GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Look what the nice U.P.S. man dropped off for me yesterday:Now all I need is some nice weather (doesn't look good here in MI), and some spare time (also doesn't look good, back on mandatory O.T. at work).I hope to do the front myself, and if I do, I'll take alot of pics & notes and post it.See Ya,Carl

Coho, give me a call and I'll give you a hand with the install.

I'd love to do it this weekend, but I don't think I'll have the time. I'll let you know when I plan on ripping it apart.

Sorry guy , but where goes this bar and for what purpose?I try to figure out myself and I can't see it.

quote:Sorry guy , but where goes this bar and for what purpose?I try to figure out myself and I can't see it.Sub-Vibe-R, that is a Hotchkis front sway bar. https://www.hotchkis.net/pdf_files/Celi ... %20Set.pdf

Sorry, yes it's a front and rear sway bar. I already have installed a Progress rear bar http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=1153 which tightened up the handling, but compared to what I have been used to driving (97 Z-24, 2001 Dodge Stratus R/T, 85 Vette) the Vibe still needs to be a little more sure-footed, so I went ahead and called J.C. at Hotchkis and ordered their front & rear bars. (only come as a set) I don't believe in giving a product false praise just because I spent my $$ on it whether it deserves it or not, so I'll give my honest opinion of them after I get them on. Carl

Did you get the sway bars at the sale price??? And about how long did they take to get from the time you ordered them?

How much were they cohocarl?

quote:Did you get the sway bars at the sale price???Yes and more. You may want to e-mail J.C. at: jalmiron@hotchkis.net and mention to him you are a member of this forum and he may be able to get you a discount, but I'm not sure how long they are still offering the sale price, or the forum member's discounts.quote:And about how long did they take to get from the time you ordered them?I live in Michigan, and they are shipped from CA and took about a week. Rather quick shipping.

Does this mean you are going to be getting rid of your Hotchkis rear bar? LMK

quote:Does this mean you are going to be getting rid of your Hotchkis rear bar? LMKNo, I'll probably sell the Progress bar after I put the Hotchkis one on. I couldn't drive around with a red front bar and a blue rear bar.....

quote:Does this mean you are going to be getting rid of your Hotchkis rear bar? LMKNo, I'll probably sell the Progress bar after I put the Hotchkis one on. I couldn't drive around with a red front bar and a blue rear bar..... Progress bar! That's what I meant. Sometimes I'm not right...

Must be because you're nervous!

That would be sweet if you could take some pics of the front bar install.-Slink

I had a little time the other night and thought I'd see if it is possible to get the front bar removed/replaced w/o taking the lower "engine cradle" off. I put the front end up on jack stands, removed the wheels, removed the nuts/bolts that hold the sway bar on, but after about an hour of moving the stock bar in every way I could think of, I could not get it out. I do not see any possible way to get the bar on/off without taking the engine cradle off.quote:That would be sweet if you could take some pics of the front bar install.Yes, I plan on taking some pics if I do it myself.Rasermon.....how about this weekend sometime....I may need your help remembering how to get the thing back together once I get it apart. (and some moral support in tackling this one)Carl

Just ordered my bars today. Carl have you checked out this link yet?http://www.powercx.com/celica/hotchkis/A freind of mine has recomended not taking the entire cradle off. This site has instructions that indicate the same.

Yup! I know about the strut bars. I was hoping word wouldn't get out on it. People seem to bid them up higher than what you can buy them for outright.

There's also some strut bars listed for the Matrix on ebay. All of those are already bid up over $120.00 with shipping. One of them is at $140.00 with shipping. Right now you can buy em outright for $119.00 shipped! The only good part of that is the seller on ebay will keep listing more of them till the bid happy buyers are gone.

quote:Just ordered my bars today. Carl have you checked out this link yet?http://www.powercx.com/celica/hotchkis/A freind of mine has recomended not taking the entire cradle off. This site has instructions that indicate the same.Thank you for posting that link. That's about what I was thinking of doing was to loosen up the bolts enough to let the rear of the cradle drop down enough to slide the bar out. I just wish I had more time right now. Carl