sign intersection and making a left. She commented on the steering feel and confidence of the drive.

 

To put it another way: If you've ever read a review of an LGT owner going from stock/stage 1 engine tuning to Stage 2 and saying "This is how the car should've come stock.".....Well, this is how the car's suspension should have come stock. Without a doubt. Just beef up the sway bars.

 

I have only taken the car to 8/10ths (which, lets face it, is not that high with the re92s)....it's fairly neutral. It feels like if I continue pushing it it will enter into very light understeer which could be easily corrected by putting the power down. It felt very comfortable entering the upper limits, and the rear felt much more active and controllable.

 

The Install

 

I used a $20 Pepboys Jack (2-ton) and a 2 1/2 ton Jack stand. I'd recommend using a superior Jack for the additional height possible. I was using my in-laws garage and had intended to Jack up the car onto some huge slabs of tree my father-in-law had lying around for the ultimate in lifted security. Then I was going to take a picture showing the Subaru sitting on slabs of cut-tree with me holding an Ax. Couldn't get the height for the wheels.

 

Nevertheless, a cheap jack can get the job done but you are going to be uncomfortable...you spend alot of time in very hunched positions holding both hands above your heads (2 tools at once).

 

Here's a list of tools I would say are REQUIRED for a DIYer to get this done:

 

-Good jack and jack stands (duh)

-1/2" and 3/8" ratchets w/ a 1/2-3/8" transition socket and a 3/8" 3-inch extension

-Racheting wrench in various sizes....you are going to WANT at least a 12mm and 14mm racheting wrench

-Open and closed fixed-wrenches of various sizes

-Allen Wrench (I don't remember the size, so have a set)

-For Cobb, which includes a reinforcement bracket, you'll need to remove a big-ass 19mm bolt for which you'll most likely need a breaker bar.

-Torque wrench in 3/8" size if possible. Longer torque wrenches make it harder

-Cobb supplied grease is more than adequate and one of the tackiest, toughest greases I've EVER seen...

 

My install is rated thusly:

 

Difficulty: 4 out of 10 (where 1 is changing an air filter in most cars and 10 is changing a fuel pump or timing belt....something critical which I would seriously hesitate to do)

 

Frustration factor: 9 out of 10 (we'll get to that)

 

I set aside 2 1/2 hours to do this job. I took me around 4-5 hours including a test drive, searching for tools, and then trying to get...literally...the last bolt into place for 45 minutes.

 

The front sway bar was a piece of cake. Pop off the undertray (use a flat-tip screwdriver and a 3/8" drive ratchet on 3 screws). Take off the under-body brace...which, seriously, why the F%^k does this 2-pound metal brace need 10-14 fairly thick bolts to hold it in place? A little patience and it's all done.

 

The Front sway comes off easy as long as you have an allen wrench to fit in the end of the sway bar end-link bolt. This is critical...the bolt will just spin if you don't have it. But with an allen wrench and a ratcheting wrench, piece of cake. Putting the new front sway bar in is also a piece of cake. This area is fairly open, the new sway bar bushing brackets provided by Cobb fit perfectly, and it just tightens right up.

 

At this point, I drove the car out of the garage to turn it around. I could already tell the car was stiffer. It just wiggled less.

 

The rear. I didn't remove any mufflers or wheels. If I had to do it again, I would have the rear lifted using 3 jack-stands. 1 on the diff and 2 holding the side-frame rails. I'd remove the rear mufflers altogether and both wheels. This is overkill, but you'll understand why when I express my frustrating parts.

 

The rear is not too difficult to remove. You are supposed to disconnect the muffler from the Y-Pipe on one side. Piece of cake. 2 bolts. You remove the sway bar endlinks and bushing bolts and it pops right off. Negotiating it out is a PITA, but it still only took me about 1-2 minutes....you just need to figure out the angles and push the y-pipe to give it some clearance.

 

Putting the rear back in....Oh brother. First, try to get the rear into place with the wheels on. There's ALOT going on back there. It just don't want to get into place. Finally, you'll get it in place. The best thing to do at this point is put the rear sway bar bolt holes through the end-link bolts to hold 'er steady. Don't tighten the endlinks though. You want some wiggle room.

