I have a 2006 Cobalt 2.2l and currently am lowered with the eibach pro kit and have the Powell 1.25" rear bar. I want to upgrade my front sway bar as its only 18mm and was looking to get the ZZP front sway bar but from what I hear everyone sais to just get the FE5 front sway but I don't understand why. I know its not Good to get too beefy of a bar as it can add understeer but the ZZP bar is only 25mm when the FE5 is 24mm and I can't see why 1mm would make such a difference. Can anyone inform me please ?!

 

its not just the swaybar thickness that matters, its also the material used, and if its hollow or solid.

in general, adding a rear swaybar, or going to a stiffer one will tend to reduce understeer, or make the car more "loose". going to a stiffer front swaybar has the opposite effect, it will tend to make the car understeer. in a cobalt its been found that the best combo is the ss/tc fe5 front swaybar and a powell 1.25" rear swaybar, or the xxx swaybar for track use. the ss/tc fe5 swaybar is actually 23mm, gm reduced the size from the 24mm thats on the ss/sc as it made the car more neutral.

is there going to be a difference? sure there will, but the only way your going to know the difference is if you tried both out. either will be an improvement over your 18mm as it allows for too much body roll.

 

Alright thank you for your imput, very useful! I know it had to do with the neutrality of the car but wasnt entirely sure why. My other question is where do people buy their FE5 bar? At a dealer ? I'd assume it'd be expensive, the only other way I was thinking is off a part out car. Thanks for your help in advance

 

you can try and find one in a junkyard. car-part.com would be usefull for searching.

Crate Engine Depot - Chevrolet Performance Parts and Engines is where i would look if you want to buy one new.

 

PM me. I have my stock one available from my 2010 SS

 

I'm sure it's obvious but don't forget to get the appropriate bushings and brackets if you buy an FE5 bar.

 

You have to drill a 2nd hole for another bolt on each bracket correct?

 

Correct. The FE5 bar brackets are 2 bolt instead of a single bolt and a locking-tab like FE1

 

What about the SS/SC version with the 24mm bar? Crateenginedepot says the one hole bracket works or stock what it comes with and the 23mm SS/TC version is the two hole design.

Cobalt FE5 Swaybar Clamp 1 Hole 22722387

update! Nevermind 1 hole bolt clamp for SS/SC is correct. I saw a video on youtube of a guy with a stock SS/SC replacing his worn out sway bar bushings and his clamp with the 1 bolt design so i'm good to go.

 

Yes. LSJ cars are one bolt; LNF's got the two bolt. Two bolt is a better design. PRS says you can retrofit... I considered doing it when I had my cradle out earlier this year, but didn't care for the hassle. Front bars are overrated on FWD cars.

 

Yeah I was considering going with zzp front sway bar but after talking with my buddy G5Alive on another thread he explained to me all the BS and fitment issues he went through trying to get their aftermarket bar to fit correctly was enuff for me to just upgrade to the oem SS/SC bar instead. He ended up doing the same thing and went from a fe1 sway bar to a used fe3 sway bar and was fine after that.