Write-Up: Front/Rear (Addco) Stabilizer/Sway Bar Installation

Since I got a second set of addco bars to add to Melissa's Riv, I figured this would be a good time to get some photos and share a few observations.

The Addco Kit:



Addco finally got it right. Without prompting, the new rear bar came with OEM GM orange bushings, and the front bar came with mounting plates, which are now powdercoated black.

Addco 1.25" Front bar vs 28mm Stock bar.



You can see the front bar is considerably larger and the bends are just slightly different. That might explain why it's a bit easier to put the new one in than taking the stocker out.
Stock front 28mm bushing vs Addco 32mm bushing. Note the much larger bar diameter. This picture clearly shows the special shape of the stock bushing, which explains why you need the mounting plates.


Stock 17mm Rear bar vs 7/8" Addco bar





you can see the addco bar is much beefier than the stock bar. The point is driven home even further when you compare the stock 17mm bushing to the 22mm STS Orange bushing:


Moving the bars around, I noticed how ridiculously light the stock bars were. I could also hear debris rattling around in the front stock bar. You can see where this is going right ?


And since this is a riviera site, note the green and white riv in the background:


That's right, both stock riviera bars are hollow. I had been trying unsuccessfully to sell my stock bars on kijiji (equivalent of craigslist) unsuccessfully so in an effort to learn more about the riv and to clear out the garage, I decided to take a 4" grinder with a cutoff wheel to them. I then measured the wall thickness of the stock bars. The front bar has a 5mm wall thickness and the rear bar has a 3mm wall thickness! That being said, I can certify that BOTH addco bars are completely solid. We can now accurately calculate how much stiffer the addco bars are over the stock bar:

You'll recall the stiffness of a bar is proportional to the 4th power of its diameter. Therefore:

1. The solid 1.25" (31.75mm) addco bar is 99.4% stiffer than the hollow 28mm bar; and
2. The solid 7/8" (22.2mm) addco bar is 254.2% stiffer than the hollow 17mm bar

Thanks for posting the pictures Jason. The Addco bars are definitely on my to do list. Can I ask where you got them from? Did you order direct from Addco, or from Never Enough Auto Accessories on E Bay? Addco part numbers 2018 and 2015, correct?

I bought them from never enough auto. You can`t buy direct from Addco. Yes, those are the correct p/ns

Brad still runs Never Enough. Since a LOT of people have joined since 06, it might be worth it to try to get 5-10 people on board to see if he'll run another group buy.

Thank you so much Jason for all the info you've posted on this, and overall for making these bars a possibility in the first place. One of my favorite mods! And I've been wanting for someone to cut their OEM bars cut for a long time!

(+)(+)(+)(+)

Jason wrote:

I bought them from never enough auto. You can`t buy direct from Addco. Yes, those are the correct p/ns

Brad still runs Never Enough. Since a LOT of people have joined since 06, it might be worth it to try to get 5-10 people on board to see if he'll run another group buy.

I contacted Brad at Never Enough. I asked him how many orders we would need for another group buy. Anyone else interested?

Im interested.

me also. If it fits the 95. Though if it doesn't I can afford to get it anyway for the 98.

Count me in...definitely interested if it fits a '95

OK, Brad said we need 10 orders. So far, we have 4.

Oh this is not good...





I cannot get this bar to line up! It looks like the mounts for the bushings on the frame are square to each-other and this bar is definitely not. I tried wrestling it in but it's too far off and the bushings are not nearly forgiving enough for this variation. Did I get a defect sway bar or what??

Must be defective. For the bar to pivot correctly, both portions in the bushings should be on the same axis. I'd return it.

just elongate the hole that has the bolt going through it in the pic. elongate it cross wise and to the right of the bolt head in the pic. that should line things up. i dont see how this would negatively affect the bars function.

robotennis61 wrote:

just elongate the hole that has the bolt going through it in the pic. elongate it cross wise and to the right of the bolt head in the pic. that should line things up. i dont see how this would negatively affect the bars function.

I thought about that but like AA said above, I'm pretty sure that's not how the bar is supposed to work. It's supposed to have a perfectly straight axis to rotate on.





BTW, those of you who are using ES greasable bushings, what kind of grease are you using?

i have been using the mobil 1 red synthetic grease. its high temp and made for suspension parts.

be careful with the ES zerk fittings, the threads on mine did not want to hold on the bracket.

Count me in for a front bar (2018), how much are we saving with a group buy?

Codith, "normally" sway bar installations are finalized with the weight on the car. Place the bar in the approximate location and see if you can get the bushing clamps into position without tightening the bolts down. Even though you have the greaseable bushings, grease them all around on the inside before installation.

