Could you tell any difference in the bushings?

When I installed the Hotchkis sways...I was wondering why we need to replace the fronts...the oe bushings seem like they were already urethane or something similar. I went ahead and put the hotchkis ones in anyway. But if they get noisey i'll put the oe's back in.

 

I don't know about the EVO's but the Hotchkiss use the stock front mounts with urethane bushings. I grabbed a couple of 10mm grease fittings from the hardware store and installed them into the stock mounts at the very bottom. I drilled out the bushings to match and installed the assembly. I give them a squirt every couple of months when I'm doing an oil change, works just fine.

 

i <3 my cusco's... really made the car feel solid and on rails.

i have my fronts set on medium setting.. no noise issues. they're heavy tho- so if you're looking for a weight savings over stock? this isnt the one for you.. but beefy aint bad especially when the weight is so lower on the car..

you can see my cusco images here...
http://www.z33driver.com/images/cusco/


i've installed the hotchkis bars on a g35. those are really nice too and for the price u can't go wrong... just get the collars from McMaster....

 

Does Cusco make for G35 too, should be the same right? How does the Hotchkis compare to Cusco far as quality, weight, etc.

 

will anyone ever make an infinitely adjustable swaybar?

a track buddy has one on his mini cooper... it is noisy (bushings), but the adjustability is golden..

 

i believe the sway bars for the G and the Z are the same...

quality? well i always prefer JDM over US.. but the hotchkis ones are good too... i'm not quite sure what u mean by 'quality' you mean the welds?

Wild350z (tony) works as the bender for hotchkis.. he stands by his work. the only thing i'd suggest is getting those mcmaster collars. thats it. they're hollow and the rear's are adjustable in setting.. but if ur like me and rarely adjust your sways.. i'd just leave it after i get use to it.

the hotchkis are lighter. if you want lightest.. i think those nismo bars are the lightest..

 

To the people who have experienced squeaking on the 350evo's do you have the old bushings? I think they changed their design at some point. Mine have been silent and trouble free since I bought them. I've never re-greased them.
The only minor complaint I had on them was that I have to disconnect that front shocks to make clearance to adjust them. After having played with all the settings though, I just keep it on medium so it's not a problem any longer, and it only requires the removal of one bolt.
The rear straight bar design hangs a little lower than the hotchkis so I've scraped it a couple of times.
Otherwise I couldn't be happier with the handling/balance of the car.

 

by quality I mean the strength of the bars....they don't break do they?
where do you suggest to purchase the collar and sways?

 

KenWH,

No, I couldn't tell any difference between the two bushings. There isn't much material there. The 350EVO bushings were very hard, they would push out the grease within two weeks and then they would squeak. It wasn't a big deal to just use the stock bushings. I'm totally happy with the bar.

daveh,

I've seen previous posts saying you have to remove the shocks to adjust the 350EVO bar... but I've adjusted mine several times, never having to remove my shocks. Are you removing the end links from the bar on both sides, prior to adjustment?

For what it's worth, I'm not sure whether the middle or stiffest setting is best for our region's typical A/X course... I keep going back and forth. The same track surface, same basic course length and layout.

BC

 

I have had my 350EVO bars for almost a year, have never re-lubed the bushings, and I have never heard a peep from them. Maybe I'm just lucky?

 

What are McMaster collars and where can I purchase them? Also, I have an aftermarket exhaust, will this cause issues with the hotchkis sawys?

 

http://www.mcmaster.com/ Sorry I can't remember the part #'s, but you can find them by searching. You'll need two seperate sizes as the front and rear bars are different diameters.

The rear bar clears my HKS duals fine so I don't think you will have a problem with your exhaust.

 

Search is your friend!! (actually this stuff you should check out the Suspension/Braking Forum)

https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....t=hotchkis+fix

 

well, mine don't squeak at all, they clunk.

my collars are also on the opposite side of the picture you posted.

i think the problem is my collars are set too far apart, and need to be closer to the brackets.

they do not clunk while on medium, only full stiff.

 

I bet your end links are toasted. I fiddled with collars and regreasing, even checked to make sure nothing was rolling around in the spare tire well. On inspection I never got any free play out of the old links, but bought some new ones just because of the noise. They're cheap ($13.00 or so each) and the factory replacement units had bigger ball joints than the stockers. It's worth a try.

 

I don't understand what the collars are supposed to do? Can someone clarify?

Are our stock end links fine? I know on the Subaru WRX they're plastic or something =\

 

The collars keep the Hotchkiss bars from moving laterally. A lot of the bars have flanges on them that keeps them centered, but the Hotchkiss don't. Mine became noisy, too, and re-greasing them quieted them down immediately. I'm going to add the grease fittings as described above. I haven't tried the 350Evos, but the Hotchkiss are a huge improvement over stock.
Installed coilovers, yet? (hint-hint)

 

I've had my 350EVO bar on for over two years... the bushings must've been the old formula. Like I said, no biggie, I just used the stock ones. The 350EVO bar came with collars. The bar is a fine unit.

BC

 

I've asked a few people with the bars about this. Some say they have to remove a shock some say they don't. BJ told me that it is not uncommon. I'm not sure why some cars would differ.
Last night I re-installed a koni shock I noticed that I my bushings were in dire need of greasing. There was some stiction, but no noise. I have tried full stiff up front for road coarse work and I found it to be too stiff over the bumpy stuff. It would kick back the steering wheel on me. Med gives me just the right amt of compliance and force. I used full soft on a rainy day which also worked out well.

 

you don't have to remove the shocks. just undo both endlinks first.. from the sway AND the control arm. then put the endlinks into the position on the sway bar.. and reattach to control arm. takes 10 minutes tops.