GT3 Sway bar & Adjustable drop link installation DIY - help needed

Ok I am installing a gt3 sway bar in the front of my car, not that I want that much more under steer but anyways... I cheaper out and got a set of agency power used drop links, I know I should have got new taret .. Anyways.. Can anybody chime in as to how to install them ? I have them on but : - how much clearance should there be between the sway bar and the lower control arm ? - my drop links mono all are already at the end of their "play" It doesn't look right Ideally if someone can post picture if their drop links on the car that would be great I'll post my pics layer today

does this look ok to you ? I was expecting the 'monoball' to be more centered when the bar doesnt' have any load on it... Also should the no load be with the wheel in the air ? or on the ground ?

on my 993, you need load on the opposite wheel. when on a lift, i needed to jack up the opposite side. might be the same on a 996.

Not sure if this is what you are asking. This is what I do when setting sway bar to be neutral, IE: no weight jacking. 1. Take the lower end of the drop link off one side 2. Put all 4 wheels of the car on a level surface and settle the suspension, roll the car and bounce it. 3. Adjust the drop link so that you can slide the end onto the mount without having to lift, compress or force anything. Now there should be no preload on your sway bar. The above is very hard to do with no weight on the wheels or one side jacked up while the other is on the ground.

Pre-load it as you'd be driving it- EG, if it's normally just you, sit in the driver's seat when preload is set. If you normally have a passenger, have the passenger sit in the car, too. Also, if you tighten it too far, you'll look like my avatar which looks really aggressive and is great for photos, but in my case was a hole too stiff and went from reducing dynamic camber loss to causing more understeer. Trial & error, and adjust to taste. As to the geometry, it doesn't matter if it's close, so long as it doesn't touch. You should be able to validate most of the range of motion as you jack the car up/down (you would hear a "clunk" while driving if it bottoms out on the lower control arm; ask me how I know! Speaking of which- always torque down those drop-link turnbuckles!) It's OK if the droplink isn't pretty on the ball joints, it will still work.

the problem is that it is a royal pain in the butt to adjust those when the car is not jacked up. It is pretty hard to reach and even more to tight anything. Can I, at least turn the steering wheel to full lock on each side ? I assume that simply locking the steering wheel will also add some preload. I'll try to do it with some wood blocks under the wheels, that might make it possible. Right now I have set it up with the wheels in the air, aka with pre-load.

Phil, Look at these! http://www.hubstands.com/ They are ridiculously overpriced, but you might be able to find something similar on the internet.

That would be a nice piece of hardware to have but a but overkill for me at this time, but I assume that they become a lot more handy if you decide to align your car yourself using the string method.

I'm not an agency power expert but the pics on this page may help Agency power page Two things I wonder about. Do you have al the spacers you are supposed to? And are you mounting it to the correct side of the shock body using the shock mounting bolt hole.

yes I have all the spacers, which are weird shaped and necessary for install I manage to install them properly, I still think it is a bit tight in there, but ran them at homestead and they work just fine. Phil

Quotes source post: 9089231

You can reach up and turn the turnbuckles by hand when there's no load. Then after it's set, take the tire off and tighten the locking nuts down. (You only need to do this on one side, btw, the other can be tightened down immediately.) Turning the wheel shouldn't have significant impact on the load of each spring; you can turn the wheel for easier access. Alternately, you can drive up on ramps and adjust then from under the car, but I've found it easier just to take off the wheel twice.

that is the smart process I needed to hear about genius in its simplicity LOL ....I don't know why I did not think of it myself. :S

I'd double check on those spacers, seems like you at the max operating range of those rod ends (heim joints) any more flex in that direction is going to cause bind and possible failure of the rod end. I have TRG links and the rod ends are dead centre when I installed mine. further more try to have an equal amount of thread showing on the upper and lower joints so not to overly stress one more then the other.

Sharp, if you can post a picture of how it looks on your car that would be great. I am not sure how to make them more straight, I mean with the gt3 sway that I have, I don't see how it can be more straight. if I increase the length of the link it will it the lower control arm. I'd love to see pictures. I'll post some better pics tomorrow.

Is it normal for the car to lift up when turning the steering wheel, when the gt3 sway bars at set at full stiff ? I had the gt3 sway at the min (far end) and when I turned my wheel the car would not do anything special, now that I am at full stiff in the front sway (first hole), i can see my car front fender lift on the opposite side of the turn. Say I stand still, I turn the steering wheel to the left and I can see immediately my right fender going up, I assume the sway bar push the body car up, around the sway bushing...normal doctor ?

Now that you mention it, yeah, I've seen that too. You probably want to adjust it while the wheels are straight. You should be able to feel the resistance in the turnbuckle as you reach neutral and over/under-adjust it; the middle of the neutral spot is where you want it to be.