The E46 M3 SwayBarbarian

NEW!  INVENTORY REDUCTION PRICE LOWERED BY $95

new pricing:
with urethane street links: $499
with spherical bearing track/race links: $549

Certificate of Tests (click each page for larger view)

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Superior Materials

Whereas most BMW aftermarket bars are made from a mild steel, the SwayBarbarian is made from 4130 chrome moly steel.  The primary advantage of chrome moly in a sway bar application is its enhanced fatigue strength characteristics. 

The "certificate of tests" (also known as "certs") is the materials manufacturer's certification that a product is indeed the material it is designated.  

Tubular Design

By selecting chrome moly as the material for our E46 M3 SwayBarbarian, we are also able to specify another important characteristics: tubular construction. By using a tubular material, the overall weight of the E46 M3 SwayBarbarian is reduced considerably compared to other aftermarket sway bars, as well as compared to even the stock bars.

All UUC Motorwerks SwayBarbarians are proudly made in the USA, which means that they start life as non-metric bar stock. The dimensions of UUC's tubular bars are as follows:

On first inspection, this may be hard to compare to the traditional solid bar offerings from other manufacturers. UUC's tubular design requires that in order to make a comparison to the outside diameter (OD) of a solid bar, some calculations are required. The inside and outside diameter of the bar must be analyzed to determine how big a solid bar would have to be to provide the same stiffness. This requires taking the OD to the 4th power, subtracting the inner diameter (ID) to the 4th power, and taking the fourth root of the whole thing.

Here's the results:

Complicated, yes. But it allows tubular bars to easily be compared to solid bars from competitors. And the dividends of the lighter-weight tubular bars make it worth going through some extra mathematical acrobatics:

Balance

The UUC SwayBarbarian set is specifically sized to deliver "neutral" handling.  Note that this is not the same as simply adding larger bars.  Just adding larger bars can negatively effect handling by enhancing undesirable understeer characteristics.  The UUC approach is to tune the relative front-to-rear sizes of the bars to achieve a neutral, more controllable platform.

Various other factors have dramatic effects on your car's handling: tire size and spring/damper choice.  The UUC SwayBarbarian set has enough adjustability to accommodate a wide variation of components.

The above numbers don't tell the entire story, because both the front and rear E46 M3 SwayBarbarians are adjustable.

Adjustability

Unlike some other aftermarket sway bars which do not offer an adjustable rear bar, the E46 M3 SwayBarbarian use a multi-hole system at both the front and the rear, resulting in a six-position adjustment range. This allows for fine tuning of the bars in terms of their effect on your M3's balance by modifying the effective stiffness of each bar. Not only can you dial-in the characteristics you desire, but the specifics and settings of other suspension modifications, such as spring and damper rates and tire sizes, can be optimized to your taste. For a closer look at how suspension changes can effect cornering attitude, please click here.

The advantage of a hole-based adjustment system is "simple"... very specifically, simple to adjust and tune without any guesswork.  Repeatable results after making changes is assured.  Use one setting for street use and another for auto-x or track.  After the event, an easy change of the attachment hole used puts you back exactly to the street setting.  Problems with pre-load and corner-balancing are eliminated.

Parts included

The E46 M3 SwayBarbarians come complete with adjustable rear sway bar links to replace the factory rubber links.  

These extremely durable links are steel--lined urethane for long-term smooth and quiet operation and have grease fittings for easy servicing without removal.  Instead of using non-adjustable, rubber-bushing factory links and modifying them for use with adjustable swaybars, we includes these custom made, ultra-high quality end links.  Manufacturer-recommended locking jam nuts included.  

These rear sway bar link kit is complete with:

• steel-lined urethane end links with 18-8 stainless steel adjustable rods.
• 18-8 stainless steel jam nuts and studs.
• Grade 12.9 blue coated M10 hex head cap screws.
• 18-8 stainless steel washers.
• Grade 8 M10 locknuts.
• Perfect fit for mounting into stock location.

Powdercoated Finish

After the bars are CNC mandrel bent and the ends are forged and punched, a silver powdercoat is applied for a smooth, long lasting finish in a similar process to how factory bars are coated.  This smooth finish allows the bars, when properly installed with polyurethane bushings and grease, to provide long-term performance with minimal maintenance.  Bar ends are sealed and plated to prevent any possibility of corrosion.

Polyurethane Bushings

The SwayBarbarians include replacement 78-durometer polyurethane bushings of the highest grade available used in commercial aerospace milspec applications.  The compliance of this material is specifically designed for complete compatibility with original mounting brackets.

The material we use has demonstrated flawless squeak-resistance characteristics.  In long-term field trials, no examples have needed re-lubrication in over 16 months.  

Why Weight?

For the ultimate in sway bars, we use seamless 4130 Chrome Moly in our tubular sway bars.  Weight savings are substantial... for example, our front swaybar saves almost 10lbs compared to the original bars!  When unsprung weight is the enemy, the Tubular SwayBarbarians is your weapon.  Whereas most tubular bars as also made from mild steel, they prove to be weaker than solid sway bars.  However, by using the higher grade stronger 4130 Chrome Moly material, you're assured that the tubular sway bars are just as strong as their solid counterparts.

Pricing and Ordering

$595 - click here to order

NEW!  INVENTORY REDUCTION PRICE LOWERED BY $95

new pricing:
with urethane street links: $499
with spherical bearing track/race links: $549