PFADT Racing Corvette Competition Sway Bars

I have always heard about different suspension upgrades for Sports cars and Corvettes, but always figured that they were more aimed at folks who want to take their car to the track. They are usually pretty expensive and I figured that the installation would be a pain in the neck. Given the price, the perceived difficulty with the installation, and my thoughts that I would only notice the differences on the track, I have have always shy’ed away from upgrades such as this. Whelp, all that has changed........

I recently sold my 2006 Corvette Z06 and purchased an 2009 Corvette Z06. I offer all of the Pfadt racing products on my Corvette Parts website and figured I really need to give some of their products a try. I have had customers tell me how much they love the PFADT Sway Bars and PFADT Coilovers but always assumed they were taking their cars to the track. I called Pfadt and asked them if I would notice a difference with handling on the street for a weekend driver like myself an also what would be the most "bang for my buck" upgrade. I was thinking the Pfadt Corvette coilovers, but surprisingly enough, Pfadt's recommendation was the Pfadt Competition Sway bars. In disbelief, I went ahead and had them send me a set for installation on my new Corvette. I truly did not believe that I was going to notice much of a difference from the stock setup to the Pfadt setup.

About a week later my front/rear Pfadt Corvette Z06 sway bar kit arrived. I was really not dying to start what I thought would be a complicated installation, so the kit sat in my office for close to two weeks before I decided to take the plunge. Prior to taking everything apart, I had to take the Z06 for a spirited drive with the stock sway's so that I had something fresh in my mind to compare too. I drove for 30 mins or so on a two lane secondary road that has nice tight turns and switchbacks.

Armed with a six pack and my hodge podge of tools I began the PFADT Sway Bar Installation (see link for details on the install). Removing the stock sway bars was pretty easy and took maybe 45 mins tops. I will say, comparing the stock sway bars to the PFADT bars, you see an immediate difference in quality between the two. The PFADT system absolutely makes the OEM sway's look cheap and inadequate. The entire installation took maybe 4 hours (max). I will say that the PFADT instructions do assume a certain level of technical knowledge and are probably written more with an installation shop in mind, but are still adequate for a "shade tree mechanic". I also did create my own PFADT Sway Bar Installation for Dummy's write-up just in case you need some extra pictures or explanation.

PFADT Corvette Z06 Sway Bar

Roughly 4 hours and a six pack later, my installation was done. Time for the first drive (of course, after all the beer was out of my system) with the new PFADT Competition Sway Bars. At first I was not expecting much difference, but after comparing the quality of the OEM components to the PFADT setup, I was starting to think maybe there will be a slight noticeable difference.

PFADT Corvette Z06 Rear Sway Bar

PFADT Competition Corvette Sway Bars

Startup, and the car rolled out of the driveway without any grinding noises or clunking (whew car still rolls, could not a screwed up the install that bad). Drove gently out of the neighborhood just to make sure everything was ok, and then accelerated onto a side street (45 mph) two lane, tight winding road. Ok, not is it is time to see if there is a difference.First turn, took it carefully and controlled...hmmmmm, felt good, my confidence was starting to build. Next turn, little more speed, everything still good. No noise...Now I really am feeling confident in my installation. Hit the next turn with a bit more "spirited driving". Oh my god!!!!! I could feel a HUGE difference! I immediately understood what "Body Roll" is. When I hit a corner, the my butt slide laterally in the seat, but the top of my torso felt very little lateral movement (nothing like with the stock setup). Hitting another turn, I accelerated into it (loving the new feeling), same thing, absolutely amazing. It is very hard to explain, but you do not really feel your head getting pulled into the turn, all the G’s feel like they are pulling harder at the lower part of your body than the top. It was a clear case of you do not know what you are missing until you try it. I thought the Z06 handled good stock, and never had experienced what top notch sway bars feel like. I will never be able to go back to stock and this is one of those Corvette Modifications I would rank right up there with the Intake and Exhaust. It makes THAT big of a difference in your day to day driving experience and for the price, is worth EVERY penny!!!! Now I am really wondering what I have been missing with the PFADT Corvette Coilovers?

Let's just say that I am not a sticker man when it comes to my cars...But I loved the PFADT sway bars so much, that I just had to put their sticker in my back window Actually looks pretty good on a Cyber Grey car.