Sway bar set for 1992-1999 E36 M3, 328, 325, 323, 318

Regular price $200.50
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This product is manufactured in the USA by UUC.

Designed for the '95-'99 M3 and can be used on any '92-'99 E36 3-series (except 318ti, can use front bar only).

When setting out to design our Sway bar, we looked at some important criteria which others had not addressed. There is the issue of stiffness characteristics which were achieved, but to set the system apart from others, we have incorporated some unique features found only on the Sway bar.

Professional race quality. Used by world-class racing team ERT in the Speedvision Motorola Cup series and is the official BMW CCA design for SE36.

Quality. 100% made in USA with computer-controlled fixtures and precision water jet cut ends.

Superior Adjustability. The Sway bar uses a multi-hole system on the front and rear bars which allows for fine tuning of the bar for whatever desired effect, without sacrificing body roll.

Details:

  • Optional complete kit or choose only front or rear bar.
  • Revised contouring for maximum clearance even with extremely lowered cars.
  • Precision-cut adjustable ends.
  • Positive stop rears bushing guides assure bar stays in place.
  • Optional center-adjustable rear end links with premium-quality spherical bearings for silent operation - no clunks or rattles.  Recommended for lowered cars or those with adjustable suspension.
  • Urethane bushings, hardware kit, and lubrication included.
  • Unique optional center-adjust rear end links suitable for street or track use allow changes without disassembly of link or bar.  Fitted with premium-quality spherical bearings for silent operation - no clunks or rattles.  Recommended for lowered cars or those with adjustable suspension.  Add $129 for rear links.


UUC's unique sizes and materials make this the smart driver's choice for neutral handling and long-term durability.

What's a Sway Bar?

An anti-sway bar is designed to reduce body roll.  It keeps your vehicle flatter in the turns by transferring the pressure exerted on the outboard wheels and applying opposite pressure on the inboard wheels.  In this way weight is more evenly applied to all four wheels, helping the vehicle stay more level with the road.

When the 95 M3 was introduced, it was said to be a agile handling car, with some body roll, with a tendency to understeer.  When the 96 M3 was introduced, the car is said to have increased tendencies to understeer more with no improvement in reducing body roll.

Obvious changes from 95 to the 96-99 model year M3s included tire size.  This was a contributing factor to the increased understeer of the car:

Model Year Front Tire Rear Tire Front Sway Bar Rear Sway Bar
'95 M3 235/40R17 235/40R17 0.88" (22.5mm) 0.748" (19mm)
'96-'99 M3 225/45R17 245/40R17 0.905" (23mm) 0.787" (20mm)

By specifying more narrow front tires with wider rear tires, the car will want to continue to stay "planted".  Since US M3s do not have enough horsepower to effectively throttle steer, this new balance causes the newer M3s to understeer more (or plow) when pressed to the limits.

While most current aftermarket sway bars reduce the amount of roll with larger diameter bars (being stiffer in nature), they do not address the issue of restoring "balance" at the same time.  Using the formula for the polar moment of inertia (in4), sway bar stiffness can be calculated assuming the following parameters:

  • Bushing material remains the same
  • Mounting location remains the same
  • Metallurgy remains the same
  • Adjustments can be made to duplicate the stock position
  • No variations in end link length, tension or compression

When comparing the stock sway bar sizes to aftermarket bars, to the 95 M3, you find some interesting results.

Model Front
Sway Bar
Rear
Sway Bar
Front %
Stiffness
Rear %
Stiffness
Stock '95 M3 0.88" (22.5mm) 0.748" (19mm) 0 0
UUC Motorwerks
Sway Barbarian
1.0625" (26.98mm) 0.9375" (23.8mm) 107% 147%
Dinan 0.875" (22.225mm) 0.875" (22.225mm) -5% 87%

Dinan's sway bars are designed to dial in more oversteer, to counteract the factory designed understeer.  However, this is at the expense of increase front body roll.

Yet, when applied to the newer M3s, the picture changes.

