Steeda sway bar and endlink questions

[KJNVUDU]

Really dumb question (or I'm the dumb one!)

Do I have this bar in correct, is is it upside-down?


Steeda tells me bar bushing pivot point and endlink mount hole should be parallel to ground. Endlink is over an inch and a half too long for that.

Most pics and video I find show it this way and I'm okay with it not being parallel. I'm even okay with having to move some wiring around to avoid contact with the endlink.
But what bothers me most is the angle of the endlink.

When the endlinks tightened, I can only turn the steering knuckle a few degrees before the bar binds up the steering.
I've even played around with using the front hole on the strut which gives the endlink a little better geometry. But then brings up wire routing issues.

I've seen in other post where people have brought up clearance issues and Steeda has replied "start with a hole in the middle." And a reply to my email today to them was they usually don't use their endlinks on a magnaride car. Why did I buy this stuff if it can't use it!
I hope I'm not coming off as a total idiot here. I know tons of S550s are running this stuff, I'm just hoping to get some advice.
Thanks guys.

 

[twistedneck]

Really dumb question (or I'm the dumb one!)

Do I have this bar in correct, is is it upside-down?

View attachment 89810
Steeda tells me bar bushing pivot point and endlink mount hole should be parallel to ground. Endlink is over an inch and a half too long for that.
View attachment 89811
Most pics and video I find show it this way and I'm okay with it not being parallel. I'm even okay with having to move some wiring around to avoid contact with the endlink.
But what bothers me most is the angle of the endlink.
View attachment 89812
When the endlinks tightened, I can only turn the steering knuckle a few degrees before the bar binds up the steering.
I've even played around with using the front hole on the strut which gives the endlink a little better geometry. But then brings up wire routing issues.
View attachment 89813
I've seen in other post where people have brought up clearance issues and Steeda has replied "start with a hole in the middle." And a reply to my email today to them was they usually don't use their endlinks on a magnaride car. Why did I buy this stuff if it can't use it!
I hope I'm not coming off as a total idiot here. I know tons of S550s are running this stuff, I'm just hoping to get some advice.
Thanks guys.s

its not upside down.. here is a 3d of a production bar at design position (heavy).. but i believe the link needs to be on the outside of the bar not the inside. I don't have an S550 / S650 so i can't say for sure..

 

[k_z]

its not upside down.. here is a 3d of a production bar at design position (heavy).. but i believe the link needs to be on the outside of the bar not the inside. I don't have an S550 / S650 so i can't say for sure..

It does - it's a tight fit, especially with Magride struts. I am using Whiteline (they're slightly lower profile), I think Cortex has the lowest profile endlinks I've seen. Steeda's endlink were impossible to bolt on to the outside of the bar for me and on the inside they were binding.

 

[KJNVUDU]

Thanks for the replies. It always helps when I know what I'm seeing is accurate and not a problem I'm creating by doing something wrong.
I did initially have the links mounted on the outside and was about to take it for a ride. I put the bar on a couple of nights ago along with the dual rate springs and had it sitting on the ground to let it settle some. When I lifted it back up yesterday morning to snug the jam nuts, I just couldn't leave it alone and tore into it again trying to move things around.
I'm putting it back together now with the links on the outside, and of course, no binding. I've even moved to the second hole on the bar and will see what kind of improvement it is over stock.
I guess I'm just one of those "if a little is good, give it all to me!"

 

[mavisky]

With my Steeda endlinks I ended up greasing them, removing the grease zerts, and plugging them with set screws as the clearance was truly that tight up front. also the endlink on the bar has to go on the outside. This is during my install, but before inserting the set screws.

 

[Stan Whitney]

Yes, bar side endlinks are on the outside. I see you did the smart thing using the forward strut mount which is normally used for the wiring clips. That helps with the angularity of the link depending on bar position. I run position 2 or 3 (out of 4) they are my mid and soft positions.

I did have to flatten some unused wiring tabs on the bottom of the strut a bit to clear the endlinks in some positions. I'm using the stock links as they have the most clearance. Ran the same links on my 350 for 2 yrs with bmr bars.

 

[mavisky]

I never had issues with the stock links and even through the abuse of autocrossing on bumpy lots I've never bent a single one.

 

[KJNVUDU]

So this is what I will go with for the first drive.

I did play around with the front hole yesterday(sounds kinda dirty!), but I just didn't like the wires rubbing more than in stock configuration. Even tried moving the bracket on the inner apron.

But I decided this morning that I need to drive the thing before I can perfect it.
I originally said after my first track night that I could run every weekend for a year and steadily improve my driving without touching the car....YEA RIGHT!!
The track I've run so far is NOLA Motorsports. There are four long sweepers that I get a good bit of roll in.
I recently picked up a set of 315 cup 2s and figured the roll will be worse with better grip, so why not do the springs and bars.

I can tell now that I should have sold my car after the first event and found an FP350S or something!!

I hope I notice a big difference going from stock to the seeda bar. That's why I wanted to get the links to the first hole.
It's good to hear that the stock endlinks hold up because I may ultimately switch back if the fit is better. Plus I could always move up to the 1.5 inch bar (which is the one I thought I was getting when at the Steeda in Valdosta), and not have to move links all the way to front.
See how disturbed I am? This is why I decided this morning to just put it where it fits best and go drive the damn thing!
Which I should be doing shortly.

 

[k_z]

My stock link were visibly bent almost immediately after I put stiffer front bar on. Maybe GT350s / GT500s have stronger endlinks given they have stiffer bars from factory.