 

Now....with Cobb, you are supposed to install re-inforcement brackets that go through some big-ass bolts connected to the diff. The rear diff should be supported and you remove the bolts. I tried with my 1/2" ratchet to loosen those bolts and it wasn't moving...and I was running out of time set aside. So I skipped the re-inforcement brackets.

 

Let me be clear: I think it's fine to run the car without them. But they are a VERY smart design to increase the rigidity of where the sway bar bushings mount, which is clearly not rigid enough stock. I will get them installed at a shop at some point, as it should only take about 5-10 minutes with the car up on a lift.

 

When I went to bolt up the rear sway bar bushings with the new Cobb Bushing Straps, Cobb also provides a bushing mount reinforcement. It's a flat bar of solid metal that goes over-top the original mounting point and adds extra thickness. It went on the driver's side without too much issue. Took some finagling, but it worked.

 

Passenger side though....holy mother of all that is holy. I spent 30 minutes trying to get ONE bolt through the top of the sway bar bushing strap, cobb reinforcement plate, and stock mounting plate. The angles WOULD NOT line up. I finally quit cause my body was shaking so badly and I was getting cold and tired. A peanut butter sandwich, glass of milk, and I was ready to go again. I tried again without any luck and decided it was time to evaluate whether the parts looked right. I took the sway bar bushing strap off and felt like it would not line-up with the holes compared to the stock strap. The stock strap has a WONDERFUL "hook" on it that "locks it in" place before the bolts are even on. So I took off the Cobb reinforcement plate, took off the Cobb-supplied bushing strap, and bolted it back up as if it was stock (but with a larger sway bar and bushing). Worked pretty quickly....so maybe the Cobb parts were screwy, or maybe I couldn't get the right angle with the wheel and muffler in the way.

 

So I bolted it all up, tightened it all, and cleaned up before my test drive.

 

Final Note: I brought some extra super-duty chassis grease with me to grease the sway bar bushings and mounting points with. There was no need with this set. The Cobb supplied grease made my chassis grease look like elmer's glue. The Cobb stuff was FAR thicker, tackier, and obviously would last a helluva lot longer. I don't know what it was/is, but I only used it. Made my stuff feel like it wouldn't last a single rain storm.

 

 

Please let me know if you have any questions about this install. I'm very pleased (Obviously) and would highly recommend this set to anyone based upon my current experiences. I will get the re-inforcement brackets installed at some point, as I think they will help to secure the rear and prevent breakage....but we don't thrash this car, so I don't expect any problems from the extra stiffness.

 

Joe

Small Update: Couple hundred miles on it now and no problems with not installing the reinforcement brackets and upgraded mounting plate on pass. side. Still going to have a shop do it in the future (probably spring). but no clunks, sounds, or obviously signs of weakness.

 

Joe

Nice write-up, I have a COBB RSB (waiting for the front). When I put the rear bar on I left the reinforcements brackets off, A few months later I had the car on a lift and I saw that the drivers side stock bracket was bent, I wound up putting the COBB brackets on. I did feel a difference when they were on too. Can't wait to get the front bar.

Hi KM,

 

Thanks for the good info. When I was attempting to bolt the sway bar strap, cobb mounting plate, and stock bushing mounting point.....the stock bushing mounting bracket was literally bending at the bottom from my hand strength.

 

I can totally see how connecting that point to that 19mm bolt attachment would seriously strengthen that point.

 

Hmmm...i was going to wait until April/May when my inspection is due, but maybe the sooner the better.

 

Joe

I straigtened the strock bracket by hand. They are pretty weak. What setting do you have your rear bar set at?

I have the cobb front and rear sb's .... and wow what a difference... the car feels solid... !!

my perrin 22mm set will go in next yr in the spring, hopefully i see same results.

The weakest setting. We got a blizzard in PA today and my wife was driving home and said the car lost control going around a turn (she blamed it on ice). She almost hit another car.

 

Lets see how long she is ok with running those re92s now

 

 

Joe

Yikes! Glad she didn't hit anybody.

 

That's something everyone's got to keep in mind with upgrading the bars you will likely have more over steer vs. stock even with a matched set of aftermarket bars. Especially when traction gets to be less than ideal.

 

Cheers!

I talked to her about it last night. She asked if the car was more likely to do that due to sway bars. I explained it thusly:

 

Stock, the car's front end is more likely to be the part that starts to slide. With the sway bars, it makes the car more neutral. The rear is now almost as likely to slide as the front of the car. But it didn't necessarily make either end MORE likely to slide period.

