View Full Version : TTR Rear Sway Bar Installation 101


XXL
10-02-2009, 12:40 PM
Ordered 9/25
Received 10/1

Today is 10/2... I had jury duty, for which I was summarily dismissed, and now I'm playing hookie from work. Thus, I decided to install the sway bar.

Following is a very technically detailed explanation of each critical step of the installation process. Read these instructions carefully before considering this installation yourself.

1) Open box and remove contents.

2) Haphazardly throw all parts under the back of car.

3) Look under car to see if it's finished installing itself. In the unlikely event that it hasn't fallen into place and bolted itself up, grab a 15mm socket and a clamp and slide under the back of the car.

4) Raise the bar into place (it's obvious even if you DON'T look at the picture provided in the TTR instructions) and run clamp across the triangle-shaped rear axle. This will trap the bar up in the air so you don't have to have 3 arms. If you don't have a clamp, you can thread a long screwdriver through the rear axle holes (the big ones). You're just trying to hold the bar up where it goes. If you have the time and resources, you can choose to grow a third arm.

5) insert backing plates into the ends of each trailing arm so the trailing arm holes line up with the backing plate nuts. If you can't figure this part out, please get out from under the car and put a For Sale sign on it.

6) Pivot the bar ends up to trailing arm and align holes with the items in #5 above. Thread nuts in place-- 2 per side, and wrench down on them with the 15mm socket until they are as tight as your wimpy arms can get them.

7) Put your tools away and go have a beer. (Oh, and recheck tightness in a couple of days.)

Time from start to finish for me was LITERALLY 7 minutes. That was from cracking open the box to coming inside to type this post. I have ramps, which I backed onto to give me some stomach clearance. I also have an air ratchet... which shaved about 60 seconds off the effort from a manual ratchet (so give yourself 8 minutes if you're doing it the old fashioned way) :D .

If you have an HHR SS and haven't bought this mod, you may need to have your testosterone checked. The bar is cheap, fast shipping, a supremely easy install, and really tightens up the body roll in the corners.

This is not a paid endorsement... but Aaron, feel free to send me a check if you want ;-)

twistrman
10-02-2009, 01:43 PM
zip ties are very effective for holding the bar in place as well.

TurboTechRacing
10-02-2009, 04:28 PM
Great information! Thanks!

sincfiles
10-02-2009, 07:35 PM
2 cool.

I'm gettin' a red one!

damronjr
10-02-2009, 07:40 PM
How much and where?

tomw
10-02-2009, 07:40 PM
2 cool.

I'm gettin' a red one!

I have a Red one for sale.........Never installed selling the car

XXL
10-02-2009, 09:27 PM
How much and where?

http://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/showthread.php?t=14697

TurboTechRacing
10-02-2009, 10:56 PM
How much and where?

www.TurboTechRacing.com

Your choice of MANY colors :)

urbexHHR
10-02-2009, 11:02 PM
This is one of the mods I'd really like to get when I have a little extra $$$.

HipHotRod
10-02-2009, 11:42 PM
'If you don't have a clamp, you can thread a long screwdriver through the rear axle holes (the big ones). You're just trying to hold the bar up where it goes. If you have the time and resources, you can choose to grow a third arm."

The third arm is mighty handy though. Damn that's funny man.

True on the bang for the buck - makes the car handle less like a FWD. Love mine. I've installed at least 5 that I can remember.

XXL
10-05-2009, 10:30 PM
Bump for TTR's sway bar.

TurboTechRacing
10-09-2009, 05:57 PM
Thanks again!

XXL
10-15-2009, 04:16 PM
Following up with a little commentary. I have the good fortune of a rather fun stretch of road on my commute to work...

http://www.chevyhhr.net/gallery/files/6/5/9/7/overthehill.PNG

Traveling west to east in the morning, the run is on an uphill grade all the way to the "sunny" part in about the middle of the pic. From there, continuing west, it's down the hill I just climbed. If I time the commute right, I have largely unrestricted road ahead of me.

Before the TTR rear sway bar, I found that in the high speed lefthand sweeper going up the hill, the car tended to squat hard. This gave a feel of stability, but it was obviously at a performance/speed cost. On the way down the hill, the car handled quite well, but on the switchbacks, the car was too quick to transfer from right to left lean, creating a need to either back off the gas a little or scrub the insides of the turns.

Today was my first chance to really push the car on the course. Note: I have a GT30, so I'm moving quite a bit more air through the motor than the stock K04. Stock tires with 20k miles. TTR rear sway bar. ESC off!

Running up the long straight to the big sweeper was typical, but I decided to run deeper into the turn before letting up to force the suspension to its edge. I was quickly surprised that I wasn't at the edge... so I laid back into it (keeping the car in 3rd and 4th, and between 4500-7000 rpm keeps the turbo properly spooled) and just kept pressing it until the tires started breaking loose. Instead of getting that "safe and comfy" squat that tells you to slow down, the rearend just kept fighting to keep the rear stable, even as the tires were giving up. At the tail end of that sweeper, I was in a genuine FWD drift, using power to pull the car back in line.

Slowing down as I peaked the hill (that south road entry sometimes has cars, and it's pretty blind until you're on it), I dropped into 3rd for some downhill action. I found myself having to scrub the insides of the turns as usual, but was definitely doing it at a higher speed. The car was simply more stable without that rear outside corner wanting to squat down every time I hit a hard turn.

Don't drive like this is you're not experienced and understand the mechanics involved. Don't drive like this around other vehicles, people, or property. Don't get fooled by your vehicle's speed. While this bar clearly raises stability, the onset of instability comes harder, and so there's less time to react to it than to stock "car squatting" behavior.

Conclusion-- worth every penny. Buy and enjoy. Oh, and you can't see the thing on the car, so I'm not sure there's any value in the bright or customer color options.

TurboTechRacing
10-21-2009, 05:06 PM
Bump for a great write up!

Father Azmodius
10-25-2009, 04:27 PM
I think it took me 15 minutes.. Granted, I spent 5 looking for the torque wrench.

TurboTechRacing
11-24-2009, 10:27 PM
Again, thanks for this very nice write up.

87silver
11-26-2009, 11:33 PM
7) Put your tools away and go have a beer. (Oh, and recheck tightness in a couple of days.)

Just did mine. Stupid easy.

The hardest part was step 7 opening the beer.:lol:

It was a bottled Corona and I didn't have a churchkey, so I had to use a channel-locks.

Good writeup.

TurboTechRacing
11-29-2009, 09:09 PM
Just did mine. Stupid easy.

The hardest part was step 7 opening the beer.:lol:

It was a bottled Corona and I didn't have a churchkey, so I had to use a channel-locks.

Good writeup.

LOL! Very nice.

bartSS
11-30-2009, 09:38 PM
I have a Red one for sale.........Never installed selling the car

How much you want????

XXL
12-13-2009, 03:30 PM
I think it took me 15 minutes.. Granted, I spent 5 looking for the torque wrench.

Torque wrench? Troublemaker.

'Lil Red Wagon
12-17-2009, 09:03 PM
My problem is that I START with the beers, that way I don't forget them.
A lot of good info here, I'm a new member so I need to learn a lot.

TurboTechRacing
12-21-2009, 08:09 PM
2 more shipped today, 1 black/1 red.