[srs_bsns]

Originally Posted by yogi

i don't know about 2014, per H&R website they match.

i'm probably going to just skip the group buy and buy these locally. doesn't seem to be enough interest from forum members or vendors... Plus my local performance shop offered me a much better deal than the only vendor willing to reply on here.

Interesting. Is the local shop EAS in Anaheim? 550 seems like a fair deal if they're willing to install too.

Any word on how they perform compared to M5/650 bars? I'm afraid the massiveness of the H&R bars would actually be detrimental to the way the car handles instead of simply improving the body roll.

[Grumpy514]

Those looks great!

See about getting a GB together.

[yogi]

Originally Posted by srs_bsns

Interesting. Is the local shop EAS in Anaheim? 550 seems like a fair deal if they're willing to install too.

Any word on how they perform compared to M5/650 bars? I'm afraid the massiveness of the H&R bars would actually be detrimental to the way the car handles instead of simply improving the body roll.

550 is not from eas. EAS does not seem willing to respond. i spoke with "kevin @ eas" by phone about it and he never called back. i pm'd and emailed him and he replied that he is still working on determining pricing and asked what i am getting from other vendors. i updated him on pricing i was quoted and he never replied.

$550 is from a local shop in the Seattle Washington area. they are not a forum vendor.

@nerwyll@trinityautosport offered them for $655 shipped.

@FedM installed these and has no issues. i don't think these thicker bars would be detrimental to handling. they will reduce body roll, but i am not a suspension expert to know if they are too thick.

m5 front = 24.5 mm
h&r front = 30 mm

650i rear = 16mm
h&r rear = 20mm

i dont know what the oem thickness is for sure, but i believe front is 22-23mm the rear is 13-14mm??

some members have measured on their own and found different sizes of each, but general consensus is that the increase is approximately 2mm from oem when using m5/650 combo.

given how much the body rolls stock, i imagine this will be a massive improvement going for h&r.

one thing i will note is that the oem m5/650 combo is MUCH cheaper. (about $485 from ecs tuning and i think same price from Tischer) but there is the slight concern of the front bar mounting at a weird angle, but seems members haven't had an issue with this??? (from what I've read at least).

i think it will be worth the extra money for h&r, but the question becomes is it worth $170+ more? people seem to be having really good results with the oem upgrade. i don't track my car, i just want it to handle better during spirited runs.

[paul223]

Originally Posted by Valery.BMW

I have the M5/650i set. Ordered it after reading a number of recommendations here, but now got a problem.

The M5 front sway bar has a very different end link angle, so the link bolt will be bent to compensate it, compared to stock or H&R (see below picture). The issue was also noticed here: http://f10.5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=899757. The tech said, I can try with the M5 links 31 35 7 842 579 (maybe the end junctions have the angle that fits), or bit a bullet and have it installed as is, or just forget about it. There is no way to adjust the angles, because sway bars are made of hardened steel and are strong like hell.

I think I can probably check the angle with one M5 link, they are $100 each. However the full story doesn't look good to me, considering the $650 cost of the original BMW parts. No idea how to trade it out now.

The 650i rear sway bar fits no problem.

Your fitment seems correct with H&R bar, Link end is in same angle as OEM M Sport bar. With M5 sway installed, link points up which is not good I think. I was the guy which noticed this.

[srs_bsns]

Originally Posted by Valery.BMW

Correct, that was an important notice and I put link to your post.
M5 FSB fails to those of 5-series who don't want to geth a wrong bolt angle. Still looking to see my friend's M5 setup, maybe the M5 links can resolve it.

Ah i see. So the other members that installed the m5 sway bar just accepted that it installed an awkward angle? (I was kind of confused by that original picture in the other post)

[EZDozzit]

I'd be concerned with the M5 sway bar and the stress on the bolt at that angle eventually causing it to snap.

[valbmw]

Originally Posted by EZDozzit

I'd be concerned with the M5 sway bar and the stress on the bolt at that angle eventually causing it to snap.

Right. I believe, it is too expensive to anybody buying both the M5 FSB and H&R FSB and run a photo set to proove how does it work. Newertheless my M5 FSB shows the bolt angle will be wrong. We have a local BMW meet on Sunday, if an M5 owner will come, we'll try to have a look at how the sway bar links are installed. Maybe the M5 ones can complete all in harmony, may be not.

[paul223]

Originally Posted by Valery.BMW

Right. I believe, it is too expensive to anybody buying both the M5 FSB and H&R FSB and run a photo set to proove how does it work. Newertheless my M5 FSB shows the bolt angle will be wrong. We have a local BMW meet on Sunday, if an M5 owner will come, we'll try to have a look at how the sway bar links are installed. Maybe the M5 ones can complete all in harmony, may be not.

Did you buy & installed H&R front sway bar?

[4DRS55]

Originally Posted by EZDozzit

I'd be concerned with the M5 sway bar and the stress on the bolt at that angle eventually causing it to snap.

