BRZ and FRS front sway bar installation

[@aroundomaha]

Best BRZ/86/FRS front sway bar helper video on KZbin. It was helpful to see you do this on jack stands, plus the tip about torquing the bolts before putting the subframe back in the car. Gen two sub frame mount is a little different with one 14mm bolt at the rear, plus a an extra brace. Other than that I think the aero panels took longer to reattach than the actual sway bar.

[@TheBTRGarage]

Thanks, glad it was helpful!

[@NineFiveGarage]

Excellent video. Finally got my 2017 BRZ in after ordering in Feb. As I mentioned in some comments from my other account, your videos were the only thing to keep me sane during the wait. No one else does videos as good as yours for the 2017 model, so thanks for that. Just uploaded my first of hopefully many videos of my '17 BRZ.

[@TheBTRGarage]

Nice, congrats again on the new car! Thanks!

[@Franke609]

I just installed a Swaybar & Endlinks today your video helped me a lot!

[@TheBTRGarage]

Franke609 Awesome! Nice work and glad I could be of help.

[@AndrewMalkin]

Glad to hear about better fitment. I have the 20mm Whiteline bar and all the clunking is driving me crazy.

[@TheBTRGarage]

Yea I'm not a fan of the whiteline bars and end-links at all. Much better stuff out there.

[@pedroo4405]

Love this channel, knows exactly what he's talking about

[@ZackNakazora1]

I watched this video last year while mounting my whiteline bars. And now a year later. I'm going back down to CS in my brz pp and I'm back again. I ony recommend doing this method for sway bar installs. And... Im mimicking your bar selection. Perrin 22m front and frs 14 mm rear

[@TheBTRGarage]

Great choices!

[@daniyaalmaneveld3779]

Hi, thanks for the video. May I as why you went with a thinner bar in the rear? From what I've seen, most guys go aftermarket in the rear as well so I am curious to know why you did that.

[@TheBTRGarage]

Provides more grip in low speed, tighter turn scenarios.

[@durmientewrx]

Hey Justin. Great video. Any comments or suggestions on how to properly install the front with no preload? How do you do this? Do you use ramps? In the past I've done it by lowering the car onto blocks to load the suspension and then I adjust the end links length till they feel loose but it is tough to tell just by feel.

[@TheBTRGarage]

If at home, I would do what you do with ramps. Usually I am doing it when the car is aligned and corner balanced while on the rack.

[@HimejiEndless]

Great video, very informative & i also have a issue with oversteer on my 2017 86. I was wondering if you had an opinion on how strut tower braces (front and/or rear) would interact with your completed sway bar modifications?

[@TheBTRGarage]

Front strut brace will add stiffness and reduce roll effects. That usually translates to quicker steering response up front but less grip, or more understeer.

[@stefankoles]

good info one the suspension....you should do a video ,how to make a car handle on a track

[@multiverso93]

To correctly adjust the end-links, what procedure did you follow? Is it necessary to place the car on the ground or use elevators if the work is done on a work bridge?

[@TheBTRGarage]

The car must be on the ground and sitting at its desired ride height *and* alignment. It is best to do it on the alignment rack (that is when I always did it) but you can just set them when the car is on the ground. Although that is pretty tricky for the fronts when you cannot get under the car.

[@pauldennis1241]

Great video. Excellent instructions especially the easier method for replacing the front sway bars. Can you comment on the value of tower braces?

[@TheBTRGarage]

Strut tower braces? They will increase the stiffness of the front of the car and allow for less flex in the chassis. The results is a more responsive front end but probably less overall grip (might add some understeer). We don't run them in autocross usually because the extra flex helps front grip and turn in.

[@captainslav6528]

Did you ever get any clunking with your white line bars ? Did they ever foul on anything like the control arms ?

[@TheBTRGarage]

I did have clunking with the front one. I had one of the bad batch of Whiteline front bars that was longer on side, which caused all kinds of issues. Had their front end links too, which always came loose. Not a fan of those products after using them extensively.

