Was wondering which is better and was wondering which everyone prefers. The eibach or addco front and rear sway bar. Also the car is bout to get lowered also on sportlines and agx's.(i know the agx's wont last long with the drop, but got them a really good price and i already have a blown stock shock.) Also im on 18's if that makes a difference
lots of people use the addco rear, including me. its always done a good job for me. i noticed a vast improvement the second i took the car out after install.
i am leaning towards possibly going with the solid mounted progress bar though as we have heard it to be a better choice due to its bolted solid to the axle design. the addco and eibachs are pretty much the same design at 25.4mm or 1" in diameter using poly. endlinks for connections. some have said the eibach is better, i dont know if i believe them though as it looks like the exact same bar to me.
the progress bar however is smaller in diameter.
stock z24's and ls sports come with a rear 'stabilizer' bar welded through the center of the rear axle beam. so these are just a nut hair better on paper. no idea if that flimsy little hollow bar does anything though.
as for the front i have an addco but i have yet to get it put on. lots of people usually just upgrade the 'd' bushings and the endlinks with energy suspension poly. units and love the new feel and leave it this way and are plenty happy. this of course can only be done on a car that comes so equipped stock. i do believe the 03-05's have a larger diameter in the FE3 version, dont quote me on that though.
im pretty sure the eibach needs the ends rounded otherwise they interfere with the axle boots. the addco is round on the ends so i dont think this is an issue with this bar. i could be wrong though.
Trailer Queen corvette wanna-be with 40 coats of wax and powdercoating that soaks in.
Who carries the Progress bar?
219whp - I <3 whine
Damn, i over looked it...
219whp - I <3 whine
yeah. not a whole lot of people have it let alone know about it.
im sure if one did a search some could be had on ebay and probably many other parts sources...
Trailer Queen corvette wanna-be with 40 coats of wax and powdercoating that soaks in.
I have Addco front and rear on my 4-door fire, and noticed a massive difference right from the start. and I had the FE2 front bar and I still noticed a difference.
Eibach front and rear and love the ride.
I had no issues with the Eibach front bar hitting the grease boot but other have.
I also made the cut into the bar like was noted by DarkStars but again wasn't necessary on my car to modify.
If you need some installation help, holler. I've got a nice write up on it and may explain a few things with doing the sway bars.
Misnblu.com
Newbie member since 1999
Thank you Dave and JBO! 
I would love some install help as well. I just recently got the eibach pro plus kit (front and rear sway bars, and pro springs) and am going to be instaling it within the next few weeks and would like to read this write up before I start digging in.
Thank You.
Sounds good.
Here is the rear setup which will probably be the easiest to install.
The pictures should be more than good enough to figure out how to install the bar.
Here are all the parts you'll need from the kit for the rear bar.
Make sure that the end links you use are the longer end links for the end of the bar because Eibach had made some packing issues with the endlinks being in the wrong package. You'll see the difference in the endlinks when you put them together.
Also try to lay out your setup like the picture to make it easier to install and to know you have all the right pieces.
Here is the rear bar installed on the car. Pictures should make it easy to understand how to install.
Make sure that you tighten up the end links enough to have them swell enough to match up to the edge of the washers. This way you know it's tight on there and doing the job.
Now for the front bar.
This is where it gets a bit more difficult.
The easiest way to do this is to have the subframe removed off of the car or at least loosened to the point that access to a factory bar (if it's on the car).
There should be 4 to 6 bolts that hole the subframe onto the car. Loosen them up so that the subframe loosens up on the chassis. Include the lower engine mount bolt that needs to be removed too for subframe removal.
Once done, remove the two bolts that hold on the power steering rack (can't miss it inside the subframe) so that it comes free of the subframe so you can drop the subframe. Also be aware of some brake lines that run alongside of the subframe as their retainers have to be released so again the subframe can be dropped.
Once done, the subframe should drop down with the help of a friend or like me, a good jack which can lower the subframe for you.
Remember those two bolts that was holding the power steering rack to the car, you'll need to cut the nipples off of these because they can interfere with the Eibach swaybars movement. Here's a pic of how I did it with my car.
Next, you'll need to use this to figure out all that has to be done to the bar to install. Thank you DarkStars for this.
There is a larger version of this image so you may have to find it on the JBO so things are a bit more visible.
Here is where I cut the bar because it was stated that the bar would interfere with the cv boot.
When you remove the subframe off of the car, make sure that you remove the factory swaybar and be sure to keep in mind the top and bottom of the bar. This is critical because the bar can be installed upside down if not careful.
So this is what I did to make sure the Eibach bar was going to fit properly.
If you don't have a factory bar, you'll need the D bushing retainer from the GM dealership. They're reasonable cheap and you will need these to install the Eibach or Addco bar to the front.
If you already have a swaybar on the car, then you can use the new Dbushings from the Eibach or Addco kit.