Model Front
Sway Bar
Rear
Sway Bar
Front %
Stiffness
Rear %
Stiffness
Stock 96-99 M3 0.905" (23mm) 0.787" (20mm) 0 0
UUC Motorwerks
Sway Barbarian
1.0625" (26.98mm) 0.9375" (23.8mm) 90% 101%
Dinan 0.875" (22.225mm) 0.875" (22.225mm) -13% 52%

 The 96-99 M3's tendency to understeer more than the 95 M3 is increased with the imbalanced nature of the rates of stiffness.  Dinan's increases are now less dramatic, but still does not do address the issue of front body roll.

What do the numbers mean to me?

With all of the "mathematical" increases in stiffness, what does it mean to you, the driver?  Extensive testing has shown that as driver skill increases (at the track/auto-x) that sway bars that increase stiffness too much cause inside front wheel lift in corners.  By making a front end too stiff (to decrease body roll), the chassis is not able to plant both wheels under turns with increased speed.  Anything stiffer than a 27mm front bar has shown to be stiff enough (and can be reduced in stiffness) to be the ideal size.

What about the rear bar?

A common misconception is that the increase in rear bar stiffness alone is the sole cause for bent (or broken) rear sway bar tabs (the tabs which mount the sway bar bushings).  In fact, even under race conditions, most racecars do not break the tabs.  Rather, rear sway bar tabs bend (or break) because of daily obstacles such as potholes, construction, and other road hazards.  It is the sharp transition and weight shift in such conditions which will weaken and stress the factory tabs.  In the events that the tabs do break, they are built into the rear subframe of the vehicle, which becomes a costly replacement.

Technical details

When setting out to design our Sway bar, we looked at some important criteria which others had not addressed.  There is the issue of stiffness characteristics which were achieved, but to set the system apart from others, we have incorporated some unique features found only on the Sway bar.

Attention to Detail

As an example of our attention to detail, the E36 M3 Sway Barbarians is a very unique set of bars.  The rear is an asymmetric shape, allowing for a fit unlike any other aftermarket sway bar.  Most aftermarket sway bars will usually wind up hitting the exhaust system under full droop situations (when the rear suspension is complete extended such as on a lift).  The Sway Barbarian has a unique bend to less this possibility.  Was this advanced engineering?  Was it rocket science?  Was it difficult to design?  The answer to all of these questions is no.  It's common sense.  

Features include:

- Revised contouring for maximum clearance even with extremely lowered cars.
- Precision laser-cut adjustable ends.
- Optional greaseable and adjustable rear end links for silent operation - no clunks or rattles.
- Urethane bushings, hardware kit, and lubrication included.

Superior Materials

We put our bars through this extensive process to ensure that the final product will be the strongest, most durable bar available, and that it will be the most resistant to form alteration.

Adjustability

The Sway bar uses a multi-hole system on the front and rear bars which allows for fine tuning of the bar for whatever desired effect without sacrificing body roll.

Sway Bar Front Bar Rear Bar
E36 M3 and 3-series (not ti) 3-hole adjustment 2-hole adjustment

Powder coated Finish

After the bars are CNC mandrel bent and the ends are laser cut, a silver powder coat is applied for a smooth, long-lasting finish in a similar process to how factory bars are coated.  This smooth finish allows the bars, when properly installed with polyurethane bushings and grease, for long term performance with minimal maintenance.

Adjustable and re-greaseable 
end links

New Gen2 end links have steel-lined urethane bushings with standard grease fitting for long noise-free life.  No squeaking, clunking, or clicking as with "race" links.

Polyurethane Bushings

The Sway bar include replacement polyurethane bushings which have a unique "rifle-drilled" center.  This allows for grease, when used during the installation, to remain in the groves of the bushing for long lasting, quiet results.  Be sure to use generous amounts of grease to ensure maximum performance from your Sway bar!


 

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Why choose us?

All our manufacturing is done in the USA

We design, engineer and manufacture our various parts in our CNC shops across the United States.

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