I finally got decent weather to working on installing my H-Sport S4 sway bar kit that I ordered from TireRack.com. Below are photos taken during the installation to help others who want to do it themselves. It can be done by yourself. The most time spent will be on the rear sway bar.
You'll need to be able to get under the car to get at the sway bars. You can use jack stands or a frame lift, but you'll later need to lift each wheel in order to have the bolts line up with the sway bar (suspension fully extended will put stress on the sway bar). It's best to use a 4 wheel lift or ramps. I have a set of ramps that I used.
First, open up your H-Sport S4 Sway Bar kit and examine the contents.
Next, you'll need to get the right tools lined up for the job. Here's what I used:
The tools are:
- 13mm socket (long and short)
- 16mm socket (long and short)
- socket wrench
- Short and medium socket wrench extensions
- Threadlock - Blue (medium strength)
- 13mm wrench (with closed wratchet end helps)
- 16mm wrench (with closed end wrachet helps)
- Short fat flathead screwdriver (not pictured)
- Sizzors (not pictued)
- Paper towels (for cleanup - not pictured)
Now we're ready to begin. Start by getting the rear of the car onto the ramp.
Now take the time to inspect the OEM rear sway bar and how it's oriented.
Next, you need to take both exhaust pipes and disconnect them from the hangers. This is important to allow clearance to remove the OEM sway bar and install the H-Sport sway bar. I simply used my 13mm socket (long) w/ the medium extension to unbolt the hanger bracket and leave the exhaust connected to the hangers.
With the exhaust lowered, simply unbolt the bracket (two on each side using the 13mm socket) and the connecting bolt on each end (16mm socket).
Carefully pull down on the exhaust to create an opening to slide out the sway bar. Take your time, but it will slide out without damage to the exhaust. An extra set of hands can make the removal go a bit easier and faster (have them hold down the exhaust).
With the rear sway bar removed, here's some comparison shots.
Notice the two holes at the end of the sway bar. When attaching it to the car, you can use the outer hole for a more neutrally ballanced feel. The inner hole is for a more agressive setting (and will require somre more adjustments, but this will be covered soon).
Next, reverse the process of removing the sway bar and put the new H-Sport rear bar in place.
Now use one tube of the supplied grease and coat the inside of the bushings and fit them over the sway bar (the bushings are cut on one side so you can expand them over the bar and not have to slide them on and smear grease everywhere). Then place the bracket over the bushing making sure the grease nipple is pointed down.
Use the existing bolts to loosely attach the sway bar and brackets to the subframe. Make sure there's still room to move the bar around for adjustments to fit the end bolts.
To attach the end bolt to the second hole of the bar, you also need to loosen two 13mm bolts that hold down the connector to the lower arm. This shot shows the bolts of the connector in the lower arm:
Loosen the two bolts that are together, but don't remove the bolts. With it loose you can work it to fit into the second hole of the sway bar. Take the 16mm bolt and loosely tighten the sway bar to the connector. After that, you can tighten all bolts and reconnect the exhaust to the hanger (or connect the hanger bracket back onto the car.
The drive's side will take more time to get the end bolt in place and tightened. To tighten it completely, I used my 16mm wrench and used the closed end wrachet to tighten it down. I couldn't use my socket wrench anymore due to the repositioning of the connector on the lower arm (and that a blue plastic bar was now in the way). Everything else is straightforward for the rear.
Here's the end result:
Now onto the front. First get the front raised on the ramps.
Next, using a fat (wide) bladed screwdriver, unscrew and remove the aero pan. Now take a look at the setup and orientation of the OEM front sway bar.
Like the rear sway bar, remove the bracket (13mm) and the two end bolts (16mm) to remove the sway bar. Here's a comparison shot:
Lubricate the insides of the two bushings and fit them onto the sway bar on the outside of the washers that are on the bar. Place the bracket over the bushings and install onto the car using the metal plate to fit over the two bolts and between the bushing/bracket and the car. Do not tighten them to allow movement to get the end bolts in.
Now use some threadlock onto each end bolt and attach the bolt to the end of the sway bar through the connector. Once started, go ahead and tighten down completely. If you have access to a small torque wrench, torque the end bolts to 100-120 ft/lbs. Now tighten the bracket bolts to complete the sway bar.
Here's some pics of the new H-Sport S4 front sway bar installed:
After reinstalling the aero pan, a little bit of the ends of the sway bar are still visible...
And that's all there is to the installation!
Driving impressions...
The installation of the sway bars did not affect the ride comfort at all. When you notice the improved sway bars is when taking on tight turns or quick lane changes. There's less side lean to the car and has a more neutral feel in the response to directional changes. It's a great mod for improved driveability!
Bookmarks