[@captainslav6528]

@@TheBTRGarage Was the clunking caused by the bar hitting anything like the control arm or did you find out what it was causing it ? I've recently installed whiteline bars in my 86 and as soon as the front one was installed it started clunking. Also thank you for the reply.

[@TheBTRGarage]

I think the clunking is usually from loose end link bolts, or the bar binding in the sway bar bushing mounts. Your sway bar should move pretty freely in the bushings when not connected to end links.

[@captainslav6528]

@@TheBTRGarage Thank you so much this is very helpful info for me.

[@raylo0408]

Hi Justin. Great video as always! I am currently autocrossing a FWD 2016 Versa. I have high performance all-season Sumitomos on it. As a student, spending more money for better tires or suspension is not really an option (nor would I want to really invest in a 9k car). How do I go about getting more rotation/less understeer out of the car wihout spending money (i.e. playing with tire pressure)? I am going to try running without the spare donut in the trunk next time...

[@TheBTRGarage]

Thanks for the comments! Tire pressure is about the only option you have for tuning. Taking out weight with the spare may help as well. Unfortunately I do not know much about FWD car setup for autocross. I would start by testing out really high pressure in the rear tires and lower in the front, see what it does, and change according to the behavior. Good luck!

[@BRZTrackDays]

I have an issue with my rear inner wheel lifting up due to body roll on stock springs. I understand that increasing the sway bar stiffness on the rear would increase my oversteer, but in this case I'm trying to just get the inner tire down to keep the grip to prevent me from spinning out when the outer wheel loses grip on a corner like when hitting a little bit of dirt. Would adding stiffness to the rear actually keep the wheel down by reducing the body roll? Or would it cause it to lift even more? The way you explained it, it sounded like you are increasing the contract patch more by increasing body roll. I was thinking of moving up from the 2019 stock rear bar to the whiteline 18mm rear to fix this issue, perhaps I'm wrong 🤔 do you have a video explaining how moving down to the 14mm bar work out for you at the track?

[@TheBTRGarage]

What is your front sway bar? The only time I've ever seen rear wheels coming up in a corner is with a very hard front bar and soft rear bar.

[@BRZTrackDays]

@@TheBTRGarage It's the stock 18mm front bar, rear 16mm bar. Performance pack suspension. So slightly differ springs from the base, but still crazy body roll. You can see it in my short video. You can also see when I lose grip during medium speed cornering.

[@6rimR3ap3r]

Would you recommend any sway bar changes on stock suspension? Got a '13 GT86 with 225/40/18 Continental Sportcontact 5. Just camber bolts up front and soon rear subframe bushing inserts. Looking for incremental things without going coilovers or lowering springs etc.

[@TheBTRGarage]

Hey Dominik! If anything, I would just add a slightly bigger adjustable front sway-bar, like the Perrin 19mm : amzn.to/2BsbR4f These cars tend to have a little oversteer from the factory. This would help balance things out and give you a bit more front end feel and response. Subframe bushing inserts are a good idea too! You will notice a big different from those alone. I would also recommend the differential inserts too while you are at it : amzn.to/2ivJlSI

[@6rimR3ap3r]

Justin's Pit Lane Thank you for that quick response! Would you recommend the Diff bushings even for an auto transmission? There's not much of shifting feel to improve :-D

[@TheBTRGarage]

Dominik Heidrich Yea, they will still help with putting power down.

[@snipermx06]

Are those rear wheels the rota titan, spec? Thank you and informative video

[@TheBTRGarage]

Yes, those are the Titans. 17x9 with 42mm offset.

[@MikeJones-in3uk]

Im getting one in a few days. if i removed the wing [spoiler] will it affect the handling or horsepower? thank you

[@TheBTRGarage]

Congrats on the new car. Not sure if serious, but no removing the spoiler will not change anything, not sure why you would do that.