 

She explained it to me as the car started to slide, and not the rear end. I think she hit a patch of surprise ice, or the re92s gave out at 38 degrees on wet pavement during a normal turn.

 

Joe

Great write up...I am pumped! I think I will have someone more qualified do the install. I can watch...

TPLGT - It is so easy to do the front I'd feel guilty having someone else do it (if you are the type of person to do your own oil changes and maybe a set of brake pads). Just make sure you have the right tools up front, instead of scrounging for them in the middle of the install like me.

 

The rear was a PITA for me, no doubt about it. There's at least one member on here who says he can swap out the rear sway bar with the car un-lifted in about 20 minutes. I was not up to that level. If I had taken off the rear mufflers (2 bolts and some wiggling of exhaust hangers per muffler) and the rear wheels, I think the job would've been far easier than I made it. 20 extra minutes of taking things off for alot less frustration and easier time working in the area.

 

That being said, I would have someone do the rear (with Cobb reinforcements, which pretty much require an impact gun to get those 19mm bolts off) for $50

 

Joe

Nice write up.

 

I'll definitely get a set in the spring.

thanks for the writeup and install pointers. I was thinking of getting a set in the spring when I put on my pinks/bilsteins.

 

though the re92's may be the culprit, i feel like new sway bars will make you re-learn snow driving. from what I can gather on how they work, it basically is twisting the car to have less weight on one wheel and shifting it to the other. so instead of having one wheel with good grip and one with crappy grip, you just have two with so-so grip. dunno how this would affect the winter driving, though, as I've never tried.

Hardest part is probably getting the mufflers back on if you took them off their hangers but definately a good write up.

I unbolted both my mufflers. The rear is a pain, but not really difficult. It would have been a breeze with a lift and air tools for the subframe bolts. Torquing the rear endlinks was insteresting too. I ended up snugging them under the car then pulled a wheel and got them to spec from outside. Results may very depending on how long your torque wrench is.

FYI, you can easily rotate the rear end of the car now. I've entered into over-steer a few times, easier than I expected, whereas stock I don't think I ever actually over-steered.

 

I imagine driving in the snow will involve very careful turning, and a solid foot on the throttle to keep the car straight in some situations. Bear in mind that the car isn't oversteer prone, it's just pretty much neutral. You can make it under or oversteer based upon how you drive....

 

Stock, you could make it more neutral but it required overly aggressive driving to get it to oversteer.

 

Joe

i think this review sealed my decision on what sway bar setup i want

Have them on for over a week now and it just transformed the car. It's fun to drive....I've taken turns I never would've dared before because it was too difficult to place the car where I wanted. Now, it's point and shoot.

 

Just to emphasize this again though: Once these sways are on, you'll notice how poorly dampened the car is. You'll notice how much it needs a little lower, stiffer spring. I could most likely enjoy my car forever just like it is (with new tires one day too), but the sways do make you realize how much more the suspension/steering could be improved.

 

They also make you curse the day re92s were developed. I was not a "re92s are the worst thing ever" type of guy before the sways...now, again, it made me realize their weakness much like the sways made me realize the weakness of the stock dampers (moreso).

 

We'll see what a set of UHPAS in 225/45/17 do in 20,000 miles.

 

Joe

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I just installed Bilsteins so I bet these Cobb sways will compliment them nicely.

 

Have them on for over a week now and it just transformed the car. It's fun to drive....I've taken turns I never would've dared before because it was too difficult to place the car where I wanted. Now, it's point and shoot.

 

Just to emphasize this again though: Once these sways are on, you'll notice how poorly dampened the car is. You'll notice how much it needs a little lower, stiffer spring. I could most likely enjoy my car forever just like it is (with new tires one day too), but the sways do make you realize how much more the suspension/steering could be improved.

 

They also make you curse the day re92s were developed. I was not a "re92s are the worst thing ever" type of guy before the sways...now, again, it made me realize their weakness much like the sways made me realize the weakness of the stock dampers (moreso).

 

We'll see what a set of UHPAS in 225/45/17 do in 20,000 miles.

 

Joe

From what i understand, the bilsteins will properly damp the car. Can't wait to see your review.

Will Do...

Where did you get your set? find any deals?

Where did you get your set? find any deals?

 

i think im going to buy them this week:cool: