theres the ksport springs at www.neverenoughauto.com

They are completely different actually.

A strut bar is simply a structural reinforcement of the cars frame in the engine compartment. It doesn't move.

A sway bar is an important part of your vehicle suspension system. In connects the wheels of a single axle together. If one wheels suspension gets compressed, it transfers the force of that compression to the other wheel as well, hence distributing the total force over both wheels.

The larger the bar, the more force it transmits. A sway bar is in fact a spring. A thinner bar will tranmit less force, a thicker bar will send more.

Pretty much every car on the road has sway bars as a stock part of the vehicles suspensions. Every Cobalt does. They have 3 different kinds. These are the FE1, FE3, and FE5 things that you have heard of. Each one has a slightly larger bar.

If you put a bar on your rear axle, there is no need to replace the front one. However, this a part of tuning. You want to try to achieve a balance between the axles. So if you stiffen up the rear, you might want to do the same in the front, but you don't have to.

Got it... thanks Halfcent. Wasn't sure what the point of the strut bar was.

On the anti roll section, what does it mean when you said

"Now when you decide to get a rear bar for your SS or base remeber that this will make the rear of the car a it more lose then it was stock and this can be a problem if you dont know what your doing at high speeds so be carefull!"..

Do I need an alignment if I install sway bars on my ss/sc? Is there anything aftermarket that is larger on the front than the stock sway bar for ss/sc? Progress appears to be the same size on the rear as our stock front and should make it balanced.

Sway bars do not effect alignment.

The FE5 bar is 24mm in the front, and I haven't seen one bigger then that. I'm still waiting to see what the Eibach kit is going to be, but it's been 3 years now, so I don't think they will ever put one out.

Ya I've given up on the Eibach kit too. Thanks for the info. :-)

I read the whole post, great write up!

Are the stock ss/sc springs just a handling upgrade or will they also lower a stock ls or lt? If they do lower it, how much?

Thanks.

Anybody?

they should only be a half inch or so drop, maybe an inch if you are lucky and they are a upgrade in the handling

awesome thread!

Thanks.

I had my 2005 coupe lowered with Eibach Sportline springs. It only took about 20,000 miles for everything to wear out! I have had linkage replaced, control arm bushings replaced, and struts are now being replaced. I took the springs out and put it back to stock. not worth the money or the problems, in my opinion. I just bought bigger wheels to fill in the fender gap left from taking the lowering kit out

In all fairness, I grew up in NH and I know the roads up there ane FAR from smooth. I would never think of lowering something there. Most cars with stock suspension wear out fast there due to the salt used in the winter and huge dips, bumps, potholes and such that are on all the roads. I moved back there in 2004 and for the 3 years I was there, everywhere I drove the roads were like washboards. I would dare to say they are some of the worst roads in the country.

so if you buy coilovers does it replace the strut as well as the spring?

Yes. Basically a coil-over is an adjustable strut and spring combo.

right on, thanks for the quick reply

Man, after reading all of that, you guys have me worried that I made the wrong choice by buying some springs.
I mean, the roads near me arent great, but they arent bad either.
I dont want to do something though that is going to wear out my suspension.

That big long post actually left me with more concerns than relief.

I ordered the progress springs.

Are they not considered good?

i saw on eibach's website, their swaybar kit is 29mm front and 24 rear, i could be slightly off, but that's what their website says, anybody found these? or seen them?

The Eibach sway bar set for the Cobalt was never made. They published numbers for it right after the car was released, but never actually manufactured a single kit. I would have it if they did. I don't know why they didn't.

Is anyone getting as much creaking from the chassis as I am? LS with Eibach pro-kit, 18" Enkei RS7 wheels on 225/45 Kumho Ecsta SPTs, and TTR 1" rear sway bar. I've retorqued everything and made sure nothing is looking to break or fall off (or already broken!).... should a simple chassis lubrication fix this? Creaking sounds like its coming from either front wheel well during turning (and straightening) under moderate torsion.

That sounds like a very specific issue. I would start with a chassis lube like you where thinking. Don't be afraid to take it to the shop even with your mods. Getting the car up on lift can show you a lot.

so runnin eibach sportlines with stock struts what is the average time until they wear out and die on me?? am i lookin at six months or so or what? I guess i am just gonna have to get some koni struts and shocks are they good quality and will they last longer than the stockers?

It depends some people lasted over a year while others last a few months. The Koni's are ideal, but they don't come cheap. You could also buy some new FE5 struts and shocks. I might try that first or I might just save my money for the Koni's.

I keep readin about this FE5 what is it and where does it come from?