DESCRIPTION
Install UUC Sway Barbarian Anti-Roll Bars
PARTS NEEDED
1 - Set of UUC Sway Barbarian anti-roll bars
(UUC MOTORWERKS $350.00 part# SBE46)
TOOLS NEEDED
Phillips-head Screwdriver
Socket Wrench
13mm Deep Socket
13mm Wrench
2 16mm Wrenches
2 17mm Wrenches
5/8" Wrench
11/16" Wrench
White Grease/Axle Lube
Hot Water (optional)
INSTALLATION
Usually this modification is the first done by most 330i owners. It provides the most noticable handling change for
the least amount of expense. The Sway Barbarians were on backorder for a
long period of time due to high demand. This caused them to be one of my later modifications. The Sway Barbarians
from UUC, along with other aftermarket anti-roll bars from other manufacturers
(such as Racing Dynamics, Dinan, etc.) improve the handling of your BMW by limiting the body's lateral movement.
During turns, the vehicle's body wants to lean or "roll" to the outside of the turn due to centrifugal force. This
can cause the inside wheels to have a tendency to lift from the ground resulting in less than optimal traction. An
anti-roll bar (also called anti-sway bars) connects the left and right suspension components with a stiffened bar.
This bar resists the body's attempts to let the car lean to either side helping to leave all 4 wheels on the ground.
Most anti-roll bars are adjustable in that you can set how stiff you want the bar to act. This is done by connecting
the suspension components to one of two or three holes in the bar's ends. The farther from the end you connect the
suspension endlink, the stiffer the bar will act and the less roll the car will have.
When deciding on how stiff to set your bars, remember: Starting with both bars in the middle hole will provide the
most neutral handling. I chose to reduce the amount of understeer natural to BMWs by using the end hole on the front
and the middle hole in the rear. The stiffer the front, the more understeer; the stiffer the rear, the more oversteer.
1. The kit consists of the front and rear bars with 2 urethane bushings each plus 2 new endlinks for the
rear (Photo A).
2. Starting in the front, raise the car on a lift or with a jack and jackstands. I will tell you that a lift
will make this install much easier, especially when we get to the rear bar.
3. Remove the plastic underbody shield. There are (2) plastic pop rivets (Photo B - blue circles) and (6) 1/4-turn
captive screws (Photo B - red circles). The shield will slide back and come out easily.
4. Find the ends of the OEM anti-roll bar. Slip a 16mm wrench between the bar and the endlink and you will find
flat spots that let you hold the bolt steady while you use another 16mm wrench to remove the nut (Photo C). Repeat on
the other side.
5. Get ready to catch the bar during this step. Using a 13mm deep socket, remove the two bushing mounts bolts on
either side (Photo D) and remove the bar.
6. Side by side, you can see the differences in the stock (black) bar and the UUC (silver) bar (Photo E).
You will also notice that the aftermarket bar is significantly larger in diameter (Photo F).
7. Now, when I received my kit, I was shipped two sets of front replacement bushings. The E46 (330i) uses the
bushings with the flat lower surface (Photo G - right side). You may discard the other set.
8. The front set of bushings are made of high-quality urethane and do NOT flex easily. There is a split in
each bushing to allow it to slip over the bar. Easier said than done. I chose to let the bushings rest in a cup of
very hot water for 5-10 minutes to allow them to soften (Photo H).
9. Once the bushings have become nice and soft, begin to slip them over the new bar in the same locations as
the stock bar. Once you have got a bushing started over the bar is when you can apply a large amount of grease to the
inside of the bushing. Then, press the bushing onto the bar (Photo I). Greasing the bushings before mounting them
makes it very difficult to get them on the bar, but highly entertaining for onlookers!
10. Pop the bushing mounts off the stock bar and place them on the new bushings.
11. Place the new bar into position under the car and fasten the bushing mounts tight. Tighten to 16 ft-lbs. You will see grease squeezed out of the bushings. This is a good thing, it means you have plenty in there.
12. Choose which hole you want to attach the endlinks to and fasten both endlinks tight. Tighten to 48 ft-lbs.
13. Your front bar is now finished, let's start on the rear bar. Remove both rear wheels.
14. Behind the spring is the upper attachment point for the rear bar endlink. Using 2 13mm wrenches, remove the nut
and bolt and set them aside (Photo J). Repeat on the other side.
15. Each bushing mount for the rear bar is fastened by a single 13mm bolt and nut (Photo K). Once this bolt and nut
are removed, there is a metal tab on the mount which can be released by pressing up. You may have to break the rubber
loose from the frame and bushing mount with a flathead screwdriver or similiar tool.
16. Getting the bar free from the chassis is a bit of a puzzle, but if you are using a lift, it comes out
fairly easily with some creativity. I pulled the right side free first, then brought the bar down and rotated it into
a crevice next to the muffler. This let me slide the left side out.
17. Here are the stock and UUC rear bars side by side (Photo L). You won't need the hot water for the new rear
bushings. Just grease them up and slip them on.
18. Place your UUC bar into position and reattach the stock bushing mounts. Tighten to 16 ft-lbs. Again, tightening the mounts will
force grease out of the bushings. This is normal.
19. If you take a look at the stock rear endlinks, you will see the ends are rotated 90 degrees to each other.
Take your new UUC endlinks, rotate them the same way and tighten the 17mm nut in the middle down.
21. You can remove the twist tie on the UUC endlinks, being careful to keep the aluminum spacers in
the hyme joint. Lower the endlink through the hole in the control arm and bolt the endlink in (Photo M). Tighten to 25 ft-lbs.
20. Attach the lower endlink to the appropriate hole in the bar with the bolt going
through the bar, then the endlink, towards the tire (Photo N). Be sure to place the washers on either side of the
endlink joint itself. The bolt head is 5/8", while the nut is 11/16". Repeat on the other side.
You are finished (Photo O). My camera died on this picture, so I will try to get a picture of the rear
install at this angle as soon as possible.
