mx5cartalk.com

In case anyone is looking at a new whiteline swaybar - the adjustable rear bars they sell for NAs now come with alloy 2-piece lateral locking clamps that are too bulky to fit an NA. (personal experience)

The tech at whiteline said they don't make the old style 16mm 'hose' type clamps and bushes (that actually fit) any more - so you have to sort it out for yourself..

The fleabay shop selling the bars says you don't need lateral locking clamps anyway..

Draw your own conclusions..

He's right. You don't need the locking bits. If the bar shifts to one side or the other it's because the arms are not even in length or angle of twist, or else an end link is bent or its bush has taken a wrong set. You need to to bend end links or even up the twist on the arms. Lateral lockers is just band-aiding, not fixing.

I have adjustable end links to get the length I need for adjustment, and it's set up right - they're hardly rocket science.
Standard end links would probably stop it but don't give me the length for adjustment.
Lateral locks aren't a band-aid - you're talking about using the standard end links - which doesn't apply.
The tech at whiteline agrees it needs the locks.
I stand by my first post

it only needs the locks if the swaybar is moving sideways through the bushes.

yeah - that is my point
the heim joints on the adjustable end links let the bar slide sideways into the springs.

The reason for my post was just to let MX5ers know that some swaybars don't come with all the bits you need - so they're not as much of a 'bargain' as they may first appear...

then something is wrong with the setup.

exactly

Seems like white line has been a perpetual screw around for mx5 s. Not the first time their bars have had problems.

Support from the tech was pretty average to.

My suggestion would be get a refund.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

Drek wrote:yeah the heim joints on the adjustable end links let the bar slide sideways into the springs.

What endlinks are you using? I have used both the stock and whiteline rear sways with 949 Endlinks and never had the problem of spring contact.

Thanks sailaholic, but living rural - it's too much hassle to return stuff.

They're 949 end links - I meant the bar slides sideways towards the springs - hadn't actually contacted them before I fixed it. It could move over an inch either way because there's 2 heims on each endlink and the bar is greased in its urethane mounts. (there's nothing to keep it in a 'normal' central position)
.
It was never a problem for me because I fixed it - I was only posting because I was disappointed with service -

and my post was only intended to let buyers know to beware and check before buying.

Why are you ignoring every experienced poster in the thread?

... **sigh**

because if you understand my first post - I wasn't asking for a solution to a problem - I thought I was doing anyone that was thinking of buying a bar and wanted the locks a favour by letting them know they needed to check... (and no - I wont be doing that again.. )


Whiteline website quote - " Product Description

OE and aftermarket swaybar effectiveness can be hindered by worn or inadequate mounts and links. Whiteline’s new DIY Sway Bar Lateral Locks are designed to suit both OE & after market sway bars. The locks are easily installed on the car and mount directly next to the sway bar mounting point and prevent shifting or sideways movement of the sway bar under lateral (cornering loads). This results in improved sway bar effectiveness whilst preventing fouling of the sway bar on near by chassis and steering components. "


...... sigh ......

The point is that locks are at best a bandaid solution to a problem that isnt a lack of locks.

Dann

No, I can understand his problem now. He's using endlinks which give him very little assistance with positioning. A little hard to explain but each end of OEM endlinks only rotates on one axis. If the bar tends to shift one way or the other you can fix it by bending the endlinks until they automatically self centre the bar. Rose style ends links have an extra free plane of movement and you can't do that.

If you have a close look at pretty well any aftermarket bar you'll find their manufacture is pretty rural. I suspect most of them are bent and have the ends flattened by hand, so uneven twist of the end flanges is pretty much the rule. Whiteline is not alone with this - but it's the usual root cause of the problem.

Because Drek has these endlinks then keepers might be the only solution. I don't blame Whiteline for not supplying them in the past and I don't blame Drek for needing them. There are some performance advantages in using those links. Maybe Emilio should advise that keepers may be required with that style of endlink.

Right, the bar needs to be bent to suit his setup.

It just a bar of steel, bend it.

Dann