Sway bar Armageddon
Well, the simplest of jobs turned into nightmare, thanks to Subaru engineering : )
First off, received the additional tabs, so I can install the race harness to passenger seat, too.
This must be where the tire was rubbing on during that sharp hard compression section of the track. The much stiffer sway bar should help with this, too.
Painted over with Rustoleum. If it rubs again, I will be able to tell...
Also sourced a second set of APEX wheels, and got them mounted with Hankook Z214s as the second set. I cloned and copied my first APEX set's TPMS onto this second set of wheels using Autel's MaxiTPMS programmable sensors. This way, I will not have to bother programming or even switching TPMS...
I installed two 4'x8' 3/4" thick sheets of cheap wood, since without them I was forced to jack the car a bit just to put the lift arms under the car.
I mark the optimum location to where the front side of the rear driver side fender is. This is the side that I can easily check on as I drive the car in.
The nightmare with the sway bar install started with the 14mm bolts on the sway bar bushing housings. These bolts are very tight, and 14mm felt a bit loose(!) on it.... and just like that, the 14mm ended up stripping the bolt! I later found more engagement with a 9/16" wrench, and used it along with a hammer to loosen one of the damage bolts. Of course, this also failed on the other bolt. In the end, my last hope, a very tightly mounted vise grip was able to move it a bit, and I was finally able to remove the second bolt, too.
This is how the bolt looked. Why is this not grade 8.8? It says "8" on it. I don't know what it means, but it's definitely not as strong as 8.8 or higher grade bolts I'm used to seeing on the Corvette. This bolt was literally identical to those that are too easy to strip on the oil pans on various cars...
But wait, Subaru keeps on giving. You're supposed to slide out the mounts after loosening those 14mm bolts a little bit. However, the mounts never wanted to slide out. It became clear why once I completely removed them; they were a tad bit too narrow to slide out. Since there's power steering arms' boots right on the way of that bolt, you almost have to install that bolt by itself first before installing the mount to clear it. To make that happen, I slightly enlarged that channel to fit the bolt it's supposed to slide over.
Here's the bolt screwed in a bit. As you can see, it's literally touching the boot at this height. FYI, I picked same height grade 8.8 flanged bolt replacement (M10-1.25 x 25mm) at Home Depot. They're definitely better grade than what Subaru installed in there.
Let's move on to Perrin sway bar fitment. This is PRETTY CLOSE to the lower control arm. I wonder if it will interfere or hit the control arm during operation.... ughh.
OEM bar with bushings: 5.2 lb
Perrin 22mm with bushings: 9.7 lb
Anyway, this was such a simple job made harder for no reason. It's over. I'll hopefully try it on November 12/13 event (if it doesn't get canceled).