Rear sway bar...??

[Texas4ever]

Could be a dumb question...?? I have not searched on this, so don't flame me. Just ignore my dumba**...!!!

If I just add a rear sway will it help or is it one of those mods that you should not do until you can uprade springs, shocks, and all the other front end stuff..??

Just curious, the rear sway would be a very easy install with new endlinks, just wondering if it is worth it...??

And, it is a relatively cheap mod to add, $150, if it does any good.

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr> gathering data and mod's to be in the 12 sec club...!!! <hr></blockquote>

[Dewey]

All I did was the front and rear bars, left the springs and shox as stock, and I felt an immediate reduction in body roll. I will eventually get the take off V8 shox & springs, but for now, I'm satisfied. What's ideal? I dunno. There's going to be plenty of opinions on that. Depends on your setup, your intentions, etc.

[FirebirdGT]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Dewey:
I will eventually get the take off V8 shox & springs, <hr></blockquote>


Those will be going away fast. Remember that "take-off" means taken off a production car to make a Firehawk or SS. Since the F-body hasn't been made since last summer, how long do you think parts will be available?

[ March 01, 2003: Message edited by: FirebirdGT ]</p>

[V6Bob]

Swaybars are one of the most powerful suspension mods you can do. That means you can really screw things up if you don't know what you are doing. A lot of what happens is not simple. Increasing swaybar size at one end of a car will usually make the _other_ end stick better. Note the "usually".

It is easy to come up with a car that feels great in normal driving and which will bite you badly in an emergency.

Search "sway bars" on this site for many discussions.

[Dominic]

I would suggest going with a larger front bar along with a larger rear if you intend to change them. The balance will be very far off if you go too large in the rear vs the front. The issue with our cars is we dont have any camber change in the rear due to our solid rear axle, so swaybars are a good mod but need to be researched before you find what you need.

I personally enjoy my GM 1LE 32/21 setup. Many others find a 32/19 works better for them. I prefer at least a 32mm front bar though.

[Texas4ever]

thx for advice.....

[img]graemlins/rofl.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/rofl.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/rofl.gif[/img]

[black98V6]

well I should be able to let you know how stock V8 bars work on our v6's very soon.. :D

[MustangEater8251]

I second the 1L3, 32/21mm combo.


Are you planningon going for a full road racing car or more of a drag setup. If you are looking for a reltaive drag setup that can handle well I would go with the thicker rear sway, 21mm, and help get you a little more traction on the launch.


jsut for you if you didn't know or others who do not know.

v6 sway bars are 30mm front, 17mm rear.
v8 sway bars are 30 mm front, 19mm rear
1LE sway bars are 32mm front 21mm rear.

[Texas4ever]

Going for the holeshot...!!!!

I would like for it handle fairly good around the twisties, but mostly stick and rip from a dead.

I am tired of these FWD midgets wrapping the tach. to 5 grand and dumping the clutch on me at the light...!!!

I will just be glad when I burn thru these 235/55/16's so I can buy some REAL meat.

What about lower control arm's, is that a good traction upgrade...???

Again, thanks for the reply's....

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr> one legged man can't win a race.... 2 tire fire...!!<hr></blockquote>

[V6Bob]

"1LE sway bars are 32mm front 21mm rear"

Nope. 1LE bars are 32/19.

When the 4th gen first came out (93-94) the 1LE option was intended _solely_ for the track (no A/C, no power windows, etc). GM built the first 25 or so 1LE cars with 32/21s, then dumped them for 32/19s for all subsequent 1LEs. One can only assume that they had feedback from the racers that the 32/21s were NFG.

This is further proven by the best autocrossers, who will tell you that 21 is too big for the rear bar unless you have stiff front springs (like 500 lbs/in) and/or a 35mm front bar. With V6 front springs (257 or 223) the 21mm is far too big.

Aftermarket companies make a lot of money selling these to people who believe bigger is better.

[John_D.]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Texas4ever:
Going for the holeshot...

What about lower control arm's, is that a good traction upgrade...???
<hr></blockquote>

I put on the 1LE lca's and tried it out this past weekend. I have not been able to get it to wheel hop at all yet... Before the lca's, it was starting to hop pretty easily.

[SlimJim1284]

I have the same question about the strut tower brace. Will it help performance if I get just that with no other suspension mods?

[John_D.]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by SlimJim1284:
I have the same question about the strut tower brace. Will it help performance if I get just that with no other suspension mods?<hr></blockquote>

I put one on mine, before the sway bars, and took it autocrossing. It tightened things up a little, but watching the video of the autocross, I was still getting a whole lot of body roll.

I think it helps most when you start tightening up the suspension (springs and/or sway bars), so that the front doesn't start flexing with the added load you start putting on it as a result of the stronger suspension.

[Texas4ever]

thx for the info... [img]graemlins/rofl.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/rofl.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/rofl.gif[/img]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr> knowledge is power....<hr></blockquote>

this board rocks....!!!! [img]graemlins/fluffy.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/fluffy.gif[/img]

[O0oSKAMo0O]

for rear wheel drive it is higly recomended to make the change to the front sway bay in order to keep traction in the rear during a turn. front wheel drive=stiff rear sway bar. rear wheel stiff front sway bar

[ March 04, 2003: Message edited by: O0oSKAMo0O ]</p>