upgrade your struts/shocks. Get a set of Bilsteins, and forget about bandaid solutions like sway bars etc. The worst snake oil are strut tower bars and the ilk. $200 down the drain.
Installed Whiteline BHR93 Rear Sway Bar/review
I picked up a Whiteline BHR93 Rear sway bar, which is for 3/2011 and newer Cruzes and installed it on my 2012 2LT this weekend. I hadn't seen any threads about this sway bar yet, only the version for older Cruzes that mounts in the traditional way with links and bushings and is adjustable.
The BHR93 is not adjustable and mounts to the bottom of the axle where the spring locator is. The spring locator is removed and replaced with a machined aluminum locator that is threaded for the bolts to bolt the bar across the rear end. The directions specified to unbolt the bottom of the rear shock to drop the suspension, remove the springs, replace the locators, then reinstall everything.
I was able to do it simply by lifting the rear end, punching out the old locators, pulling the new ones in through the rubber pad with the bolts, then mounting up the bar. It was a piece of cake and took around 45 minutes only because we were taking our time. No suspension removal required.
The bar itself was painted silver and looked like it was good quality. The flat parts on the ends that were mounted had some rough machining marks, but I doubt it will mean anything to the performance of the bar. It's a very trick piece that runs right along the torsion beam to increase the rear suspension rigidity.
Unfortunately it out-stabilizes the front by a small amount, and now I feel like I need to install the BHF93 27mm front sway bar to fix it. It's not urgent, however, as I have not had any traction issues on hard corners despite the rain. I just want it to feel a bit more balanced and planted in the front. It's just too bad the front sway bar requires dropping the subframe to remove and replace.
Performance of the rear is definitely awesome now. It's very firm and planted and all the body roll/chassis twisting that bothered me is now gone. I haven't installed the rear tower brace or anything else yet, and I'm not sure I need to.
Pics to come later.
The BHR93 is not adjustable and mounts to the bottom of the axle where the spring locator is. The spring locator is removed and replaced with a machined aluminum locator that is threaded for the bolts to bolt the bar across the rear end. The directions specified to unbolt the bottom of the rear shock to drop the suspension, remove the springs, replace the locators, then reinstall everything.
I was able to do it simply by lifting the rear end, punching out the old locators, pulling the new ones in through the rubber pad with the bolts, then mounting up the bar. It was a piece of cake and took around 45 minutes only because we were taking our time. No suspension removal required.
The bar itself was painted silver and looked like it was good quality. The flat parts on the ends that were mounted had some rough machining marks, but I doubt it will mean anything to the performance of the bar. It's a very trick piece that runs right along the torsion beam to increase the rear suspension rigidity.
Unfortunately it out-stabilizes the front by a small amount, and now I feel like I need to install the BHF93 27mm front sway bar to fix it. It's not urgent, however, as I have not had any traction issues on hard corners despite the rain. I just want it to feel a bit more balanced and planted in the front. It's just too bad the front sway bar requires dropping the subframe to remove and replace.
Performance of the rear is definitely awesome now. It's very firm and planted and all the body roll/chassis twisting that bothered me is now gone. I haven't installed the rear tower brace or anything else yet, and I'm not sure I need to.
Pics to come later.
1 - 8 of 42 Posts
BTW, you don't need coilovers. Just get the struts/shocks. Stock springs are fine.
The Cruze shell is very rigid. Strut tower bars have little effect. Those claiming otherwise are in all likelihood imagining a difference. Something like a butt dyno, and we all know how accurate it is.
The trouble with coilovers is that they ride very harsh since there are no isolating bushings etc. Great for the track and very smooth roads, but tiresome in real life on the street.
You are correct about rear sway bars in that I forgot to take into consideration the base twist beam axle vs the Z-Link. (I have the RS package with Z-Link and find it quite neutral in handling.) That said, I still firmly believe that upgrading the struts/shocks will provide a better balanced solution over a rear sway bar. The problem with an aggressive rear sway bar is that there is a greater risk of being caught out with the car swapping ends unexpectedly. It could happen as easily as you cornering over a crest in the rain at 50 mph and you back off when the corner tightens up expectantly. Next thing you know you're travelling backwards.
