# review, Progress vs. Stillen rear sway bar (LONG)



## Greg200SE-R (Feb 5, 2003)

I've been away from the forums for a while (like anybody noticed), and since then I have a few new reviews/comparisons. I have a '98 SE-R and recently changed from a Stillen rear sway bar to a Progress. My impressions are below.

First, my setup. I have Tein SS coilovers w/rear springs upped from 5kg/280lbs to 6kg/336lbs, Tein pillowballs, stock front sway bar, both strut bars and a Shigspeed LCA brace. The Stillen bar was my last suspension upgrade before the new Progress bar.

Stillen: when I first installed it, I wondered why the hell I never put on a rear sway bar earlier! Immediate improvement, and it could be felt working on any turn taken quick enough to cause body roll. Because the Stillen bar is bolted to brackets, which in turn are clamped to the trailing arms (no urethane at all), there was no play and as soon as weight shifted to one side, the bar began working. However, the bolts holding the assembly together cannot totally withstand the weight shift of a car and would make a slight "clunk" b/c of the collective play between all the parts. More noises developed, including a loud clunk whenever going over speed bumps, bumpy roads or up driveway curbs... very irritating. Another drawback is that it was not properly designed for lowered cars. the mounting brackets bolt up toward the front end of the trailing arms and contact the underbody of the car at times. Not a big deal but a big overlook on Stillen's part. Also, the bar cannot be set as strong as I would have liked because it clamps to the forward portion of the trailing arm. It was set at 2nd strongest setting possible. All in all, a strong performer but plagued by little deficiencies.

Progress bar: This is identical to the B15 Nismo sway bar (for those who dont know, Nismo bars are rebadged Progress units) but with a slightly different dimensions to fit the B14. The bar is not quite as thick as the Stillen. There are urethane pieces to isolate the bar from the trailing arms - no noises at all!! Because the Progress attaches to the rearward ends of the trailing arms (near the beam), it can theoretically be set stronger than the Stillen (because there is more movement at the rear of the trailing arms than the front). The bar was set around 85 - 90% of the strongest setting (strongest being the clamps are furthest away from each other). I notice that because of the urethane absorbing some of the movement, the bar cannot be felt working until a more aggressive turn is made, while the Stillen could be felt working immediately even on less aggressive turns. In fact, the Progress is invisible until there is considerable weight shift.

Comparison: I liked how the Stillen works with even a moderate weight shift, and once working, the Stillen provided a linear compensation; the more weight shift to one side, the more the Stillen would fight it. Great feedback due to no urethane bushings, more communication from the tires. The Progress bar does not provide as much feedback. Additinally, when the Progress bar begins fighting body roll, the urethane bushings compress and decompress, causing a non-linear anti-roll effect - the body roll takes a second to settle as the bushings "bounce back." Not the most secure feeling in the world. However, at higher speeds, when understeer becomes a real danger, the Progress seems to make the rear tires work harder and remove more load from the front tires. This is good. Felt more secure than the Stillen near the limits.

Sorry so long, but this is the kind of stuff I'd want to know about a bar before buying one... so here is the conclusion

Stillen pros: Nice finish, very easy to install, begins working with even a slight amount of body roll - can be felt working even during daily drives, stays linear in fighting body roll, more communication from the rear tires, can barely be seen from behind as it tucks up next to rear beam (pro/con, up to individual)

Stillen cons: trailing arm clamps can contact underbody (nothing important tho), noises develop as you cannot fully eliminate all mounting hardware play, cannot get as strong as I would've liked

Progress pros: great price, provides better anti-roll compensation at the limits than Stillen yet stays invisible to the driver during normal driving, no noises whatsoever, wide range of adjustment, can be easily seen from behind car (pro/con) 

Progress con: needs more weight shift to become apparent, car does not settle as quick due to compression of urethane bushings, cheaper-looking parts and finish than Stillen

Overall, I am happy with the change to Progress. It is a strong performer without all the noise the Stillen made.


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