Bontrager Works 22mm rear sway bar kit - Page 9

Nevin · #**121** 07-04-2010, 02:28 PM

Yep, exactly right.

And sorry to keep you waiting, my apologies!

Blacky · #**122** 07-04-2010, 07:18 PM

Just did my first test drive. Nice, very nice!

Lookin4SVX · #**123** 07-04-2010, 10:04 PM

Just in case anyone else cares:

Passenger Side Top (Bar End):

(This was taken before tightening it down, it is easier to make out the parts.)

Lookin4SVX · #**124** 07-04-2010, 10:34 PM

I installed my new BontragerWorks 22mm rear sway bar kit today.
It was the 4th of July today, so due to holiday traffic, police, and the amount of beer consumed, I couldn't get a chance to test it out until now (midnight).

Nevin, your bar really helped tighten up my car.

It feels much more stable and sure of it self in corners now.

Now it drives like a Subaru, aka a 3000lbs go-kart!
Once again I can double those suggested off-ramp speed signs like I could with my RS.

With the original bar, attempting to take my exit ramp at 50mph (double the suggested speed) would be a nasty understeering plowfest into the woods.
Not anymore. 50mph, held it flat, didn't experience any oversteer either. She felt planted and sure of herself for the first time since I owned her.

You have another satisfied customer, Thanks Nevin!

Want to see More Pics of install, and the horrible condition my original bar was in?
Check it out: http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/showthread.php?t=54963

Nevin · #**125** 07-05-2010, 12:33 AM

Very glad to hear it, Mike. And thanks for the extra pictures!

I asked Mike this in his new thread, but I'm curious how hard you would all rate the install on a scale of 1 to 10? 1 being easy, 10 being hard. Just to give future customers a good idea. I would say it's pretty easy, but that's just me.

STILL HAVE 3 LEFT FOLKS! Get on them now while they're still hot. If there's no interest for a while, it could be some time 'til I make more again...

When I go up to the powdercoater next I may just have to take one of these back up and get it made yellow for huck!

Lookin4SVX · #**126** 07-05-2010, 07:45 AM

Well I say very easy, and I am not mechanically inclined.
On a scale of 1-10 where 1 = installing a new battery, then I give this a 3?.

Installing a set of used hood struts was 6 bolts, this was 8 bolts.
Same hand tools, just a set of metric combination wrenches and sockets.
There was nothing crazy to it, nothing else needs to be removed to get to it. Nothing is in the way of it.
So I say its just slightly harder than doing hood struts, due to the rust and the angle of attack.
Being slid under the car might not be the most comfortable spot, but certainly was more comfortable than being upside down under the drivers dash installing a chipped ECU.

The only trouble we ran into was that we shattered my crappy "husky" brand socket on the second factory endlink bolt we tried to remove.
I put on an older better socket I found in the old tool box, went to take off the bolt, and the husky ratchet broke.
Lesson learned, cheap tools are cheap for a reason...
So we decided to forget about the sockets and proceeded the rest of the way using just my ratcheting combination wrench set I had just bought a few days ago to do an ECU&TCU swap. They broke free the bolts, which we found much more helpful than the bolts breaking the tools.

By far the hardest part of installing Nevin's bar was the uninstall of the original bar!

Once the old bar was out of the way, we had it bolted on loosely fit in less than 20mins. Spent another 15mins making it all even, which wasn't much, I think it was 3 or 4 threads on the endlinks to even everything up.
Doing the writeup (well, picture book) took me more time than installing the sway bar.

I would say the only hard place to get to was the the bolt going through the hub on the wheel side. My 18" wheels gave me the clearance to get my wrench in their, but barely. My 14mm is 6.5in long and it was a tight fit to get in there. With the stock wheels my you may need a shorter wrenches, I know we were wishing we had one, purely for comfort sake

Tools used to Install:
Two - 14mm combination wrenches (I don't own two 14mm's, so I found an old 9/16 in the old toolbox.)
One - 15mm box wrench.

All the bolts I received from Nevin were 14mm.
Endlink takes a 15mm box wrench.

To uninstall the original bar you will need a 12mm. That is what the broken socket is. I think that was the only other size I used.