I suggest you are better off upgrading the front sway bar end links, and perhaps the steering rack bushings. The endlinks are spaghetti thin and probably distort under extreme cornering.
The trouble with coilovers is that they ride very harsh since there are no isolating bushings etc. Great for the track and very smooth roads, but tiresome in real life on the street.
You are correct about rear sway bars in that I forgot to take into consideration the base twist beam axle vs the Z-Link. (I have the RS package with Z-Link and find it quite neutral in handling.) That said, I still firmly believe that upgrading the struts/shocks will provide a better balanced solution over a rear sway bar. The problem with an aggressive rear sway bar is that there is a greater risk of being caught out with the car swapping ends unexpectedly. It could happen as easily as you cornering over a crest in the rain at 50 mph and you back off when the corner tightens up expectantly. Next thing you know you're travelling backwards.
I suggest you are better off upgrading the front sway bar end links, and perhaps the steering rack bushings. The endlinks are spaghetti thin and probably distort under extreme cornering.
BTW, back in the early seventies, I had a girl friend who's father owned a Citroen DS21. (Yes I'm that old.) Those cars were famous for a number of reasons, but one of the primary reasons was that they had a hydraulic suspension. (Her father's other car was a Jensen CV8 which I drove on occasion. Look that up on Wiki.)
That Citroen handled phenomenally. But that I mean there were very few cars that could keep up with it on the twisties. Once you got used to cornering on your doorhandles, and realized that the car was not going to roll over, it was amazing. The French have a different twist on handling. It is all about suspension travel, and wheels remaining in contact with the road surface.
I used to rally thirty years ago, and at the time, it was considered smart to stab the brakes when travelling over a crest. That was because it is tough to turn in mid air! Back then we drove rallies blind, so you had no idea which direction the road went after a crest, hence "it was tough to turn in mid air". There was no such thing as pace notes or prior knowledge of the road. And my allegiance to Bilstein is because I ran Bilsteins on my first car which was a Datsun 240Z and second which was a 280Z. The performed flawlessly. Are current Bilsteins as good? I hope so, since I will be installing a set on my 2014 Cruze next summer.
That Citroen handled phenomenally. But that I mean there were very few cars that could keep up with it on the twisties. Once you got used to cornering on your doorhandles, and realized that the car was not going to roll over, it was amazing. The French have a different twist on handling. It is all about suspension travel, and wheels remaining in contact with the road surface.
I used to rally thirty years ago, and at the time, it was considered smart to stab the brakes when travelling over a crest. That was because it is tough to turn in mid air! Back then we drove rallies blind, so you had no idea which direction the road went after a crest, hence "it was tough to turn in mid air". There was no such thing as pace notes or prior knowledge of the road. And my allegiance to Bilstein is because I ran Bilsteins on my first car which was a Datsun 240Z and second which was a 280Z. The performed flawlessly. Are current Bilsteins as good? I hope so, since I will be installing a set on my 2014 Cruze next summer.
Powergrid endlinks are the best. Fully adjustable and last forever. I had a set on my last car. Best bang for the buck with FWD GM vehicles.
I agree. I suspect most drivers are looking for this input improvement, but mistakenly think a rear sway bar will compensate for it.Changing the damping characteristics of the shocks (struts are shocks too) doesn't change the steady state balance of the car's cornering attitude. Damping changes change how the car reacts to DYNAMIC input, ie. sharp turn in moves and/or mid corner bumps. Damping has very little effect on a car's balance. Continued...
I disagree somewhat in that damping may have little affect on a car's balance, however IMO it does provide a more stable action/reaction to a steering or suspension input, if that makes sense. ie, it makes a car more predicable.
Great thread BTW!
If I figure out how to post images, I post a few rally shots of mine. :th_salute:
1 - 8 of 42 Posts
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