SRT Suspension going on my RT. Hotchkiss AntiSway @ same time????

[Todd RT]

Been reading about SRT suspensions on RT's and Hotchkis antisways for months now.

A friend of mine, with a SRT8 Charger just hooked me up with his SRT stuff, he went with KW's.

Wouldn't it make sense to put on Hotchkis AntiSways at the same time as the shock/strut/coil swap?

Do I need to put Hotchkis on the front and rear? The front looked the same on his SRT as my RT.

Any vendors to talk to about the Hotchkis?

I would love to do this myself, but gonna let a friend who owns a 4x4 performance shop have his best guy do it for me.

Any other advice?

[nick_danger]

It makes sense to everything at once, yes. IIRC, the exhaust has to come down in the rear as well in order to get the rear bar in... so if you want to new exhaust too... I'm waiting to put in my Pro Kit until I have SRT shocks and Hotchkis sways, then I'll do it all at once.

[Todd RT]

What's the Pro Kit?

Does the rear suspension have to come off to install the Hotchkis?

[silver7sam]

Pro kit is the eibach lowering springs;

and, I do not believe the rear suspension would have to come off to install the hotchkis sway bars. Most sway bar sets take no more than an hour to install and are pretty simple.

[Carfinish]

for the front you are ok on the sway for the rear you have to drop the cradle to do the sways

[Cam]

Been reading about SRT suspensions on RT's and Hotchkis antisways for months now.

A friend of mine, with a SRT8 Charger just hooked me up with his SRT stuff, he went with KW's.

Wouldn't it make sense to put on Hotchkis AntiSways at the same time as the shock/strut/coil swap?

Do I need to put Hotchkis on the front and rear? The front looked the same on his SRT as my RT.

Any vendors to talk to about the Hotchkis?

I would love to do this myself, but gonna let a friend who owns a 4x4 performance shop have his best guy do it for me.

Any other advice?

Yes, it makes a lot of sense to do it at the same time. The front sway is very easy, you can do that one anytime ya please.

The rear is a different story. I would highly suggest you do them both at the same time. The Hotchis set up is much better then the SRT units, you'll really notice the difference. In order to do the rear sways you will need to drop the cradle. You do not have to drop the exhaust to do it. It would make it easier, but not required. And since your dropping the cradle to do the sways it wil make it 10x's easier for the rear spring install. Remember you will need an alignment when your finished.

Also, the front knuckle is different on the RT then the SRT. This will make the front ride higher then the rear, not much and you wouldn't notice it, but if you measure it, it'll show. I have cut out 1/2 of a coil for the fronts (oh god I hate saying that) to give it some rake. This will drop the front 1/2" and does stiffen up the ride just a little tiny bit.

Your gonna love it when it's done. I ran for along time without the sways and after I put them it..............................YA BUDDY!!.

Good luck.

BTW, HHP sells the sways at a great price.

[RobAGD]

you have to drop the rear cradle to get the shocks and springs in anyways ( about 5-6" ) so if your doing that you might as well put the hotchkis in at the same time. The front sway can be done in the drive way.

The sways on the SRT and RT I belive are the same.

-R

[JimTurner]

Don't forget to get a 4 wheel alignment when you are done. The rear cross member drops down to get room to install the sway. The 4 bolts that you loosen to drop the member are the same ones that are loosened when an alignment is done.

Hotchkis' instructions say to mark the member against the frame before the bolts are loosened. I did that, but getting them back on the mark was difficult. Had the alignment done after and the dealer moved the member some.

Front Bar = Piece of Cake <-- be sure to lube that sucker real good though! Several people have had squeaks as a result of dry bushings.

Rear Bar = PITA.

Bottom line? I love the improved handling with the sways.

jimt

[Bubba's Dragon]

Hey Todd, so what do you think of the ride improvement of the SRT suspension? I upgraded also and wow the steering is so much tighter but the ride looks like a 4x4 now, compared to my slammed Eibach look. But speed bumps are much softer and the ride is like a air cushion and the little bumps dont send jolts up my spine. Not sure if its the shocks or springs but wow its much smoother.

[Todd RT]

havent' done it yet. sounds good!

[Bubba's Dragon]

geter done ^^ Always wanted to use that saying.

[Todd RT]

geter done ^^ Always wanted to use that saying.

YEEEHAAAWW! I'm a'gonna GIT 'ER DUN!!!

[Rolls Royce 1]

Todd,
I am told that the front R/T and the SRT sway bar are the same from HHP and GSM. So don't bother changing it out with the take off SRT stuff. Get Hotchkis if you want to stiffent the front and rear even more. But the guys at GSM said he liked the mix of the softer sways with the SRT harder springs and shocks/struts. That's what I did, but I think the heaver sway might improve the ride even more.
Let me know how you do.

[Super T]

The hotchkis kit is a solid gold upgrade. Worth every penny.

[CoolVanilla]

Here's a good writeup on the KWv2s and sways impressions. I did mine at the same time and I love it. I don't hesistate to recommend the combo:

Ok this is a good news, bad news, great news story. First the install ended up taking MUCH longer than expected. I must admit I was surprised by the original quote of $350 and actually had expected higher. The total ended up being $500. I'll eloborate more in a minute but stay with me here. If all you care about is the handling then jump to the last 2 paragraphs.

The KW V2's were installed, as well as the Hotchkis Sways. I asked for a drop of 1/2" figuring another 1/2" from natural settle over time as everyone stated. I'm not looking to lay my 300C on the ground or anything just a little better stance. All four shocks were turned to their firmest setting and then backed off 1.5 turns. Since I was getting all this done I figured that I may as well just balance all 4 tires for good measure.

The tech's had a very hard time getting the stance right and ended up dropping the rear cradle 3 times to adjust. Not fun for them and the man hours added up. Ultimately the ride height is perfect and the handling, well more on that in a minute.

Now back to the price. The quote with the road force balancing was actually closer to $400. When I called to ensure that the car was ready today they drop the bomb that it's $500. Having met Dave at the M&G about 2 months ago I knew these guys gave the best estimate they could and did the best job possible. So I knew even before the call that A) it would cost more and B) as long as it was within $150 (or roughly 2 more man hours) I wasn't going to get upset. Now for the best part. When balancing the wheels, the weights had to be moved of course. The wheel weight adhesive somehow marred the wheel. Dave ordered two brand new wheels under warranty. Nice.

But what about the handling? Finally I got to take my baby home and luckily the predicted thunderstorms were nowhere to be seen. As I turned onto the freeway on ramp I threw her into the 35mph suggested turn at roughly 65mph. Where it normally would've fallen over slightly and ESP stepped in, it tracked flat and true with no squealing tires. So now I know it's got more. I then proceeded to the clover leaf and proceeded to raise the speed in 5 mph increments until ESP decided enough was enough. On the 5 try I got up to 80 mph and she started a nice 4 wheel drift and I believe ESP kicked in, but honestly couldn't tell. This is the best and most comfortable I've felt with the handling to date.

The ride is nearly unchanged until you go over a speed bump. I was expecting a little better "landing" but it literally crashed over the bump. Must remember to take those VERY slowly now. The highway ride is fine, somewhat firmer but not racecar firm. Still better than my CTS-V. What would I change? I should've dropped the rear 1" vs. 1/2" right out of the gate. Unfortunately to adjust that now would take another cradle drop, I'll wait to do that. 1 and a half turns off full firm may be a little much for some. I think the advise of 1 off the front and 2 off the back would've been ideal. I shared this warts and all so everyone could hopefully learn a little something. I know I did. The best part was I now have a service team I can trust, a car with much improved handling vs. stock and two new rims on the way!