Just got off the phone with Steve over at Hopup. Great guy to do business with. I was just going to order the B&G springs but I asked about the Hotchkis TVS1 since it looked like a pretty good package. He said he didn't know anyone with it but that the Hotchkis sways were killer. I guess him and joust are pretty good friends and Joust says with the Hotchkis sways and B&G springs he was on rails. That was about all it took. B&G springs will be here Tues. Sways a few days later. Thanks again Steve. A++ customer service.

 

BTW any tips/tricks for installing these?

 

Anybody?

 

There's really no tricks to installing the springs and sways. Mine took just under 2 hours with the requisite ********ting session thrown in.

I find the best way to remove the front shock/spring is to take out the two bolts that hold the upper control arm to the chassis. Makes the job so easy.

 

I just got to ask why you didn't go with the whole Hotchkis package that was engineered together??

 

I can vouch for this. I had the B+G springs already and I was happy. When I put on the sways, I didnt think it could get better but it did. Its a great combo!!!

 

I have the Hotchis springs, waiting on the sways to arrive. Has anyone installed both yet? The springs are linear, with a small drop. Will be doing install sometime over next two-three weeks, will feedback then.

Greg

 

If you have a Borla Dual, You are going to have to unbolt the left rear muffler sleeve that attaches to themuffler or else you wont be able to get in the sway bar. Also watch out for the grounding attachement. They didnt disconnect this before the exhaust so it snapped when the muffler came down.

Its really an easy install. I reccomend using the stiffest settings. Its easy to adjust if you want to soften it later

 

I installed my sways without having to remove any of my Borla. It's difficult, but if you work the bar in the proper direction you can get in out and slide the new one in. It's just like a big jig saw puzzle.

 

I wish I had the tools and the lift then I would have been doing it myself. Then maybe we wouldnt have had to unbolt my Borla!


Oh how nice it would be to have a well equipped garage!!!

 

MIAPlaya

Actually. 350Zteve unbolted the upper A-Arms - It is mutch quicker and easier to remove the Upper A-Arm Ball Joint...

I have Hotchkis Springs And Sways plus Koni's front and Rear.

Koni's set full soft. Hotchkis Front middle hole - rear Softest near end of bar. 58% over stock front, 62% over stock rear.

We made many changes.. This is best for street. Cheers Amy -

 

I have a wide variety of tools, but I have no lift. I did the Spring, Sways, and even the Cat install with a set of jackstands.

 

I've got both on my Z right now. I've had the springs for a couple of weeks and sways for a week or so. Overall, I'm happy but there's one small issue. The rear left spring has "settled" too much by 1/2" (compared to the back right), causing the front right to be 1/4" higher than the front left. While I don't really care about the asthetics related to a drop - I did track it to make sure everything worked as stated. Initially the car dropped 1/2" front and 3/4" rear, but then the back left kept dropping. Hotchkis has been excellent in dealing with this and new springs are on the way.

The springs really help the ride. They're stiffer but less harsh at the same time. I still feel that jiggle (side-side) when I hit a bump in a turn, but I think the OEM tires are not helping much here. If anything, the Hotchkis package has pronounced the OEM shock lack of rebound control. They let you push the car that much harder, but if you hit a few bumps in a turn, WOAH! Lots of extra movement going on.

I've got the sways on middle front and rear, and IMO they reduce some of the sway but not as much as expected. I'm thinking of going full stiff up front.

I don't want to be too critical b/c alignment has not yet been done. I've been assured that the springs won't drop too much to prevent the rear from getting back into spec. I'm doubtful b/c I can say that the front now has at least one degree of negative camber which will not be possible to dial out. It should work well for AutoX though (and stay legal as I didn't actually play with OEM alignment settings to get that camber). However, I'm hoping that the rears can brought back to spec though.

 

Thanks for all the great help. I was planning on running the Sways on middle in the front and full stiff in the rear. I dont have a whole lot of experience with RWD coming from the Spec-V/Sentra crowd. Over there you usually ditch or dont even buy a front sway and set your rear sway to full stiff. Of course a FWD has a lot more understeer. With the Z I was kinda worried that running too stiff in the back will make slide more. Good for flossin. Bad for racing. Is it really that easy to adjust the rear sways. Like could I do this at a track or would I need to do it the night before? Also the reason why I went with the B&G springs is that they are progressive springs. I've had bad experiences with linear drops. Also I've noticed the progressive springs ride more like stock when you're not thrashing your ride. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong though.

 

Anyone with Injen exhaust installed the hotchkis sway bars?

 

Bump

 

Didn't I mention full Hard in rear will radicaly change your handling? I might not have been CLEAR !

Please talk to the track people... Stillen - John Hotchkis - Mario Andretti..

Cheers Amy -

You might just wan't to be able to kick the Azz end out when you need the extra Omph in a turn...

Edit - Opps maybe you are a Straight line Racer like Drag Strip only... Then It does not matter.

 

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wow - you said a lot.. Yes Sir Hotchkis will back up thier product.

With my Hotchkis rear springs there is no height problem. But the side to side Jiggle is apparent. I belive it is not the springs. I'm on full soft 62% over stock on the rear. This is Independent rear suspension. I think if you go too firm in the rear, the Independent rear suspension will be negated. Put in a Mustang rear end and be done with it. Ha !

Cheers Amy -