Upgrading the sway
bars, or simply installing sway bars is a very cost effective way to
drastically improve the handing of any car. I've outlined the
installation of Eibach's sway bar kit.
Eibach's kit requires factory installation points.
Most top trim civic's came with front sway bars. The Civic EX
four door came with front and rear bars. Any other civic will
need front lower control arms from either an Integra or Si/EX model
and a rear lower control arms from an Integra or Civic EX four door.
Tools Necessary
- socket set
- Combination wrenches (box wrench)
- Jack and Jack Stands
Your best bet would be to lay out all of your
parts and make sure you have everything you need. For my
civic, I needed all of the rear sway bar hardware and lower control
arms. For the front, I had everything that I needed since my
hatchback was equipped with a front bar.
Front Bar Install
Raise the front and secure it with jack
stands.
Remove the end links that are attached to the
control arms.
Remove the D-brackets that hold the sway bar
to the subframe. Before you can remove the sway bar, you will
need drop the exhaust and shift linkage.
 
Take a moment and check out the difference in
the size. The stock front bar is 20mm and the Eibach bar is
25mm.
  
Slide the new bar into place, you can reattach
the exhaust and shifter at this time.
Eibach supplies a spacer to properly shim the
new bar. I had to grind out the holes in order to get get the
bolts to line up properly. Mounting the front bar took quite a
bit of effort. I had to use a jack to put enough pressure on
the clamp and bushing in order to get the nut and bolt attached.
Attach the end links with the new hardware
included with the kit.
If you need to swap out the control arms, all
you need to do is pop the lower ball joint, remove all of the
hardware and slide the new arms in place.
 
Rear Bar Install
Raise and secure the back of the vehicle.
If you are upgrading to a larger bar, it is as
simple as removing the stock bar, swapping all of the mounting
hardware and reinstalling.
Eibach's rear bar is 17mm. Since I did
not have a rear bar, I could not compare the size. If I
remember correctly, the stock rear integra bar is 14mm and the stock
civic EX 4dr bar is 11mm.
For my rear sway bar install, I had to
pick up lower control arms with sway bar mounting holes drilled.
You can pick up arms from a 4dr EX civic or an integra. If you
are ordering bushings to go along with the control arms, note which
arms you have. The civic's bushings are smaller.
In the pic below, you will see all of the
hardware necessary to install the sway bar. To save some
money, try to locate used parts. More than likely, the kit
will only include the bar and bar's bushings.
Every 5th gen civic I've ever seen has always
had the sway bar mounting brackets predrilled and tapped. You
can see them in the pics below
Attach the sway bar bracket to the uni-body
  
Assemble the sway bar with all of the mounting
hardware and attach it to the mounting brackets.
  
Finally, attach the end links to the lower
control arms.
I would take a moment and double check all of
the bolts, nuts or any other hardware to make sure they've been
tightened properly. Driving
Impressions The sway bar upgrade was
worth every penny. Prior to installing the bar, I was having
problems lifting a front tire through hard cornering. This was
drastically reducing the effectiveness of my Quaife differential.
With the new bars installed, body roll has been drastically reduced.
The added bonus is that my Quaife diff works properly given the fact
that all four tires are staying on the ground.
Probably the most noticeable advantage, or I
should say unnoticeable advantage, is that the ride quality has not
been compromised. The bars are virtually invisible until you
need them.
Again, one of the best upgrades you can do to! |
