Hi,
Thanks for looking, can someone tell me what the dealership was asking when I went into ask questions about susp. difference. We started with the rear sway-bar for an R-3?
Mazda lists two different part numbers for RX-8 R-3 rear sway-bar.
Can someone tell me what's going on here? We don't have a R-3. small or large side wing is whats confusing.


MM

 

What exactly do you want to know..?

This is for SERIES II Only.

ALL R3's (GT in Australia) have the W/Side Spoiler LARGE, or HARD (Bilstein Shocks..OE Springs) Suspension...with Large Trunk Lid Spoiler.

There is only one Rear Sway Bar for the R3's..F197-28-151

FE87-28-151A is for US S2 GT or Luxury Without Side Spoiler/Skirt...Small Rear Lip Spoiler (if fitted)...or NO Lip Spoiler.

FE92-28-151A For Base Model Series 2 (not many sold).

Then just as many OE Shocks/Springs for the above.

Front is similar.

 

ASH8,
Thanks so much, I *think* I got the right rear sway-bar then. ( F197-28-151 ) This rear sway-bar is .840" or 16mm & solid steel.

Here in the states from what I have *gathered* Mazda made two sets of sway-bars.

1st. was for the base susp. model and was identify by a spot of red spray paint on the right side. The part numbers were ( F151-34-151A )@ 1.005" dia. front & ( F151-28-151 ) @ .840" & .075" wall rear.

2nd. was for the sport susp. model and was identify by a spot of yellow paint on the right side. The part numbers were ( F157-34-151 ) @ 1.050" dia. front. & ( F-157-28-151 ) @ .840" & .100" wall rear.

ASH8, any chance you can fill me in on the other two sway-bars you have listed? Mazda part numbers don't give one much info on the size and or stiffness. I know other things come into play with susp. ie. springs, shocks & alignment.

At this point in time I'm running some Progress springs with Koni sport shocks. I'm guessing I now have the stiffest rear sway-bar made by Mazda. And the middle of the line for front sway-bars.

Any chance you can fill me in on some more info on the sway-bars you have listed
ie. any stiffer front sway-bars for the front?

Thanks,
MM

 

F151,is for the Series 1 RX-8 with "Normal" rear suspension (Base Model)...used up to Oct 1st, 2005 Production

F157,is for the Series 1 RX-8 with "Sports" rear suspension (GT or Luxury).....used up to Oct 1st, 2005 Production

After that date Mazda went to the same ones used in the Series 2,...FE87 and FE92.
And a change of the two Rubber Bushes at the same dates.

This is the only info I have for the RX-8 on sizes and yes AFAIK they are all hollow Bars, just the wall thickness changes, the thickest is the F197.

https://www.rx8club.com/series-ii-wheels-tires-brakes-suspension-165/series-ii-swaybar-specifications-223691/

 

ASH8,
THANK YOU SIR! *any chance you can PM me your name?*

The RX-8 R-3 rear sway-bar I bought is Solid Steel & not Hollow like the Base / Red or Sport / Yellow & 16mm sway-bars. As for the bushings I'm using bushings sold by Eibach and they are polly / urethane and need lubed from time to time. They are also plug & play and fit the OEM brackets!

Is that and MX-5 I see? We have two now also.

I'm also waiting for Mark to chime in here soon.

MM

 

Sorry, i don't have any input on the S2 other than they are heavier than the S1 and have not performed any better for autox, not even the R3. Part of the issue with the R3 is the tire selection for the 19" wheels.

I'd be shocked to learn that the R3 rear bar is solid. This would be substantially stiffer than the tubular rear bar, which in turn would require an even more substantial increase in the front spring and/or bar stiffness rate to balance it out.

Also, its not unusual for a manufacturer to list parts other than what might have been delivered from the factory. For the SCCA Stock class you can only use parts delivered on USDM versions and not just any part listed in the parts manual. I haven't been able to find any kind of option or alternate suspension version for the USDM R3 model.