Lookin4SVX · #**127** 07-05-2010, 09:13 AM

I was bored and wondered what it would cost to put together an original factory rear sway bar kit at subaruparts.com.

I was shocked when I saw the total:

Nevin, your bar is totally worth the $50 difference.

I don't understand how you have any bars left.

Does everyone on the forum already have one or something?

How many of your bars have been sold in total???

Lookin4SVX · #**128** 07-05-2010, 09:22 AM

Nevin you should feel free to link to and use any of my pics that you find helpful.

Nevin · #**129** 07-05-2010, 01:22 PM

Mike, so far I have sold, traded, or given away 35 in total, including the prototype bar, the bar that I gave Tom, and the bar currently on my car. In total about 40 have been made, and thus I still have 5 remaining (including the blemished bar. Also of note is that only the first two runs were stamped with serial numbers. I think the last one stamped would have been #022, but I honestly forget. The first one stamped is on immortal_suby's car, and is stamped #003. Either way, those stamped ones will be rare.

I was hoping too that they'd sell a bit better than they have, but it's really not public information as such. Pretty much you have to be on the forum or know someone who already has one to find out about them. But, word of mouth is the best advertiser and I know that people who are satisfied with the product will say good things about it to their friends. That's really how I prefer to do business. Much more personal when they can tell you they use it themselves and recommend it to others.

I was kinda hoping that I'd be able to post that I have ten for sale and they'd be gone in a week but I know things don't always work like you plan. However, if you have a product that people want and it is good quality, they will come to you to get it. It just so happens that I also have a monopoly on this particular item, so that bids well for me. But yes, I do realize it is a low-volume project and I would guess I'll maybe sell 100 of them over the life of it? Probably not even that.

I just need to get people like Earl to start buying them. Then I could sell like 15 at once! hahaha

Cam · #**130** 07-05-2010, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nevin

I just need to get people like Earl to start buying them. Then I could sell like 15 at once! hahaha

Actually, if earl fitted all of his, it would be 19

(maybe if you offered a buy 18, get 1 free

)

Nevin · #**131** 07-05-2010, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cam

Actually, if earl fitted all of his, it would be 19

(maybe if you offered a buy 18, get 1 free

)

If he offered to buy 18, I would definitely throw in the 19th one for free. hahaha

1986nate · #**132** 07-05-2010, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lookin4SVX

I was bored and wondered what it would cost to put together an original factory rear sway bar kit at subaruparts.com.

I was shocked when I saw the total:

Nevin, your bar is totally worth the $50 difference.

I don't understand how you have any bars left.

Does everyone on the forum already have one or something?

How many of your bars have been sold in total???

In all honesty, I figured it would be more for that stuff from Subaru...

I would get one if I could get one of these cars sold, maybe even a couple or a few

ensteele · #**133** 07-05-2010, 04:07 PM

I think members need to hear back from satisfied customers so they know how easy they are to install and how they work. I have been very busy and have not kept up with this product as much as I should. I am interested in them, but I don't need 18.

I will start to check them and see just how many I may need though.

I don't remember how much they are with shipping. Please let me know. Are you going to make another run after you run out? What are your plans? Thanks for answering these questions for me.

Nevin · #**134** 07-05-2010, 04:15 PM

Hi Earl, glad to hear from you.

The price per unit is $260 shipped anywhere in the lower 48 states. Of course, cost goes down a bit if you order more than one.

I plan on making them as long as demand continues. I think the next time around I'll only do 10 again instead of 15, as this run wasn't spoken for as quickly. I'd rather have a bit less overheard cost involved and be able to sell them quicker than be "into" them for more and have to wait longer to sell.

Plus if people don't get one right away, they only have to wait a few months to get one. Not the fastest turnaround, but not bad for an order as small as this.

And if you need to get opinions of customers and their impressions, simply read through this thread or the "who wants an aftermarket rear sway bar" thread in the mod mania forum.

I think so far everyone has been pleasantly surprised. That is, it is even more effective than they had thought it might be.

ensteele · #**135** 07-05-2010, 07:59 PM

Yes, it sounds like buyers are surprised on the performance. I am convinced, but was just meaning that at the start members might need to find out if it was a good mod or not. I will get in touch in the near future.