Here is our modded stock bar vs the new Sikky bar.
The Sikky bar fit perfectly. As you can see, being the same diameter means it is a direct replacement for the stock part.
We put the bar in the stiffest position. By adjustment only this is about 30% stiffer than stock. The amount of stiffness due to the wall thickness increase is not known but I would say this will probably add another 30-50% in stiffness.
When test-driving the car, the difference with the new front bushings was amazing. The bushings give much more steering feel and precision while the new bars eliminate much of the perceived body roll, combined the two make the car feel like a whole new car. The handling which was never that bad just took another notch of improvement. We were really surprised at how much better the already good car got with these simple mods. With our revalved and resprung KW V3 coil overs, our daily transportation sedan now feels track-ready. The overall balance of the car is better although it is still a little tail-happy for the wife, we think its great the way it is now. We could dial things back by putting the rear bar in the full soft position but we like it this way!
Overall the mods we did have resulted in an IS-F that rides smoother than stock but handles much better. In fact, this is one of the best-handling sedans we have yet to drive even if it is now about 12 years old.
3 comments
It’s strange to me how endlinks are never in double shear on both sides. I imagine this is to prevent binding, but couldn’t you just design it with a clevis on the swaybar end?
Seems like it would improve the response of the bar.
The heim jointed end links used (above pic) have no give when loaded, and offer the same response as a double shear link would.
Some manufacturers rate their bars, in lb/in, usually done on a test rig with no bushings, one end pinned and loaded on the other end.
On a custom application with a 1.13″ dia bar with long arms, we found that the rate based on the Puhn formula was almost twice the rate measured rate with poly bushings. We determined the difference was due to rigid body deflection of the bar, that only needed a few mils of deflection at the bushings.