.

 

Ok, I think? I'm more confused now. Ok, I'm slow.

Any one out there with an 09 to 11 with the USA version of Sport susp. package?

If so could you look at the right side of the front and rear sway-bars and tell me what color they are coded? 04 to 08 cars had red spots or yellow spots of color.

Thanks for your time,
MM

 

What are you really wanting to know...if you are asking RX-8 owners with OE sway bars some Info what I have already posted IS correct worldwide.

In Series 1 (S1) Mazda changed Sway Bars for the REAR from October 1 2005 Production.
And basically used them in the Series 2 (S2), except R3 which has it's own REAR Bar.

FRONT Bar...
F151-34-151A Normal (Base model) S1 and S2.
F157-34-151A Sports, Special Tuned, Hard S1.
F189-34-151A Sports, Hard (R3) S2.

REAR Bar...
F151-28-151 Normal S1......Up To Oct 1, 2005 Production.
F157-28-151 Sports, Special Tuned S1.....Up To Oct 1, 2005 Production
FE92-28-151A Normal S1......FROM Oct 1, 2005 Production, and S2.
FE87-28-151A Sport, Special Tuned S1..... FROM Oct 1, 2005 Production, and S2.
F197-28-151 Hard R3 ONLY S2

So what changed in the OE Series 1 (S1) Rear Stabilizer Bars from October 1, 2005 to make the Rear Bars Different?
The rear Bushes and fixing Plates changed and they do not supersede into each other..

FD15-28-156A Bush S1
FE87-28-156 Bush S1 and S2 and R3
FB01-28-155 Plate S1 and S2 and R3
FD01-28-155A Plate S1

 

Colours...

Now MY Series 2 Luxury uses the R3 Front (F189-34-151A) and has Yellow paint sprayed on the right side of bar (LHD Passenger Side).

The Rear uses (FE87-28-151A) same as S1 made after 10-01-2005, also has Yellow Paint Spray on Right.

So basically, repeating myself ONLY the Series 2 R3 has it's own unique Rear Sway Bar (F197), I don't have the colour but am guessing a Red or even Blue?

 

See Above..

Australian Series 2 RX-8's use the exact same Part Numbers here for the exact same parts as the US 2009~2011..

So IF you are after the 'Sports Sus' package, same a my car, Yellow paint on the front and rear bars.

If you are after the HARD Sus set up used in ALL R3's then it is Yellow for the Front (same as my car F189), and the Rear Stabilizer I can't confirm as I said it could be Red or could be Blue....I am thinking blue...now?

 

[SIZE="7"]ASH8,
I have the 09 to 11 RX-8 R3 rear bar now. It comes in at .850" to .840" depending where I use the mic.. And it's definitely solid, not hollow tubing. I want to Thank You for your info, sounds like you know your Mazda's! You have been very helpful! Oh, the R3 rear sway has a spot of orange paint on the right side. The one I ordered has orange marking.


MM & Randy

 

No problem...I guess you are saying you ordered/have the OEM (Genuine) Rear Stabilizer Bar for the R3?...which is unique for the R3 ONLY (F197-28-151)...with Bilstein Shocks and own Coils.

You can confirm the Paint Colour...is Orange?...
Thanks for the info, when you confirm it I can update the records here.
We are talking OEM from Mazda?

The only reason I guessed Blue is because my 2011 MX-5 with Hard Suspension (Bilsteins) has Blue tags (tape) on them.

I don't doubt your rear Sway Bar is solid as they are only very small/thin, not the same as the fronts...naturally.

So what model RX-8 are you installing it to?
You should update your Sig.

Helps a numbskull like me to identify what model you are talking about.

 

How many times does he need to say it? Yes, he bought the R3 hard suspension rear bar from Mazda, yes it is solid, yes it has an orange paint marking.

He is using it on an MX5.

