Whiteline 20mm Front Sway Bar Bushings RSX EP3 Civic

Whiteline 20mm Front Sway Bar Bushings - Part #W23378

The front sway bar bushings on a DC5 RSX or EP-chassis Civic are one of the first things to go soft, and when they do the bar stops working long before it actually fails. If the front end of your 7th gen Civic or RSX feels lazy on turn-in and you can see the bar shifting in the bracket, this pair of 20mm Whiteline sway bar bushings puts the grip back for the price of a lunch.

What It Is and Why It Works

A sway bar bushing has one job: hold the bar tight to the chassis so the bar twists instead of sliding. Factory rubber gets oil-soaked and ovalled out, which means the first few degrees of roll do nothing. Whiteline molds these from a synthetic elastomer that is firmer than rubber and does not take a set, with a knurled inner bore and lips that hold grease against the bar. That is the difference between a poly bushing that squeaks after a month and one that stays quiet. The result on a stock RSX is a sharper initial response to steering input, roughly what you would feel from going up one bar size, without touching the bar.

These are firmer than the OEM rubber. You will get slightly more noise transmitted through the bar mounts and you need to grease them on install. That is the trade for a bushing that holds the bar where it belongs.

Specs

Fitment

This kit is sized for a 20mm front bar. Whiteline lists it for the 7th gen Civic (EP, EM, ES), the DC5 RSX and the RD-chassis CR-V. Dealer catalogs split on whether the EP3 Civic Si is covered, and Honda used more than one front bar diameter across these trims, so measure your bar at the bracket before ordering. If it reads 21mm or larger, this is not your bushing.

What to Know Before You Buy

Measure your bar. Whiteline builds this bushing for a 20mm bar and it will not clamp a 21 or 22mm bar correctly. The K20A2 RSX Type-S and the EP3 Civic Si came with different front bar diameters over the years, and plenty of these cars are already running a Progress or Eibach bar. Calipers on the bar next to the bracket, then order.

Use the grease that comes in the kit and use all of it. A dry poly bushing is what makes the squeak everyone complains about. If you want the bar to stop walking sideways as well as stop rotating in the mount, add a pair of Whiteline lateral locks in the matching size; the two together fix everything a tired factory mount does wrong.

These are front bushings only. The DC5 and EP3 rear bar uses a different bushing, and if you are doing a rear bar upgrade the Whiteline BHR67XZ ships with its own. While you are under the car, check the end links; a worn end link on a K20 chassis knocks over every bump and takes the edge off any bushing upgrade.