ST Suspensions Anti-Swaybar Kit

Nachtycoupe

Nachtycoupe

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I'm on the fence on pulling the trigger on these. Mainly because I am concerned about fitment. I don't want to have to modify anything and I see they now come with a RED Conditions/Instructions note.
  • Must use stepped rear spring perch for rear coil spring.
I'm not sure what this means? Why am I concerned about fitment? Well, if you click Compatible Cars which is the link below that I posted, it does not list the E9 or E3. These are for an E12, early 6-series or E28. But I think I've seen on here that they are compatible for our E9's and E3's. If that is the case and common knowledge one would think ST would list the E9 and E3 as well for marketing reasons and to be able to sell more of them opening up two more markets. Mine is a US '74 3.0CS.

I bought a new set back in the day through Carl at La Jolla when he was a rep of sorts and was able to get them at a good price directly from ST. I installed them with some help of friends back in the day for the Bav, but it was years ago and I remember they fit like a glove and it was an easy install. I'm just a little tepid now that I don't see them being offered specifically for an E9.

Question: Have any of you purchased this exact setup and were there any mods you had to make? I did double check and the rear mounts are on my coupe welded on for some sort of sway bar application. I remember what a difference it did make on the Bav, especially once I got the 3.5L, it tracked very nicely and I could really feel the difference from stock anti-sway bar(s), these are much beefier and I really did feel more comfortable handling, especially at freeway speeds and spirited backroad driving. They were a nice, fairly inexpensive upgrade IMO.

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I have a set and have installed the front sway bar with no modifications. I plan to install the rear bar when I refurbish the rear axle next year.

There are comments from users here that, on the front application, they had the sway bar hold-down slot on the front of the frame tear away. I have not seen any cracking or deformation yet and have about 4k miles on the installation.
 
I can see that happening as the fronts are pretty beefy but wouldn't be hard to fix or bolster even more in case that happens. My mechanic is a great welder so that helps. Do you know what the stepped rear spring perch for rear coil spring is? I don't remember having to do any mods, the rear just bolted right up.
 
Hey Chris, so they are not "plug and play" so to speak, with no mods needed? I'm still not clear on what a stepped rear spring perch is but if these sway bars aren't an easy swap with a simple bolt on procedure then I'm going to pass on the idea. I feel like some people say they should bolt right in, but others not so much. From the site warning I don't get a warm and fuzzy about this set-up bolting right up.
 
I agree Chris. I pulled this picture from a Bring-a-Trailer listing for a 1972 3.0cs and the rear sway bar does not come anywhere near the spring perch. I have not looked at 1974 models to see if the pads are in place for either the end-link attaching point (red) or the bar clamp point (yellow).

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I'd think the comment is regarding installing their replacement springs, not the sway bar.
Contact them and discuss.
There are some reinforced front bar pivot mounts around. A welded bar (or?) across the top so the contact between it and the chassis rail bears load, not just the subframe tab.
 
@2000CS - What you are saying makes sense. I can see where a spring perch may be an issue with ST replacement springs. Spring perch or spring seat to me has nothing to do with anti-sway bars unless... like you are saying there may be some blockage from the spring seat mounts, etc. I also realize that the '74 didn't come with rear anti-sway bars but BMW did weld on the factory tabs/mounts, telling me they originally were going to install but for whatever reason did not. I've heard all the stories regarding the reason the mounts are still there, but no sway bar.

I guess my original question still applies. Has anyone with a US spec '74 3.0CS bolted this ST set of anti-swaybars to their coupe with no mods or issues and do you notice a big difference in handling? Or is it a waste of money? Like I mentioned, on my '73 Bavaria I felt like it made a noticeable difference but don't want to purchase this setup if any mods or spacing issues will be a problem.

And to be totally honest, I don't drive the coupe as hard as I used to push the Bavaria. So, this may be a waste of $$$/time if I'm not really going to need the anti-roll capabilities as much as I did in the past. The lower center of gravity on the coupe makes it naturally handle better than the Bavaria anyways so it may not be as noticable.
 
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