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Summary table of swaybar options

20K views 80 replies 30 participants last post by  BradCTSV 
#1 ·
I originally put this over on the CTS forum, as I was trying to find out what the base and Sport CTS swaybar diameters were. I ended up getting the measurements myself from a couple of cars that were at Lindsay when I was there with my car. Still not positive on the CTS diameters - it would be interesting to check the parts database to see if there are different part numbers for front and rear on the base and Sport models. Just seems strange that they would "upgrade" by only 1mm, but that's what the vernier caliper said.

The Hotchkis and Addco bars are advertised in inch units, while the GMPP and Eibach bars are advertised in millimeters, so I converted them all to make them easier to compare.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Diam. (in). . . Diam.(mm) . . . Construction . . Comments
Hotchkis CTS-V front . .. 1-1/4 . . . . .. 31.75 . . . . . . . tubular .. . . . . Sold as front/rear kit (2280)
Hotchkis CTS-V rear . . . 1 . . . . . . .. . 25.40 . . . . . . . ?

Hotchkis CTS front . . . . 1-3/16 . . . . . 30.16 . . . . . . . tubular .. . . . . Sold as front/rear kit (2279)
Hotchkis CTS rear . .. . . 13/16 . . . .. . 20.64 . . . . . . . ?

Addco CTS-V front . . .. 1-3/8 . . . . . . 33.66 . . . . . . . solid . . . . . . . 2290
Addco CTS-V rear . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . 25.40 . . . . . . . solid . . . . . . . 2289

Addco CTS front . . . . . 1-1/8 . . . . . . 28.58 . . . . . . . solid . . . . . . . 2200
Addco CTS rear . . . .. . 7/8 . . . . . .. . 22.23 . . . . . . . solid . . . . . . . 2201

Eibach front . . . . . . . . 1.10 . . . . .. . 28.00 . . . . . . . tubular . . . . . Sold as front/rear kit (3878.320) or individually (3878.310 front, 3878.312 rear)
Eibach rear . . . .. . . . . 0.87 . . . . .. . 22.00 . . . . . . . tubular

GMPP front . . . . . . . . . 1.38 . . . . .. . 35.00 . . . . . . . hollow . . . . . . No longer available
GMPP rear . . . .. . . . . . 0.94 . . . . .. . 24.00 . . . . . . . solid

Stock CTS-V front . . . . 1.04 . . . . .. . 26.50 . . . . . . . tubular (?)
Stock CTS-V rear . . .. . 0.83 . . . . .. . 21.00 . . . . . . . solid (?)

Base CTS front . . . . . . 0.91 . . . . .. . 23.00 . . . . . . . tubular (?)
Base CTS rear . . . .. . . 0.63 . . . . .. . 16.00 . . . . . . . (?)

Sport CTS front . . .. . . 0.91 . . . . .. . 23.00 . . . . . . . tubular (?)
Sport CTS rear . . . . . . 0.63 . . . . .. . 16.00 . . . . . . . (?)
 
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#41 ·
Once I get the Addco installed and drive it for a few days, I'll let you know. The entire weight (including the box) of the Hotchkis sway bar set is 29 lbs, so if I don't perceive a benefit to having the Addco, I'm sticking with the Hotchkis. That said, I expect good things from the Addco...it's something that looks like it was built for a 4,000 lb car that can pull 1.15+ G lateral turns.
 
#43 ·
i have addco sways , the mounts that they come with ARE GARBAGE they squeak and make weird noises coming from the front BUT i will add on stock suspension with 56k on my car switches lanes with precision, i will say body role was eliminated by approx 65-75% ive installed hotchkis sways on a budies v and i will say those were better quality but only made it about 30-45% better... both made huge improvements.
 
#44 · (Edited)
Agreed on the bushings. The ones bundled in the kit don't have Zerk grease fittings, and I imagine that they do squeak when they get dry. That's why I purchased 35mm Energy Suspension bushings (9-5173R) with Zerk fittings and Prothane SuperGrease (19-1751). The latter will also go well with the Revshift / Delrin subframe bushings.

Don't agree on the quality of the swaybars. The Hotchkis ones have a nicer, powdercoated finish, but as far as the material properties of the sway bars go, I don't think you can make an authoritative statement on that unless you've actually broken a set or two like Brian (PISNUOFF).
 
#47 ·
Fuzzy, are you trying to fix something that you don't like about the Hotchkis setup? Or are you just looking for something new to try?
I've read a few posts from people that say their Vs tended to push with the Front and Rear Hotchkis bars. Trying to figure out which way I would want to go in the future.
 
#48 ·
I'm just experimenting at this stage (also with dual-rate coilover springs--thread link). The Hotchkis setup is just a little too soft for my cornering tastes, and I want to see if I can feel the difference with a bigger front sway bar. If I like it, I may buy the solid rear bar too.

