Kizashi Club

Also, for posterity's sake, the Road Race Motorsports sway bar was made by Progress Technology and the box is labeled as Progress Technology part number 62.2405

Hopefully this will help some future Kisashi owners if/when somebody tries to put together a group buy a few years down the road

And as a wrap up to my previous post, here are the oddly specific tightening torque numbers from Suzuki for proper installation of the RRM / Progress Technology bar:

Rear Sub Frame Bolt: 81.5 lb-ft
Sway Bar Bushing Bracket Nut: 29.5 lb-ft
Sway Bar End Link Nut: 29.5 lb-ft

You wouldn't/ shouldn't be touching the "Rear Sub Frame Bolt" to fit the sway bar (unless I'm mistaken?)

You should only have to undo the d bush brackets (Sway Bar Bushing Bracket) and end links (Sway Bar End Link Nut).

The RRM kit includes 2 reinforcement brackets that slip over the bracket mounting bolts, and are held in place by the rear sub frame bolts. If I think of it, I'll take a picture when I re-torque things this weekend.

I wasn't really expecting them either, but since they were included I figured they were there for a reason. I certainly could have bolted everything up without them.

Looks like there's no need for me to post any pictures

I gave every fastener a final tightening this afternoon, following a couple days of driving. I got a little extra turn on one of the end link nuts, and one of the subframe bolts.

Those reinforcement brackets are a good idea. I remember looking at the stock brackets and wondering how they could be strengthened.

It's interesting how the two different companies have approached the same product.

Nicely done, bootymac, you forgot to mention a 5mm allen wrench. I was a miserable failure at getting mine off yesterday. I'm beginning to fear that my car has seen some serious salt water or something. Every time I try to do something underneath, I have a horrible time trying to get the fasteners loose. Just couldn't get the end link off of the driver's side. I'm going to order new end links and then dremel it off.

Woodie wrote:Nicely done, bootymac, you forgot to mention a 5mm allen wrench. I was a miserable failure at getting mine off yesterday. I'm beginning to fear that my car has seen some serious salt water or something. Every time I try to do something underneath, I have a horrible time trying to get the fasteners loose. Just couldn't get the end link off of the driver's side. I'm going to order new end links and then dremel it off.

My bad, I forgot about the 5mm hex because I was able to remove and torque the end link nuts without it.

I can see how you're having problems. I noticed some of the hardware on the underside was developing some surface rust, and my Kizashi has never seen snow or salt in its 10 month life.

Have you tried using penetrating fluid? I soaked all the fasteners with Liquid Wrench penetrating fluid beforehand.

It arrived. I installed. I test drove.

First Impressions:
To tell you the truth, it's hard for me to say if I can really tell a difference yet. I'm starting to realize that perhaps many of the roads around me aren't that twisty enough. Anyhow, the car handles great and everything is good, but I can't honestly say that I had the, "Wow, what a difference!" moment. I will pay attention on the on-ramps in my work commute, but I think my test drive did give some hints of improvement in the handling.

Despite me not really noticing a big improvement yet, I have no doubt there is a gain in handling. My RRM bar was identical to bootymac's pictures and the installation went without much drama. There really is a significant difference in the bar diameter between stock and RRM. 15mm to 19mm does not sound like much, but when comparing the bars side to side, you notice the difference. The additional mounts that bolt onto the sub-frame bolt also offer greater bracing capacity.

I am eager to further test out the improved handling from the anti-sway bar, but to be honest, I am more impressed with the Redline MT-90 manual transmission fluid swap. This was something that showed an immediate improvement and one you can really feel. If you have a manual transmission, I highly recommend dumping the factory fill and getting MT-90.