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Thanks all for the tips! The link below are instructions that helped me the most.
For me, it was not as easy as a 45 minute change-out. It took about 15 minutes to take off the old bar. No problems with corrosion on the old bolts, as my car has only seen one winter. I used the hardware that SAS sent with the bar, which seemed to be of a high quality. I've read that they used to send a lesser grade of hardware...what I got seemed perfect though.
I did not use ramps/jacks. Just flat on my back on the garage floor. This definitely made things more difficult. I guess I'm cheap and just wanted to get the bar on there....I'm also skinny so that helped too.
Here is one quirk that I ran into during the install. I found that there was a plastic rivet that got in the way of the bar. This rivet holds a clip in place that helps position the brake line. I approached altering this with some trepidation. Without altering the rivet, the bar would not fit flush. So I hacksawed and then filed flush the portion of rivet that was sticking through the frame. No harm done. I was a little surprised to run into this, as I've not read about anything similar before.
The hardest part was definitely positioning the bar and getting the nut on the bolt. The bolt goes in through the bottom, just like the stock bolt. I used quart-size paint cans to help position the bar while placing the bolts. Something a few inches taller would work better though.
The hardware supplied with my kit were 14mm hex bolts/nuts. The directions also specify 25 lb/ft torque for the new hardware. I did them hand-tight as I don't have a torque wrench. The old bolts came off without much resistance, so I figure a torque wrench is not really required.
All together, it took me about 2 hours to uninstall and install the new bar.
Driving impressions....
I took it out immediately to make sure I didn't screw up the brakes. Don't ask me what I'd have done if they were messed up. I don't know either.
The car maintains a flatter dispostion in corners. Definitely feels more 'sporty', though the change is not as radical as I might have expected. I was a little concerned that the ride would be adversely affected, but it is still smooth. No unnecessary jiggles or shakes. Most positive result is that it seems to plow less in hard corners.
Good night!
Tito
posted by 152.163.25...
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