I should've made a better how to with step by step instructions like I do most of the mods I do but with the swaybars, I didn't have that time because I was doing so many other things at that time.
But the pictures should help out quite a bit with installation and get you going.
Make sure that you label your front swaybar you're installing to show the drivers side, passenger side, and top/ bottom too.
This makes it much easier to keep track of how the bar goes onto the subframe.
Hope it helps.
Misnblu.com
Newbie member since 1999
Thank you Dave and JBO!
Hmm, I want to get a new subframe anyway's, I have a dent right smack dab in the middle cheese hole bar. I could do a new subframe, install my poly control arms, and a sway bar all at the same time.
sweet.
i'm gonna wait till i do the rest of my suspension stuff...i already have the sway bars, but not on the car...hopewfully this spring will change that.
thanks blu!
i swear to god either addco copied eibach or vice versa. my addco rear looks 99.5% identical to the eibach. only difference being the color. black vs the red. the end links/hardware all look the exact same.
Trailer Queen corvette wanna-be with 40 coats of wax and powdercoating that soaks in.
my addco is a silverish gold color. will be black come spring though.
I had an Addco rear bar 9 years ago on my first Cavalier... it was red. Not sure who copied who, but I suspect it was Eibach that copied the Addco bar.
I flipped the D-brackets the other way, so the rear bar was tucked up into the rear axle beam. Won't catch on raised manhole covers if you do it that way, if that's a problem in your area... like it is here.
yeah ive also got one of the older gold addco rears. bought it like 6 years ago, bought my new (black) one 2 years ago. addco claims its powdercoated but i think there is no way in hell that it is. it chips and cracks off like you wouldn't believe. IMO its worthless.
and another thing, i always thought the eibach rear was smaller than the addco... doesnt look like it to me but i guess looks could be decieving?
lenko- what do you mean you flipped the d-bushings around in order to tuck the bar up into the axle? please elaborate because maybe this is what people used to talk about with the older addco bars being different. mine are both identical in size and shape. one being the gold and one being the black.
Trailer Queen corvette wanna-be with 40 coats of wax and powdercoating that soaks in.
allan chandler wrote:Was wondering which is better and was wondering which everyone prefers.
Decide how do you want the car to react. Want more understeer, want neutral, want oversteer? Any of those three can have certain advantage/disadvantage in certain circumstances. Research which bar will give you what. Because adding bars just for the sake of adding equipment, will make your car react in a way that you may not want/like.
>>>For Sale? Clicky!<<<
-----The orginal Mr.Goodwrench on the JBO since 11/99-----
z yaaaa wrote:what do you mean you flipped the d-bushings around in order to tuck the bar up into the axle? please elaborate because maybe this is what people used to talk about with the older addco bars being different. mine are both identical in size and shape. one being the gold and one being the black.
Hard to see details.... very old pics... but here ya go:
My bandwidth wasn't that great back in '01... so the pics were always small back then..
Wow, that's different.
My only issue with that is the preload you're placing on the endlinks.
If you look at the pictures carefully, you'll notice the endlinks are not perpendicular to the ground as it should be but angled slightly to the front of the car.
This would seem to cause a bit of binding in the endlinks but the concept of the idea is good.
I would think under most circumstances, people are not going to have their car so low that the Dbushings would ever hit anything in the road. They seem to be up pretty high and only your tire/ rim package would warrant how high your axle is going to be in relation to the ground.
Misnblu.com
Newbie member since 1999
Thank you Dave and JBO!
That's how everyone used to have 'em in the early part of the decade... It was on the directions to install them that way, if I'm not mistaken. I know I wasn't the only one... because there are other pics I've seen over the years.
It rode just fine... no issues tearing the bushings or any alignment problems. Rode like it was on rails... as it was, with Sportlines and Koni Reds, I managed to bottom out on a manhole cover or something else that was raised in the road... bent the end of the U-bolt part... never did get that bolt off ever again. The bar is onto another owner now...
I'm running the Alero IRS with a PartsForYourCar.com sway bar upgrade. It handles... f'n amazing. There is no body roll at all. If there's anything that's better than a stock J-body axle with a sway bar.. it's the IRS with an upgraded sway bar.
Yeah, I actually wanted to do the IRS swap but changed my mind in looking for another project car that was rwd, 50/ 50 weight ratio, and an Import.
I found that car so I guess the IRS won't probably ever happen. The car handled so well before the newest upgrades, which is quite extensive since it was last driven.
John, I'd love for you to do a comparison of your IRS setup to what I've done to the 'blu.
I think you'd think different in how well the torsion beam can do and the overall handling of a Jbody without the IRS.
If I ever come up that way to a Bash, I hope this happens.
Back on topic.
Misnblu.com
Newbie member since 1999
Thank you Dave and JBO!
i can only find better bushings...no sway bar on that site.
N-body parts for the Alero.
Misnblu.com
Newbie member since 1999
Thank you Dave and JBO!
