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976 Posts
First off Progress customer service has been outstanding. I started researching rear sway bars a few months ago and no one at the time could tell me if the bar fit the hybrid. Of the three main companies that make them, Progress is the only one who cared enough to look into it and asked for me to send them pics ect. The others just blew me off. Fast forward to Thursday afternoon I ordered the bar, they shipped it before eod and I got it the next day (it's Loma Linda to Vegas so it's only a three hour drive at most).
Install notes:
I won't go into it too much since the install is pretty much documented on their website in PDF and video and is straight forward. The six main bolts are all 12mm bolts. You also want an 8in extension for the upper bolts on the brackets. Getting the bar in and out is the hardest thing especially on jack stands. The exhaust getting in the way is the biggest issue. But when reinstalling the bar I recommend feed it all the way through on the right side first then bring it back and work it into place on the left. I scratched the paint on the bar up a little before I figured this out but nothing major. Altogether it took me about hour and half to do but with a lift easy 30min tops.
This is the smaller of the three bars they offer. Be aware if you get this bar the instructions are for the Civic and you will need to remove the middle exhaust hanger to get the bar out even on the hybrid. It's hard to see the bar installed but here are some pics and it be stock bar:
![4660]()
![4661]()
![4662]()
Driving impressions:
The car should come like this. I really dislike how they tuned the stock suspension having such a disparity over the front and rear sizes of the bars. I understand this was done in the name of comfort, but they could have approached it differently.
The difference is immediately noticeable as soon as I backed out of the driveway. Steering is much more communicative. On the freeway where the steering would get light and car would get a little bouncy it remained sharp and much more exact. It has a very minor impact on the ride quality, but it's not something you would notice unless you had driven the car previously. Excellent upgrade.
Install notes:
I won't go into it too much since the install is pretty much documented on their website in PDF and video and is straight forward. The six main bolts are all 12mm bolts. You also want an 8in extension for the upper bolts on the brackets. Getting the bar in and out is the hardest thing especially on jack stands. The exhaust getting in the way is the biggest issue. But when reinstalling the bar I recommend feed it all the way through on the right side first then bring it back and work it into place on the left. I scratched the paint on the bar up a little before I figured this out but nothing major. Altogether it took me about hour and half to do but with a lift easy 30min tops.
This is the smaller of the three bars they offer. Be aware if you get this bar the instructions are for the Civic and you will need to remove the middle exhaust hanger to get the bar out even on the hybrid. It's hard to see the bar installed but here are some pics and it be stock bar:
Driving impressions:
The car should come like this. I really dislike how they tuned the stock suspension having such a disparity over the front and rear sizes of the bars. I understand this was done in the name of comfort, but they could have approached it differently.
The difference is immediately noticeable as soon as I backed out of the driveway. Steering is much more communicative. On the freeway where the steering would get light and car would get a little bouncy it remained sharp and much more exact. It has a very minor impact on the ride quality, but it's not something you would notice unless you had driven the car previously. Excellent upgrade.