Line up the endlinks and install them "loosely". Put the weight on the car and tighten down all the bolts. On the riviera it might not be possible to reach the bracket bolts with the weight on the suspension. I don't remember.

Yes, it's inconvenient but that is the correct way of doing it according to every bar manufacturer I've used (hotchkis, BMR, Hellwig & Addco). That being said, there have been out of plane addco bars, but I don't think there were any that bent in that direction. If you lay the bar flat on the ground, are both arms on the same plane ?

The swaybars fit the 95 model year.

Yes, I want to get in on this. Both front & rear bars and, if there is any advantage, better (firmer) bushings.

Jamax wrote:

Yes, I want to get in on this. Both front & rear bars and, if there is any advantage, better (firmer) bushings.

That makes 5 1/2. Think we need 10 orders, and I'm not sure how much we are saving. If we get 10 orders, I can ask Brad what the price will be.

Jamax wrote:

if there is any advantage, better (firmer) bushings.

I would say harder bushings are, to some extent required, to get the full advantage of the beefier bar. They are supplied with the kit.

Jason wrote:

Codith, "normally" sway bar installations are finalized with the weight on the car. Place the bar in the approximate location and see if you can get the bushing clamps into position without tightening the bolts down. Even though you have the greaseable bushings, grease them all around on the inside before installation.

Line up the endlinks and install them "loosely". Put the weight on the car and tighten down all the bolts. On the riviera it might not be possible to reach the bracket bolts with the weight on the suspension. I don't remember.

Yes, it's inconvenient but that is the correct way of doing it according to every bar manufacturer I've used (hotchkis, BMR, Hellwig & Addco). That being said, there have been out of plane addco bars, but I don't think there were any that bent in that direction. If you lay the bar flat on the ground, are both arms on the same plane ?

I have the new cradle sitting on the floor so I have a full view of whats happening. I don't even have the control arms put on right now to observe the connection of the links. The problem is the same no matter how far up or down I position the sway bar while trying to line up these brackets. It looks like the axis on the bar is actually off.

I'm also noticing that the bends that start just outside of the contact area between the bushings and the sway bar are really close to the bushing - like the bands are starting too early in. If I center the bar, the bend is slightly in the region of the bushings, which is making matters worse for getting it clamped. Is that how all your bars are too? It's hard to tell if that's ok or not because of the angle problem at the same time.

I haven't gotten any response from neverenoughauto via ebay yesterday or today so I wonder who I should email?

turtleman wrote:

Jamax wrote:

if there is any advantage, better (firmer) bushings.

I would say harder bushings are, to some extent required, to get the full advantage of the beefier bar. They are supplied with the kit.

Thanks, Turtleman. That's what I needed to know.

I'm in for a group buy on addco sway bars. Beefier sway bars seem like a no-downside mod to me - I could have used them this morning.
Incidentally, by way of introduction, I've got a '96 Riv SC - all stock but hopefully well maintained.

It's a great mod if you value great handling and you don't mind "feeling the road" a little. The only thing I can see that some might not like is a bit of added harshness over bumps. The soft Buick ride that feels great cruising the open road is compromised somewhat when things get rough. When you hit a small bump or crack on one side, you will feel it more with stiffer sway bars, as some of the force is transferred to the opposite side of the car and into the cradle, so it magnifies that force. It's not as bad if you use rubber bushings. Poly does make a difference.

On larger, more gradual changes in the road surface, and in hard cornering the bars help control body roll, and in this function I feel there is little downside to having a stiffer bar, especially up front.

For those using the included poly bushings up front, I would suggest switching to the energy suspension bushings with greaseable bracket (see previous page). The ES bushings are nearly as hard as the poly, and are easier to service. The poly bushings need to be greased a couple times per year, which requires removing the brackets. Otherwise, they'll develop a loud screeching sound when going over bumps. Just something to consider when installing these bars.

Last thing: to get the most out of your bars, replace the links and use harder link bushings. This is especially important up front, where there is more force being transferred through the bar. See this thread for more on upgrading links:

https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t7376-write-up-stabillizer-anti-sway-bar-link-upgrade

turtleman wrote:

I haven't gotten any response from neverenoughauto via ebay yesterday or today so I wonder who I should email?

sent you a PM

AA wrote:

Last thing: to get the most out of your bars, replace the links and use harder link bushings. This is especially important up front, where there is more force being transferred through the bar. See this thread for more on upgrading links:

https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t7376-write-up-stabillizer-anti-sway-bar-link-upgrade

The Addco bar comes with upg endlinks and bushings. The stock ones are quite soft.