Has anyone upgraded sway bars yet on 15+?

[07 Denali]

I jave written down 7690 in my maintenance book, but it could be my lexdysia!

They fit fine. No drilling. I did have to get some more SAE thick washers as the end links were originally at an angle. Used the washers as spacers and they are more vertical now. Hellwig’s customer service was great! Top notch.

View attachment 196865

I put on the Hotchkis front and rear kit which includes end links. Definitely improved cornering. Haven’t towed yet but that was the main reason for the upgrade...more rear end control. The Hotchkis kits comes with greasable bushings. Not sure if the others do, but it’s a nice, accessible feature.

 

[Shadowchaser]

According to Eibach's descripton of the 38106.320 the front and rear sway bar kit consists of a front sway bar that is 38mm and a rear sway bar that is 32mm.

https://eibach.com/us/i-7231-anti-roll-kit-front-and-rear-sway-bars.html

as well as on Summit Racing: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...MI9aW_hLCy2QIVkIJpCh3Uqw3REAQYAiABEgKnS_D_BwE

So unless Eibach offers a front sway bar that is larger than 38mm and a rear that is larger than 32mm, and not listed on their site, I would say that your 38106.320 kit is for the largest sway bars Eibach offers?

What about
Hotchkis Sport Suspension Anti-Sway Bar Kits 2291
same is Eibach rear:32mm front:38mm

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/hss-2291/overview/make/chevrolet/model/tahoe

 

[dbbd1]

Hard to tell from the pic but it doesn't look solid like the hellwigs.


Yep, just read that they are hollow.

Mine (hellwigs) will be here Friday, install on Saturday. I'll report back...

 

[CMoore711]

Hard to tell from the pic but it doesn't look solid like the hellwigs.


Yep, just read that they are hollow.

Mine (hellwigs) will be here Friday, install on Saturday. I'll report back...

+1. Hotchkis are nice sway bars, they are known for their hollow design that saves some weight compared to solid sway bars. I’d guess on average 25% +/- lighter than the equivalent solid bar depending on vehicle model etc. That being said, there are some reported cases of people snapping hollow sway bars. These are mostly guys in HDPE, Autocross, SCCA, etc type drivers pushing the limits of their cars in the corners. But with much lighter vehicles than ours; Think S2000’s, WRX/STI’s, M3’s, etc. Hell I had them on my own STI years back with zero issues, performed great, but in college it was just my DD/weekend warrior car not much track use...

With as much as our rigs weigh and for a daily driver application; Personally I’d rather have the extra security/stiffness of a solid sway bar over saving a couple lb’s with a Hotchkis hollow sway bar design.

I do however really like that the Hotchkis bar kit for our platform has built-in zerk fittings on the sway bar mounts for easy maintenance.

Hellwig bars are what I’m looking at as well. Interested to hear impressions on install and performance. And what endlinks you used to keep the bars parallel if you are lowered at all?

 

[dbbd1]

Endlinks!


Now, there's a story for the grandchildren...


I'll get more details after the install but, here's what I've done so far. I bought Moog links for front and rear, stock height. The new fronts are just a grade 5 bolt, a 3" metal spacer, the usual assortment of bushings/bushing plates. For them, I found a 2-1/2" beefier spacer that I may try to use to bring the angle down a bit. Or, I'll just use the Moog's. It "really shouldn't" matter, but I'm not fond of the stock plastic spacer and I'll have better bushings.

>Side note- I just lifted a friend's renegade with a 1" lift (yeah really, don't ask) and the complete sway arm end links are plastic! Ugh!<

The rears- on my jeep (03 wrangler), I couldn't find the rear links I needed, so I bought some too long, cut them and welded the upper snd lower stems front-to-back. They have held up just fine over the years. Lighter vehicle, hard abuse. My friend with the renegade also have a expedition with rear links modified in the same way. Heavier vehicle, no abuse. I also bought Moogs for the rear, stock height. My original intention was to cut them and "splice" them like the jeep but, they have that pivot-style joint. I started out-guessing myself and, in the end, was not comfortable with the weld/pivot thing, the stronger sway bar and the modified link. So, I opted for the hellwig 7960 adjustable rear links.

We shall see...

 

[dbbd1]

Has anyone had a problem with the hellwig 7685 front sway bar fitting? It is 1-1/2" OD but my stock front is 1-3/8" OD. I like the idea of it being solid versus hollow tube but not if there are fitment issues.

 

[CMoore711]

Has anyone had a problem with the hellwig 7685 front sway bar fitting? It is 1-1/2" OD but my stock front is 1-3/8" OD. I like the idea of it being solid versus hollow tube but not if there are fitment issues.

I can't provide any insight, but what kind of install fitment issues are you having?

 

[dbbd1]

The center-to-center measurement of my stock front sway bar bracket is approx. 3". For the hellwig, it is approx. 3-3/16". Because of the OD difference, I cannot use my stock brackets and, no matter how much I squeeze the hellwig or oversize the holes, I cannot make it go.

 

[CMoore711]

Man sucks to hear that as the Hellwigs were for sure the bars I was going to get.

Try contacting Hellwig on their bracket?

Can you trim down the hellwing sway bar bushing to fit into the stock sway bar bracket? I’m sure it’s polyurethane, Dremel?

Still yet you shouldn’t have to do either, should just be a a simple remove and reinstall with the Hellwig bars.

 

[dbbd1]

First, Hellwig's customer service is top-notch. While I was on the phone with him, he went and got some other brackets that had slotted mounting holes, then sent them to me. That new bracket would have fit but, only without washers (they supplied cap head bolts, good choice). The problem then is that the new bracket had slotted and larger holes. Washers were definitely called for. I thought about trimming a washer to fit (D-shaped) and/or trimming the bushing. In the end, considering the loads applied, I opted not to do so. I sent pictures back to Hellwig, their engineer will be looking at them. The tech said that they sell "bunches" of these and I believe they do. I think for other applications though. I am not sure why mine is different (1-3/8 or 35mm OD vs. 1-1/2 or 38mm), an SLE, only 2wd, originally sold in Florida or what. My suggestion to you is to check the OD on yours first.

Their rear bar was spot on and even came with the adjustable rear links. I did have to center the rear bar and links with one or two washers but no other issues. Their rear adjustable links are eye-mount top and bottom instead of eye-mount and pivot-mount.

I ended up going with a Belltech for the front. It's not solid but they state that it is stiffer than stock. And, it's also the only one I found that specifically stated that it was 1-3/8" OD. Again, the others listed 1-1/2 OD but maybe for some other applications, just not my SLE.

And for grins (and for only $15 each) I went with Moog links up front.

Ultimately, I am satisfied but I could be happier. There was a definite weight difference in the bars and I wish the Hellwig would have worked out.