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Old Nov 15, 2002 | 02:56 PM
  #7  
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inspyral
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,314
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From: San Jo, Cali
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Originally posted by tokyoracer
what about SKUNK2 rear sway bars? are they beefy? anyone have it installed onto their civic? price wise is pretty good.. $169.00 at http://www.modacar.com/products/Honda/Civic/MODASWB/

what do you think?
I used to have the red 21mm Skunk bar:

I was happy with its performance until one day I started hearing these craking noises from my rear subframe while turning. I figured it was the endlinks or D-brackets coming loose, since that was common with the Skunk swaybars, but upon inspection I found those to be tight. I also checked to see if the bushings were still greased up well, and they were. Then I noticed some cracks in the the subframe around where the D-bracket holders bolted on. There were many instances of the previous version of the Skunk swaybar(back when it was still under the Z Speed name, and was smurf blue) tearing out 5g Civic and 3g Integra subframes, but I thought they had been dealt with. Obviously not, since my subframe was pretty jacked. It took over a year, but the subframe eventually gave out. The Skunk bar uses backing plates similar to the Beaks or BSQ reinforcement kits, but smaller, and it seems they weren't enough to keep the relatively thing Civic subframe from tearing out. After that happened, I sold off the Skunk bar, but kep tthe backing plates. I had a local welder repair my subframe and weld in 1/8" thick steel plate to shore it up. He guaranteed the steel plate would not tearout, and I believed him. His welds were quite nice and even, and I was completely satisfied with the job. I then put the Comptech setup on, but instead of just using the nuts and washers provided, I took the backing plates from my Skunk bar and used those. I've been running this setup for a year, with no problems whasoever. The combination of the Skunk backing plates, 1/8" steel plate, and the design of the Comptech tie bar resulted in a nearly indestructable subframe, and has worked flawlessly. Long story short, be prepared to deal with subframe tearout issues with the Skunk bar, unless you reinforce the subframe. If you can find Si endlinks for cheap, I would just go with the ITR setup and either a Beaks or BSQ reinforcement kit. Otherwise, welding in some steel plate is definitely a good idea.
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