Hotchkis Sway bars and KW V2's

[CVP33]

Finally made the decision on the Eibach vs. Hotchkis sways. I ordered the Hotchkis Sways from AJUSA for $350 delivered. Great price! The KW V2's arrived Thursday from GSM. Super nice and also a great price. Should have these all on by next Friday. Looking forward to a little lower, a little firmer and a lot faster in the twisties. I'll post a full write up once they're on.

Thanks to Meister and BosChrgrRT for the "preferred" settings.

[jhs914]

Finally made the decision on the Eibach vs. Hotchkis sways. I ordered the Hotchkis Sways from AJUSA for $350 delivered. Great price! The KW V2's arrived Thursday from GSM. Super nice and also a great price. Should have these all on by next Friday. Looking forward to a little lower, a little firmer and a lot faster in the twisties. I'll post a full write up once they're on.

Thanks to Meister and BosChrgrRT for the "preferred" settings.

Are you selling your SRT8 springs and shocks?

[CoolVanilla]

Too funny CVP. I just bought my KW2's from GSM, got my Hotchkis sways from HHP and am having both installed this coming Thurs before the GIFO. Look forward to comparing notes

[boschargerrt]

you guys are going to love it...just make sure that you decide what height and damper you want for the front and rear...it might be easier to measure from center fender edge to center edge of wheel (rim)....do this before to determine your stock height and how far down you want to go...keep in mind that the front will be lower than the rear when set at the same height....later, jimmy

[Meister]

Remember, also, that your car will settle approx 1/2" front and rear 3 or 4 months post-install. If you're the patient type, do your initial setup approx. 1/2" high and let physics take care of the rest of it. Worst case you'll need a little tweaking at the front end (super easy) and maybe one (only) rear (which are genuine PITAs to adjust height on. Final adjustments at front only will work for most.

And, remember to set the LF 1/8" higher than the RF to allow for driver's weight to even the front out.

Finally, setting toe-in at zero is a sweet setting - very quick (responsive), yet stable at speed.

[MattRobertson]

And, remember to set the LF 1/8" higher than the RF to allow for driver's weight to even the front out.

uhhh. better make that 1/4" for Man Mountain Van Curen.

[CVP33]

Remember, also, that your car will settle approx 1/2" front and rear 3 or 4 months post-install. If you're the patient type, do your initial setup approx. 1/2" high and let physics take care of the rest of it. Worst case you'll need a little tweaking at the front end (super easy) and maybe one (only) rear (which are genuine PITAs to adjust height on. Final adjustments at front only will work for most.

And, remember to set the LF 1/8" higher than the RF to allow for driver's weight to even the front out.

Finally, setting toe-in at zero is a sweet setting - very quick (responsive), yet stable at speed.

Great advice as usual.

[CoolVanilla]

uhhh. better make that 1/4" for Man Mountain Van Curen.

Eaaaasy there fella. Just cause I outweigh you by like 100lbs...

So you ARE gonna be there for the install, RIGHT Matt? Someone's gotta pass all this info on to Bob. Yeah, I can do it, but forget it if he asks me any questions.

[MattRobertson]

Eaaaasy there fella. Just cause I outweigh you by like 100lbs...

Yeah... and are 8 inches taller than me.

Yeah I'll be there. Provided my engine doesn't explode. Check your email inbox. Looks like I'm for a service call.

Bob may be building me some new cool stuff; worst case. Who was that guy with the heads? Never mind. More on this as it develops Thursday at SVS.

[CVP33]

Hotchkis sways arrived today. Drooled all over them just like the KW's. Going to the dealer Monday to get a quote on the install.

[boschargerrt]

Hotchkis sways arrived today. Drooled all over them just like the KW's. Going to the dealer Monday to get a quote on the install.

chris, sweeeet man...i know your itching now...dosn't the setup look so good in the box...call me when you get it done and do you already know the settings yet...later, jimmy

[CVP33]

Jimmy,

I'm going to mirror what you and meister posted. I'll use that as a starting point. The rear sways are very heavy, the fronts, not so much. Nice quality all the way 'round though. Always better when you buy the best.

[CoolVanilla]

CVP, I had mine installed yesterday. Here are a couple notes that might be of benefit to you and your installer.

-The rear end does need to drop in order to install the back sway. Rather than picking off individual pieces, the guys at SVS located the 4 bolts holding the sub frame up and removed them. This had the benefit of dropping the entire rear in one piece and saving a TON of time.

-The rear sway can be mistakenly installed backward! It goes in fine, bolts up fine looks fine... until you try and roll outta the bay. We made this mistake and messed up a couple of CV boots in the process. The guys at SVS worked like crazy and got the issue resolved in no time, so it wasn't a big deal. But, it otherwise could have been. (PS: The four wheel alignment shop said they'd seen this same mistake many times; its a very easy one to make!)

-DEFINITELY get the ride height in the rear right the first time. Its a bear to change once the job is done.

-Enjoy em! They really change the entire feel of the car.

[Ozzie]

-The rear sway can be mistakenly installed backward! It goes in fine, bolts up fine looks fine... until you try and roll outta the bay. We made this mistake and messed up a couple of CV boots in the process. The guys at SVS worked like crazy and got the issue resolved in no time, so it wasn't a big deal. But, it otherwise could have been. (PS: The four wheel alignment shop said they'd seen this same mistake many times; its a very easy one to make!)

This was one of a few tips mentioned in the HOTCHKIS SWAY BAR INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS on this thread. Might be worth reading and printing out for whoever is going to install your kit.

Hotchkis TVS Installation and Evaluation

[CVP33]

These are going on tomorrow. I'm dropping off my 300 at First TEAM Dodge, same place we had the meet and greet. They're charging me $350 for all four coilovers, the sways and a 4 wheel alignment. That's a little over 4 hours labor at $85 hr. Can't wait!