 

We don't own an RX-8, we move to an 07 MX-5 GT, that I loved driving so much I took it from my wife. I then pickup a 08 MX-5 GT for her. Gas prices have made us move to the more gas friendly MX-5's. The OEM RX-8 sways bolt right in place and really help the MX-5. I have the Base model RX-8 front sway-bar's on both MX-5's. I used a little stiffer Sport rear sway bar on my wife's and I just ordered the 09 to 11 R3 rear bar for my MX-5. I thought my MX-5 would step out like it would if I hit black ice. But to my surprise the car is very neutral thur turns.

As Team said it is a solid bar and has orange color marking the right side. The funny thing is I have also seen a set of OEM takeoff sway-bars from an RX-8 R3 (in a colored photo) and the front RX-8 R3 bar was also marked in orange paint.
So the front R3 bar maybe stiffer than the Sport susp. cars. I need to give a call into Mazda. The Mazda customer service rep I talk with also drives a late model MX-5.

MM

 

Both Australian,UK, and Europe EPC for R3 and USA on-line parts for the US version shows only ONE front Front Sway for (ALL 2009-2011)...after Part Superseded.

The # (A) change to the F189-34-151 now F189-24-151A which are interchangeable or can be used in both directions (new for old or old for new) also changed the paint colour from yellow to orange from August 28, 2008 Production.

My F189-34-151 Series 2 front bar was installed on August 7, 2008 (Before Change) and it is yellow, so I conclude that the A part # is Orange.

 

I had made a S1 vs. S2 suspension part number post here:
https://www.rx8club.com/series-ii-wheels-tires-brakes-suspension-165/s2-suspension-oem-part-numbers-217899/

May not be 100% accurate but I didn't see a difference on front stabilizer bar part numbers for 2009+ (S2's) models. Also I don't know the actual differences but your post about the R3 rear bar is helpful. I was always wondering what the difference was there.

Now this list is US part numbers only, other countries may have entirely different parts.

 

I just wanted to say THANKS to ALL who have posted in this thread. Maybe the mods can move this thread to a "Sticky". It might help others down the line. I tried searching but couldn't find anything about the "R3 rear sway-bar", so I asked here.

Now I need to learn more about alignments for a fun street car.

Thanks again,
MM & Randy

Mini Meg is the better half. She let's me play with cars.

 

I got this info from Mazda today.

The information you requested:

Measurement: thickness(diameter) in mm....

...F157-34-151A – Specs: 26.5 x t3.5

...F189-34-151A – Specs: 26.5 x t4.0

So it looks like Mazda up size the wall thickness for model cars that get F189-34-151A front sway-bar. The 4mm wall on the front is the same wall thickness as the RX-8 Mazdaspeed front sway-bar. (from what I understand) I emailed the Mazda rep to please verify the wall thickness. These numbers are from Japan! It's nice of Mazda to have a customer service that reply's to dumb questions.
MM

 

https://www.rx8club.com/showpost.php...99&postcount=3

The F189-34-151 and F189-24-151A have the exact same outer diameter 26.5mm, I do not necessarily agree that the A bar is any difference in thickness as they both supersede in either direction for use...Parts interchangeability code is AN

That is according to the factory, IF you had a MY2010 RX-8 with F189-24-151A installed you can also use the 'older' bar of MY2009 F189-34-151...and visa versa.

IF the Specs were different it would have a A Interchangeability code....New Part for Old , but not Old Part for New...Rubber Bushes are unchanged.

 

After reading this I was interested to know so i went outside and looked at the rear sway bar of my 2010 R3. It has an orange spray paint mark on it.

 

The front should also be orange too. Would need to convert 4mm. times (X) 2 into inches for measurement of press flat end of sway-bar.

AZ

 

Not sure about the front . I didnt look =. but i assume it would be the same. 4 millimeters is equal to 0.1574803 inches.

 

So if the hollow tube is presses flat together then it should read .315" with a mic. plus the powder coating thickness.

MM