It would possibly cause the sway bar link bushing a bit more stress possibly causing to wear prematurely.

I just had my BMW dealer do the install on the M5 front and 550D rear and I did mention this angle for the front sway bar and not to do the install if they thought it would be a concern and they said it looked fine and installed it. I will talk to the tech tomorrow to see what he thinks when I pick up the car.

[paul223]

Originally Posted by F10N55

It would possibly cause the sway bar links a bit more stress possibly causing to wear prematurely.

I just had my BMW dealer do the install on the M5 front and 550D rear and I did mention this angle for the front sway bar and not to do the install if they thought it would be a concern and they said it looked fine and installed it. I will talk to the tech tomorrow to see what he thinks when I pick up the car.

It might be fine looking at it, but it does put more stress on link joint. When you unscrew four bolt under car's body frame, they are eager to come loose because there is some tension since the link joints don't point down like OEM.
Dealer's tech use air tools so you can't really feel the torque required to tighten up bolts.

[valbmw]

Originally Posted by paul223

Did you buy & installed H&R front sway bar?

No I didn't, just finished installation of exhaust, new wheels, carbon, springs and finally got confused with the M5/650 sway bars. Need to slow down for now, due to budget. Will come back to that research in a couple of months.

[LACSTER]

I can get a groupbuy discount if anyone is interested.

[Michael V.]

Originally Posted by LACSTER

I can get a groupbuy discount if anyone is interested.

I'd be interested in the F&R swaybar for the 550i

[Silververtu]

Originally Posted by xMRV

I'd be interested in the F&R swaybar for the 550i

+1

[paul223]

in for group by front and rear

[EZDozzit]

Originally Posted by paul223

in for group by front and rear

+1

[Dan1416]

I might be interested. What's the pricing Kev?

[4DRS55]

Originally Posted by F10N55

It would possibly cause the sway bar link bushing a bit more stress possibly causing to wear prematurely.

I just had my BMW dealer do the install on the M5 front and 550D rear and I did mention this angle for the front sway bar and not to do the install if they thought it would be a concern and they said it looked fine and installed it. I will talk to the tech tomorrow to see what he thinks when I pick up the car.

Spoke to the tech today about the angle and said he was not concerned with the angle bc the joint was not pinched and designed to have movement.

[HDEddie1]

My Indie, who use to be a BMW master tech, did confirm that the connection on my M5 far is "tight" and is prestressing the bolt and link due the the slight angle. He added, though, its not the end of the world and that unless I drove abusively race hard, the likely hood of premature failure is remote if the car is street driven .

While there have been many people that have done this mod, there is no history (YET) to suggest otherwise. He added even if you snap the bolt or break the link, they're cheap to replace. My Indie guy also is a current BMW track rat so I trust his comments.

Even so, the H &R bars sound very promising but I bit concerned that they may be TOO stiff and may have unintended consequence from loss of compliance (when going over uneven sided roads), lifting an outside wheel on hard turns, or, even worse overpowering the OEM sway bar links (and breaking them). In the meanwhile, the car might handle go cart flat...it would be nice to get some long term feed back from someone that has done the H &R).
Until then, the M5 front bar/650i rear bar set up on my F10 works well and I'm not thinking of throwing them under the bus just yet.

[4DRS55]

Originally Posted by HDEddie1

My Indie, who use to be a BMW master tech, did confirm that the connection on my M5 far is "tight" and is prestressing the bolt and link due the the slight angle. He added, though, its not the end of the world and that unless I drove abusively race hard, the likely hood of premature failure is remote if the car is street driven .

While there have been many people that have done this mod, there is no history (YET) to suggest otherwise. He added even if you snap the bolt or break the link, their cheap to replace. My Indie guy also is a current BMW track rat so I trust his comments.

Even so, the H &R bars sound very promising but I bit concerned that they may be TOO stiff and may have unintended consequence from loss of compliance (when going over uneven sided roads), lifting an outside wheel on hard turns, or, even worse overpowering the OEM sway bar links (and breaking them). In the meanwhile, the car might handle go cart flat...it would be nice to get some long term feed back from someone that has done the H &R).
Until then, the M5 front bar/650i rear bar set up on my F10 works well and I'm not thinking of throwing them under the bus just yet.

Agreed

[yogi]

fyi, i ended up going for the m5/650 setup. i also have some concerns about the h&r bars being too stiff for street use and at the end of the day, it was much much cheaper.

[HDEddie1]

Originally Posted by yogi

fyi, i ended up going for the m5/650 setup. i also have some concerns about the h&r bars being too stiff for street use and at the end of the day, it was much much cheaper.

Yah, can't help but wonder how those H &R work out. My guess is that the car will handle like a go cart but I'll wait to hear from somebody that's lived with them on city streets for a while.

In the meanwhile, I think we that went the M5/650i route will be plenty happy with the increased roll control without any advise effect to ride or bump control. Let us know how you like it!