[@NickGoPro-nr3fl]

Ah, thank you for this video. I too lost the thread on those rear sway bar mount bolts, but only on the one side. Will be going with the same solution as you. Just off hand do you know the size of the bolt, looks to be M8x25mm to me. I also found that I need to change over the end links (using Kartboy) as the OEM end links had trouble matching up with my Whiteline adjustable sway bar. Love your channel by the way, you are doing it perfectly.

[@TheBTRGarage]

Yea, those bolts are a pain! If you check out my most recent sway-bar video, I went back and re-tapped the threads in the stripped nuts and it worked great. I do believe they are M8x25mm, I can check the tap I used if it would help. Thanks!

[@NickGoPro-nr3fl]

Thanks for the reply. I went with M8x35mm which are a bit longer, so 25mm would fit perfect I think. Checked your most recent sway bar video, looks very good, may do the same regarding re-tapping.

[@TheBTRGarage]

NickGoPro2014 Good deal! I was surprised how well the threads cleaned up, thought they were beyond repairing. I still put the nuts on the back side to be safe.

[@Jack02829]

Would it be ok if I get the 25mm for both? And what happened if you put it on the stiffness setting if I'm making sense

[@TheBTRGarage]

I would not get anything larger than a 16mm for the rear.

[@pztgst]

Another great vid. I wonder why the MFR for that sway bar doesnt tell you to drop the brackets. That seems odd to me that they would tell you to do it a harder and quite frankly, wrong way to do it. Those wheels at 13:00 look sexy as hell on the BRZ, definitely prefer them over the ones at 17:54. Probably going to have to get a set for my 86 when i get it.

[@TheBTRGarage]

Thanks buddy! Yea, I am not sure why they say to do it the "hard way". It is doable without dropping the brackets, just really difficult. The RPF1's are indeed nice wheels!

[@kbogusi]

Hey Justin, have you ever had problems with Whiteline endlinks rubbing on the fender wall behind the strut? I've got KWv3s running 3.5deg camber and they are digging in the driver side wall. Other side clears no rubbing. Running Whiteline 22mm and shortened links if that matters. I've got the same camber plates and adjustments on them are different from side to side but the alignment rack indicates the same camber. I've also maxed out the use of the slotted upper hole on the strut just FYI.

[@TheBTRGarage]

SLOSUBIE There was a version of the Whiteline front bar that was defective. It was basically longer on one side by about 1/4" if I remember right. That could be what you are experiencing. That is the reason I don't use Whiteline bars anymore. I had a defective one and it just didn't fit properly.

[@kbogusi]

I doubt the length would be the problem, the strut housing is closer to the fender wall on driver side than the passenger side with equal camber measured on both sides. That's really my main issues here. I might be switching to Perrin bar as you did but doubt that will fix the problem above.

[@kbogusi]

I proly wasn't clear on this but it's the endlink part that's attached to the strut the rubs on the fender wall.

[@MikeJones-in3uk]

The back of my 86 tends to slide out . I want it to be more "planted" less "tail happy" . What do you recommend as a simple start ? I'm not well verse about modifying a car. Thank you.

[@TheBTRGarage]

Is the car stock? Lowering the rear tire pressure is the most simple thing to do, to add more rear grip. If you have adjustable shocks, softening rear compression OR stiffening front compression helps. You can also go to a smaller rear sway bar like I did in a more recent video (the Mann Engineering bar). Really just depends on what you have to work with based on your car mods.

[@MikeJones-in3uk]

the car is stock

[@TheBTRGarage]

Yea, so you basically have tire pressure. Adding more to the front, or lowering the rear will help. These cars are meant to be tail happy when stock. Supposedly adds to the "fun factor' of driving.

[@MikeJones-in3uk]

If I change to better tires and slightly bigger wheels like 17 x 7.5 (the stock wheels are 17 x 7) help ? thank you .

[@TheBTRGarage]

Mike Jones Yes, that will help. It might still be a tad loose, but it should help.

