yet again....sway bars

[firebird1]

ive read all these is on this board about sway bars. but, what are the benefits of them? should i get front and back. ive read lmperoformance is the place to order. but the is front and back w/bushings and endlinks(what the hell)?. should i get them put in or do it myself. what kinda price tag am i gonna run into? everyone has said 32mm/21mm 1LE bars.

thanks guys
scott
hope to get a picture up for you guys soon....


1999 firebird
t-tops
raptor hood w/ram air
k&N filter
18 X9 evo's
245/40zr18's

[Dewey]

Mine were just delivered today. [img]graemlins/fluffy.gif[/img] Let you know as soon as I get them in. From what I've been reading, they're the cat's *** . LM Performance has the front/rear combo w/ your choice of Poly/Rubber, or Poly/Poly bushings and endlinks. A little slow on the shipping, but price = worth the wait.

[camaro28]

Your still running stock springs and shocks correct? Either way I would reccomend the 1LE bars. Right now i have the 1LE springs on my car, and will soon be getting the 1LE sway bars from LMperformance. As far as suspension setups go, I think 1LE is the best. the 1LE package was the factory autocross/handling package and it was designed for YOUR car by GM ENGINEERS. If i were you, I wouldnt waste my money on other brands swaybars when the GM parts are just as good or better, for a way lower price. WHen you order your set, get the front and rears. Getting just one or the other is a BAD thing! It will make your car very unbalanced. Get the polyurethane bushings and endlinks. I put just the poly bushings on my car with the stock bars and noticed a big difference. Installing them is easy as heck, if you can use a socket wrench, you can do them. All you do is get the car elevated, unbolt the bushing brackets, swap the bushings, bolt back down. Endlinks can be unbolted, but your replacing them, so if you beat on them, they will break. Then you do the other one.

Good luck. Post how the install went, and what results you got! [img]smile.gif[/img]

[camaro28]

Oh yea, and LM performance has the whole set with poly bushings for $199.00. GREAT DEAL!

[V6Bob]

"what are the benefits of them"

1. They reduce roll in corners.

2. They quicken steering response.

3. They enable you to tune the balance (understeer/oversteer) of the car. This can be a good thing if you realize it, and a bad one if you don't and mess up the balance.

I stand pretty much alone here (but not everywhere) in thinking the 93 1LE rear bar of 21mm is a little large (causing the balance to go toward oversteer). GM only used it for one year and went back to a 19. IMHO that's a better choice with the 32mm 1LE front than the 21 (and dirt cheap).

This is especially true for a V6 with softer front springs and less front weight than a V8.

But, I'm no expert. If you're planning on changing springs do that first and see what bars your spring manufacturer recommends. The two are closely related.

"it was designed for YOUR car by GM ENGINEERS"

Great point if you consider the details:

GM engineers chose them for 1LE springs and a V8 weight distribution (they would have a different choice for V6 springs and V6 weight distribution)

GM engineers settled on current 1LE bars (32/19) almost 10 years ago, but the aftermarket guys generally still sell the 93 1LE bars (32/21), and these are no longer GM's choice.

[ April 22, 2002: Message edited by: V6Bob ]</p>

[firebird1]

thnkas for the info guys, a lot to consider, well im still digging my way back to a positive cash flow for the month, but i have noticed the rear right wheel makes a sound kinda like a loose spring going over bumps, and the front right makes a squeking sound when the front wheels jitter over small bumps.
im not sure if someone been out driving my car in clockwise circles while im sleeping, but maybe its a good time to upgrade springs as well... lemme gues... 1LE springs make the most sense?

if those sounds are familiar to anyone and changing the springs wont help lemme know

again, thanks

[camaro28]

OK, well it all depends on what you want to do with the car... are you looking for a great handling corner carver? Or do you plan on just drag racing the car. As far as springs go, well yes, i have the 1LE springs. Just got them on this week, and it makes a huge difference. Now im sure some of the others think im nuts, they probly run the lowering springs from RK sport or some other brand. I have never used or driven a car with those types of springs so i cant tell ya what they r like. AS for the guy that said the 1LE was designed for the v8 car, well duh. what should that mean? If i remeber right, the 1le springs are slightly shorter than stock v6 springs are also. even thought they were designed for a V8 weight in the nose, my car sits the exact same height it did before.
So what this boils down to is what you want out of the car. Handling, i would go 1LE all the way. You just have to go with a matched set on suspensions. Dont get 1LE sway bars, and some other brand of lowering springs. 1LE stuff was designed to work together as a unit. DOnt mix and match, or you may not get the results you were looking for.

[Dominic]

Price: Less than $200
Install: Really easy with a friend, some tools, and rhino ramps - takes ~30mins per swaybar if you take your time, very straightforward and simple - just grease the poly bushings and youre fine! [img]smile.gif[/img]
Benefits: NO BODY ROLL, no uncomfortable feeling when you go around ANY corner slow or hard, it corners flat as a board and feels rock solid. Also, throttle oversteer is easier to achieve if you like to do an occasional tailslide - but its not uncontrollable.

Definetly buy the 32/21 combo - its PLENTY large trust me. You want new bushings and endlinks - you can reuse the stock endlinks if your car is BRAND new, but the endlinks are cheap and the aftermarket ones are far superior to GM ones (youll see).

You cannot do better for the price, and you honestly don't need better. If youre still running Eagle GAs get some new tires, add a swaybar, and if you're REALLY serious upgrade your shocks. Past that, there isn't much you can do suspension wise thats really worth doing [img]smile.gif[/img]

Yeah, springs work, but theyre more looks than performance =) [img]graemlins/burnout.gif[/img]

[LMPerformance]

I just got a shipment of the Bushings and endlinks in so now I am waiting on the 1LE swaybars to come in to have the total package available here for shipping which will mean much faster shipping times to your doors [img]smile.gif[/img] . Also I will be including some nice LMPerformance stickers with them...