for Evora • S • 400 • GT cars
Anti-Roll Bars (or Anti-Sway Bars) play an essential ‘role’ 😊 in all performance cars. Their job is simple: Provide resistance to minimize the vehicle’s body from swaying from side to side without adding significant harshness to the occupants or affecting the suspensions dampening system.
When a car makes a spirited left turn, the right side of the car will want to push down and the left side will want to lift up—this creates a lean (or roll/sway). To counter this, simplistically, each end of a C-shaped steel anti-roll bar (ARB) is attached to one side of the car so this leaning will twist the center portion of the ARB. Since the bar is made of steel, the bar will want to resist this twist or torque—and that is how an ARB works to minimize body roll. But what happens when a car hits a bump where both the left and right go up or down? In theory, the complete bar will rotate inside the bushings and the ARB will provide minimal resistance… this means an ARB (again, in theory) does not add significant harshness to the car.
The ARB has four points of attachment to the car chassis. Two static mounts in the middle and two dynamic “drop links" at the opposite ends. (BTW, HethelSport has some really nice prototype drop links being tested now--they should be available soon and are designed to work with our new damper kits.)
Securing the ARB, the two middle static mounts hold the ARB inside rubber donut-like bushing which are contained in a metal bracket bolted to the chassis. As you can image, the rubber bushings are pliable and appropriate for utilitarian or commuter cars. However, performance cars can benefit with an upgrade to polyurethane bushings which are firmer removing the squish & sloppiness of a softer rubber bushing. By holding the ARB securely, the play or squish is reduced, making the ARB system more efficient. Our bushings are also much more resistant to degradation over time which can be a problem for salt or weather sensitive rubber.
Polyurethane bushings are known to generate some squeak—to remedy this, Only HethelSport includes a dispenser of AquaShield lubricant that virtually eliminates squeaking, and unlike traditional grease, AquaShield stays in place and does not need to be reapplied every couple years.
Denser bushings are also known to transmit more hum & vibrations throughout the chassis & inside the cabin. We’re not sure if it’s the bonded aluminum chassis or the AquaShield or what... but we have noticed that the Evora has nearly no compromise in comfort & vibration with Performance bushings installed. Race bushings are stiffer and offer an even greater improvement over the stock rubber with a bit more noise & feedback.
Our bushings are from Powerflex in Uxbridge, England and have been specifically developed for the Lotus Evora (a keen eye will spot the bespoke Evora alloy bushing housing in the picture above).
Our Anti-roll bar Bushings are available in two formulas:
- PERFORMANCE for street/track driving—about 30% stiffer than stock, and
- RACE for competition, road racing, and very enthusiastic drivers—about 80% stiffer.
The difference is simply the density or durometer rating of the bushing. Rubber bushings typically have a durometer of ±50A. Our purple Performance bushings are around 80A and our black Race bushings are about 95A. We recommend the Performance kit for cars that will see mostly street use however we have had the race bushings on our daily driver and did enjoy the cornering advantage and “race car” feedback.
All of our Evora Anti-Roll Bar Bushing Kits include 4 bushings (2 front & 2 rear) and a free dispenser of AquaShield lube to be used between the bushing and the ARB. (We’ve been using AquaShield since 2001 and have found it to be the very best lube for poly ARB bushings—we call it camel snot and it’s the stickiest lubricant in our garage. The most common reason for squeaky bushings is the deteriotion of plain-jane grease during repeated twisting movements and from salt & weather –that’s why this stuff works so well, it stays in place!)
Here’s a quick video of the front and rear bushings installation and how we apply the AquaShield lubricant in the bushings.
The undertray and diffuser needs to be removed for installation–here are some tips for the front undertray.
HethelSport is credited for bringing these to the U.S. Evora market from Europe and we’re proud to be an authorized Powerflex dealer.
Sold in sets of four and shipped directly from us in California.