[@rookietoprobuildz]

So sometimes body roll is a good thing?! Hmm can't wait to fine tune my FRS

[@slack179]

Love the escape from New York John carpenter style music

[@littlebits6231]

Hey Justin, I just got coilovers for my 86 and they came with adjustable front end links but im having a crazy hard time trying to remove the stock end links. Specifically the bottom nut that faces away from the wheel. Its super tight and hard to access. Got any tips for me?

[@TheBTRGarage]

Get some PB Blaster or penetrating oil and soak it with that first. Outside of that just get the right tools and as much leverage as you can to break it loose. You might need to hold the opposing side with a wrench too so it doesn't spin. Good luck!

[@littlebits6231]

@@TheBTRGarage Alright thanks. Ill give it another shot with some WD-40 and extra patience. If not, I guess ill take a blow torch to it.

[@TheBTRGarage]

Grab a small can of PB Blaster, it will work much better than wd40.

[@littlebits6231]

@@TheBTRGarage I managed to get my stock end links off today with some liquid wrench and a lot of swearing :) But now im not sure how to set the length of the new adjustable end links. I heard conflicting instructions about having zero preload on the sway bar and putting load on the suspension before adjusting... Do you remember how you did it?

[@TheBTRGarage]

You set the end links after the car is aligned and balanced. You have to do it when the car is on its wheels, then set the end links with no load on them. Basically connect them then twist until they don't turn, then back off a tad and lock them in place.

[@SubieShakedown]

Nice video man! your car is looking clean man, I love it! just got subbed to you!

[@TheBTRGarage]

Thanks for watching, I appreciate it!

[@BRZ_RN]

what made you change from 20 to 22? im on oem sway bars right now, cant decide if i should try 20 first or go ahead with 22

[@TheBTRGarage]

BRZ RN I had lots of front grip which contributed to the excessive oversteer. Larger front bar will take some of thay away while adding transitional stability.

[@Braden1129]

You still pleased with the Tanabe? Has it gotten louder now that its been on for a bit?

[@TheBTRGarage]

I am, but it is definitely loud. It was over sound limits at the races this past weekend :(

[@Braden1129]

Good to know! They do make a removable baffle (100mm) for it I saw so maybe that will fix your problem. :)

[@TheBTRGarage]

Yea, I have seen that. Probably should have gotten it with the exhaust :)

[@mpa1931]

Did you like your 22 mm /14 mm sway bar setup? I've been finding a lot of understeer during my track days. Will going to the 22 mm front sway bar while keeping the 14 mm cure some of the understeer?

[@TheBTRGarage]

M Pa Do you mean the 20mm/14mm that I had before? There is definitely more oversteer with the smaller 20mm bar. For my car it was too much.

[@mpa1931]

I was referring to the 22/14 setup you had installed by the end of the video, is it more of an under steer setup?

[@TheBTRGarage]

Gotcha. If you have the stock front sway bar, going to the 22mm Perrin will *increase* understeer. If you want more oversteer, either soften the front bar or get a stiffer rear bar. If you have adjustable shocks, you can also use those to some extent. What is your current sway-bar, shock setup?

[@mpa1931]

I'm on full OEM suspension right now and I find it understeers in slow speed technical corners. I have lowering springs and camber bolts on order but I was contemplating on whether I should change the front swaybar to cure some understeer, in that case should I just stick with stock for now since beefing up the front adds more understeer?

[@TheBTRGarage]

If it is only understeering on slow speed corners and good everywhere else, I don't see that as a bad thing. Are you still on stock tires too? Both my cars were pretty well balanced and leaned toward oversteer in stock form, especially on stock tires. The camber bolts will help turn in and more oversteer behavior.

[@adoken9407]

you need a lift in your amazing garage !! good vidéo btw keep going!

[@TheBTRGarage]

Yes, I do haha! I am looking at a Quickjack at some point, not quite a lift but a bit better than jack stands. Thanks!

[@Jay-sn7wu]

Thanks for this~ xD

[@shortroundChris]

Instead of drastically I think you meant dramatically only cuz it's more of positive upgrade lol

[@tormenmashi_]

First.I guess?