With regarding to the people complaining about push, I wonder if a) they lowered their cars at the same time as they installed their sway bars, messing up their alignments and b) if the push isn't largely due to the crappy front control arm bushings. When I installed the TiC 95A trailing arm bushings (now also sold by Revshift), the rear end really stayed with me through corners are lot better. Small wonder, since the stock 60A rubber bushing was almost as soft as a pencil eraser. The front control arm bushings are even worse.
 
#51 ·
Well the goal was to get in the ballpark of the no longer produced GMPP sways. The front matches up nicely, 1.38 GMPP vs 1.375 Addco (assumed identical wall thickness). The rear is a little different in that the GMPP is .94 solid and the Addco is 1.0 tubular. That is the one I'm a little worried about but I wanted to start with something a little milder than the 1" solid. If I don't like it I will go with the solid.

But in general most of the torsional strength comes from the outer diameter (gross simplification). If the hollow bar had a wall thickness of .25" then the hollow bar in this case would have a torsional strength of a about 80% of the solid bar strength (2290 vs 2247). At least that what I came up with. It's been a while since my ME classes.

If I was going super aggressive I would have gone with solid front and rear.
 
#53 ·
Last I checked there was still a set of GMPP sways for sale in the classifieds for $500.
 
#60 ·
My Addco rear bar is arriving today to replace my Hotchkis rear bar. Although they're both 1" in diameter, the Addco is a solid-core bar, making it 35-40% stiffer (although triple the weight). Once I get the KW Variant 3's installed and fitted against the Addco front bar (there's a concern about clearance), I'll let you know what I think.
 
#61 ·
Just installed the Addco 2290 front (1.375" solid core, ~110% stiffer than stock, 28.5 lbs) and 2289 rear (1" solid core, ~125% stiffer than stock, 14.4 lbs) sway bars. I'm using Energy Suspension brackets and bushings, since the hardware included by Addco doesn't include Zerk grease fittings. While heavy, I'm loving the roll resistance that they provide. Definitely need to get my car re-aligned--it's pushing pretty hard out of turns right now. Toe settings are about -0.1 degrees front (toe in) and +0.3 degrees rear (toe out). Will probably have that adjusted to 0 degrees front (neutral) and +0.1 degrees rear (toe out) to compensate.

The stiffness numbers that I provided above are estimates, based on my previous equipment: Hotchkis 2280 front (1.125" hollow core, 70% stiffer than stock, 9.0 lbs) and rear (1" hollow core, 90% stiffer than stock, 7.4 lbs) sway bars. I think the majority of the additional stiffness that the Addco rear bar provides is a result of its straighter construction. Every bend in the bar reduces its overall torsional stiffness. Comparison image:


Hotchkis 2280 rear bar (top), Addco 2289 rear bar (bottom)
 
#63 ·
Fuzzylogic-

What is your driving impression of the Addco vs Hotchkis swaybars? I've have the LG Motorsport coilovers and am looking for less body roll. Also I have the CS 8.8 diff...since I don't remember how the rear swaybar is located in relation to the diff, hoping the Addco would fit with any interference.
 
#64 ·
The 8.8 should work fine with the Addco bar. If you're really concerned, maybe we can figure out how to get some comparison measurements.

The Hotchkis set is a little more balanced front-to-rear than the Addco set, which has a pretty massive front bar. Personally, I like the Addco set a lot better, because unlike other people, I adjust my spring rates and engineer my alignment settings to put the finishing touches on my car's front/rear roll stiffness and propensity to oversteer/understeer.

The biggest problem is that the stock brackets don't include grease Zerks. The Hotchkis brackets are better, both because they have Zerk fittings and the front bracket is a standard shape that relies on the included steel standoffs to "fix" our effed up mounting location. If you can machine or work metal, the Addco brackets might not be a problem for you--you could easily buy a set of Energy Suspension brackets to replace the Addco crap.
 
#72 ·
So are you saying that if I buy a set of Addco bars right now, that the brackets won't work as supplied?
Would you mind listing or linking to the specific Energy Suspension brackets that you ended up using with your Addco bars?

After seeing a few action shots from our last autox I really want to get larger swaybars, I just haven't had time to research them for myself. Thanks!
 
#73 ·
The included brackets will work. They'll just be a royal pain to grease, since they don't have Zerks. I don't have the Energy Suspension part numbers at the moment. If you're in a hurry, use the part selector on Summit Racing to pick out a universal, greasable 1.375" and 1.0" kit. They come in red and black, I believe.
 
#76 ·
Fuzzy, I like all of the data and the methodology you've used in changing your setup. That said, do you have any track times for comparison or just going by feel?
 
#80 ·
Anyone know where I could get a set of replacement GMPP front sway bushings?
 
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