Hotchkis v.s. Stillen Sway Bars?
 

hey guys just needing a little help from the experts out there. I am about to purchase sway bars but I need to know what is better, Stillen or Hotchkis??? I have eibach pro-kit with the pro-kit alignment that just came in but i have no installed yet. I also ordered the Venaci VS124 20x9.5 front, 20x12 rear that should be in next month. Already installed is the stillen exhaust and g3 intakes and berks high flow cats. my question is, which sway bar kit is more efficient for daily driving and handling?? any advice would help. i thank you guys so much!

look at some of the reviews others have posted regarding those brands you mention..the stillen will probably be the more economical of the 2 and probably more subtle in the effect it has on the handling dynamics of your car although alot have the hotchkis and have commented favorably on the change it makes...pick one...one thing about sways if too stiff on the front you may cause more understeer and if you too stiff on the rear you may cause more oversteer..so something to keep in mind especially if you tend to drive really hard or track the car.

For DD I would recommend Stillen (2 way rear adjustable)
For Track I would go with Hotchkis.(3 way rear adjustable)

I have the Stillen sway bars on my car and I like them. I have them in the stiffest setting on the rear. They really tighten up the car.

Back from the dead.
Help me out with this I'm shopping sway bars this week. It's been one year since this thread started. I'm sure more people have these on their rides by now. Which do people prefer?

I'm still very happy with my Hotchkis bars (front and rear). The car is very well balanced on the track and slaloms perfectly now.

I think the consensus still stands, Stillen for DD street and Hotchkis if you track.

I have been enjoying my Stillen for over a year now, DD/street. Paired up with Swift springs and RE-11's the car performs very stable thru curves and switchbacks. Very well balanced, the more I gas it thru a curve the car squats even more and just wants more g force.

What are the settings of your Stillen sways?

The stiffest setting

How would you rate oversteer? If it applies to your setup?

I have Hotchkis F/R on my Nismo. Its never seen the track <but> it sees a lot of high speed action on the mountain roads where I live. So far, great balance and a perfect match for the KW V3's.

With stock suspension setup (Sport, not Nismo) and 275/35R18 on 18x10 up front + 295/35R18 on 18x11 in the rear, Hotchkis with the rear set to the middle position is very close to neutral for me. Just a tiny hint of oversteer, which is just where I like it to be.

either way you go, you'll get a nice upgrade... but it all depends on how much stiffer you want to go, stillen is designed for more of a street setup while hotchkis can be street as its lowest setting but can be used for the track. Check out this video from hotchkis to get an idea of their setup:

Nissan 370Z Sway Bars: Stock Vs. Hotchkis - Car Videos on StreetFire

I was curious to see if CA3 got his wheels, but he has no pictures in his profile. :(

I've got a gently used set of Stillen sway bars with urethane bushings for sale over in the marketplace forum.

bump from the dead, but why aren't eibach on this thread?? I would take eibach sways over both.

I got the stillens!

I had Hotchkis before but they felt way to stiff for a daily driver. I switched over to Stillen and been very happy with them so far. Great bang for the buck :)

just do the front stillens or kangaroo bar.

I have only had the Hotchkis bars and read from othersway too stiff for DD. :icon14: This is confusing as I never feel this, except for one left where the road goes down and meets a newly paved section. This maneuver shakes me pretty well. Is this the coil overs or sways? Either way it is bearable.

ha? :confused:

This thread was helpful to me. Thanks guys

sarcasm not needed. :mad:

;)

I have lots of Stillen products on my car but went with the Hotchkis for the track but they don't seem to stiff for the street to me.

Bringing this thread back from the grave :tiphat:.

I live in Germany and would like to return to the Nurburgring with a very capable car. I used to take my 350Z on the Ring with Eibach Pro Kit springs, OEM shocks, Nismo sways, and 255/285 RE-11 tires, and though it performed well, the suspension simply wasn't suited for that track. My 370Z is currently on KW V1 coilovers, wider 265/305 RE-11s, but with the OEM sway bars. Which brand would you suggest for a high-speed track with sweeping corners and drastic elevation changes, Stillen or Hotchkis? I'm sure both would be an improvement from stock.

I personally after searching a bunch went with stillen. My reasoning was the wide range of adjustment and I daily drive my car too. Sometimes stiffer isn't better. If on slippery surface wet and the car pushes the front you need to soften the front up to get as much front grip as you can. With the hotchkiss it sound extremely stiff and you have no adjustment. So now your only option is to stiffen the rear to try and overpower the front but now you drive like a bar of soap with zero compliance. With the stillen you have 5 settings in the front and 3 in the rear to tailor balance and grip for conditions. I would rather have my bars have the option to be tailored to whatever spring/damper rates I am using or going to use rather than tailor my spring and damper rates around my front bar.

In my believe sway bars should be used along with damper settings to achieve a balance for front to rear handling and spring rates should be used to resist roll.

Most of the track rats here use the Hotchkis bar.

It seems Hotchkis sways would be ideal for a conventional track, one that is mainly flat with minimal elevation changes. However, the Nurburgring is a different beast. It's really no different than a regular European country road. I'll do some more reading, but it seems Stillen sway bars would be ideal for my application.

You won't find much specific feedback for 1 track. There are many people who track at many locations including those with elevation changes and their consensus is, Hotchkiss front stiffest setting, no bar or stock on the rear.

That seems to be the consensus, you're right. After further reading, I think I'll stick with Eibach sways. Stillen doesn't seem to be too much of an improvement over stock. Hotckhis, on the other hand, may prove to be too stiff for long drives through country roads.

To quote Steven Doherty and BJ Zacharias from the Doran Racing Team which drove the 370z VERY competitively in the IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Championship, "get the biggest FRONT sway bar you can find, even if it is the size of a sewage pipe". :rofl2:

Can't say how the eibach are but I almost went that way too. They are supposed to be a good setup. I will say the stillen are noticable over stock as I had stock and have only changed bars so no other influences in handling and even with just a middle/middle setting the balance is better and doesn't feel like the front rolls to the outside in a downhill off camber turn. Either way I think you'll be happy.

Yeah, I almost went with Stillen but ended up ordering Eibach from Kyle at IPP. I'm sure Stillen would've suited my needs, but Eibach was just at bit stiffer based on manufacturer's claims.

Eibach here and very happy with their performance.:tiphat:

Have you guys looked at our buying guide. It provides good insight into what bars are ideal for certain driving styles and setups.

https://blog.stillen.com/2016/04/sti...ide-sway-bars/

Good read. One of the other reasons I went stillen was the soft setting in the rear wasn't too far off from Oem. With all the people running super stiff front bar and Oem rear I figured the stillen might be on to something by not going to the 100+ % increases in the rear. The eibach look like a good set too but I'm happy with the stillens I got.

Aside from their specs, Eibach and Stillen appealed to me simply because they were red :icon17:.

I don't get it... Why are people saying Hotchkis are to stiff for the street???? Can someone please explain this to me??:confused:

I don't understand either. I daily drive my z34 with a hotchkis upfront and it hasn't made my ride perceivably worse. Its just improved the handling

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Hmmm... See that's my problem.. I cant figure it out. It seems like the stiffer the better.. So in hind sight It seems like the logical answer would be to go with the Hotchkis bars..:ugh2: