Thinking of swapping T1 sways with hotchkis sway bars

[496_Charger]

Hi, I currently have a 01 z06 with billstien shocks on all 4, lowerd 1/5 inches maybe 2 inches, with T1 sway bars. I am sick and tired if them squeeking constintley even after lubing them with good grease severall times. Also The ride is very very rough, I dont mind a hard riding sports car at all, but even going over little bumps feells like your fillings are going to fall out.

So i have been thinkg latley about swapping over to some hotchkis bars. How do they perform compared to the t1 bars? I know the t1 bars are stiffer, and will hold the car flat better, but are the hotchkis bars that bad in comparisen? Wil they make the car stop sqeeking? And make is ride less harsh?

Thaks alot everyone!

[meldog21]

I have the Hotchkiss bars and they don't make any noise. Yesterday I rode as a passenger in a Z06 with stockbars and I could definitely notice more body roll. I can't give you an exact comparison between the T1 and Hotchkiss for how much roll difference there might be. The Hotchkiss bars work well on the street and the track for me.

Dog

[DJWorm]

1. The Hotchkis sway bar DOES NOT offer much, if any performance above an OEM Z06 sway bar. Although the Hotchkis bar is slightly larger in OD the walls are thinner. Therefore the NET force/resistance is nearly equal.
With the thinner walls the Hotchkis may be more progressive in the roll "feel"...but again the roll resistance is almost the same.
It could be that those that DO notice a difference are noticing the pre-load offered by the longer adjustable end link...but this would also occur if a longer end link (lever arm) was applied to the OEM Z06 bar as well.

2. The T1 bars offer an a noticable increase in performance over both the OEM Z06 bar and the Hotchkis.

3. As to squeaking....IT'S NOT THE BAR ...and changing the bar will not help. Squeaking sway bays are caused by a number of things
- Improper shimmed T1 bars. T1 bars are frequently installed using the OEM Z06 bracket mounts. That's OK if they are properly shimmed with 3-4 SS fender washers. AS the T1 bar has a larger OD and hence larger bushings the smaller OEM Z06 brackets need to be shimmed WITH the proper torque applied to the mounting bolts. If not the bar will bind and squeak. Properly shimed and torqued the bar should rotate freely by hand in the mounts with the end links detatched.
- Improper Lubrication of the sway bar mount bushings. The bushings require either a Lithium or Silicon Grease impregnated into the interior webbing of the bushing. I prefer Lithium Grease for the bar bushings. And the application needs to be neat and clean. Excess grease can attact dirt & grime. Too much is a bad thing.
- Improper maintainance. The bushings need to be cleaned and regreased at least once a year. Every six months if the car is tracked and more often if the car is in competition and/or sees excessive water.
- NonTeflon lined Heim jointed spherical end links are noisier and will squeak more than teflon lined units. They also require more maintainance.
- Improperly installed end links. Make sure they are aligned properly and that the bolt washers are in the proper position. If necessary (rarely) they may also need to be shimmed to align them to a 90 degree (perpindicular) position to the bar and A Arm. If they are not aligned perfectly they will bind and squeak.
- Improperly maintained end links. End Links need WEEKLY maintainance or they will squeak...even the teflon lined ones. They should be greased with a silicon or lithium grease likewise. I prefer a red silicon spray grease. Only a light coating and wiped off so there is NO excess. More frequently if tracked, in competition, in the wet or dusty conditions.

NOTE: Hotchkis end links are teflon lined whereas some T1 end links are NOT.

Sometimes other suspension parts squeaking can be falsely attributed to the end links & Sway bars such as worn A Arm bushings, Shifted A Arms & bushings, improperly torqued or corroded spindel nuts, etc.

[496_Charger]

Thank you for the reply man. I think the previous owner used stock brakets when installing them, I am going to go outside now and put in some washers.

[496_Charger]

that solved the problem, the suspension is super quiet now.
Thanks