installed sway bars

[ssms5411]

Installed some sway bars yesterday, a Suspension Techniques 35mm front and a 1le 21mm rear. So far I like it. Haven't got a real chance to test it out but so far so good.

[Niko97RS]

Re: installed sway bars

congrats, i bet ull lik the difference wen suddenly changin lanes on the highway

[TheGr8Schlotzky]

Re: installed sway bars

tell us how you like them.. sounds cool, how much?

[FirebirdGT]

Re: installed sway bars

Installed some sway bars yesterday, a Suspension Techniques 35mm front and a 1le 21mm rear. So far I like it. Haven't got a real chance to test it out but so far so good.

Same set-up I have.

[silversixx]

Re: installed sway bars

I have that same front sway bar, but I have the 25mm rear also. I love it, it handles like a cat on carpet.

[ssms5411]

Re: installed sway bars

I bought both of them off a guy selling them on craigs list with bushings and endlinks for $120.00. He has a 99' z28 camaro that he autocrosses with and switch to hollow sway bars. When I go back to work Wed. night I'll be able to tell the difference since I drive 40 miles on the highway to work.

[BobDoLe]

Re: installed sway bars

I bought both of them off a guy selling them on craigs list with bushings and endlinks for $120.00. He has a 99' z28 camaro that he autocrosses with and switch to hollow sway bars. When I go back to work Wed. night I'll be able to tell the difference since I drive 40 miles on the highway to work.

they'll feel great on the highway and even better on actual turns.
i'm searching for a 21-22mm swaybar and the 21mm seems to be a hell of a lot cheaper than the 22.

when you get a chance to try them out, let me know your initial feeling about the oversteer compared to the stock setup.

[homedog119]

Re: installed sway bars

how hard are they to install. I havent done any work on my car myself besides put on my hood and halos the exhaust i had done and im gonna shave my air lid. I have a convert and it drives like a boat. My cavalier convert has better handling I would like to improve it

[V6Bob]

Re: installed sway bars

how hard are they to install. I havent done any work on my car myself besides put on my hood and halos the exhaust i had done and im gonna shave my air lid. I have a convert and it drives like a boat. My cavalier convert has better handling I would like to improve it

Strong recommendation. Before you go crazy with a bunch of mods for the convert, try simply really good shocks (Bilsteins are my personal recommendation) and subframe connectors. I'll bet you'll like the results of just doing that. Unlike the sway bars, these are modifications with no great downside risks.

Big rear bars can feel fine in normal or even spirited driving (especially when you've also replaced a lot of other things), but they can cause you to lose control when you really need handling most, on slippery pavement or in an emergency maneuver to avoid something. Most all people here would do better with a smaller rear bar.

And going the other way, changing swaybars without doing shocks and sfcs, would be a really bad idea.

[BobDoLe]

Re: installed sway bars

And going the other way, changing swaybars without doing shocks and sfcs, would be a really bad idea.

i changed my swaybars before upgrading my shocks and installing sfcs...
it isn't too different from installing springs without shocks and you feel more rattles (increases spring rates during weight transfer).

it sucks to have to explain it to your wallet, but the painful truth is that you will need better shocks and sfcs :(

other than the rattles and bouncing on corners (potentially finishing off your decarbons for good)... doing the swaybar upgrade without sfcs and shocks is still fun on the corners:tup:

[ssms5411]

Re: installed sway bars

I have blisteins hd's in the rear and putting kyb agx adjustables in the front. Also have Eibach 1.5 " lowering springs, adj. lca,adj. panhard bar, SFC , strut brace,and just ordered a poly torque arm mount and tranny mount.

[ssms5411]

Re: installed sway bars

After driving a few days, (one day in rain) I can tell the difference esp. on the highway making lane changes and going around corners faster than normal. Even in the rain I wasn't getting any spin or sliding,but that could be the new 275 BFG's in back also. So far so good would def. reccomend it to anyone. Probably a good mod early in the game though, I should of done this along time ago.

[Finkledbody]

Re: installed sway bars

I put in the addco rear sway bar only and the difference is amazing. I'm still running my stock 245/40/16's with no suspension upgrades an i haven't run into the problems like other people are stating. Maybe its because i didn't do the front one also? Allowing a little twist still an keeping the wheels to the road a bit better?

[V6Bob]

Re: installed sway bars

I put in the addco rear sway bar only and the difference is amazing. I'm still running my stock 245/40/16's with no suspension upgrades an i haven't run into the problems like other people are stating. Maybe its because i didn't do the front one also? Allowing a little twist still an keeping the wheels to the road a bit better?

Arrgh. This is about the worst suspension mod you could do. It's downright dangerous.

Honestly, big rear bars feel fine, even lively, until you really need handling. Then they're trouble. Big trouble. "Lively" changes to jumps out of control as the car loses the rear end.

An oversized rear bar does not make the car handle better. It's the opposite, the bigger a rear bar is, the more it REDUCES rear traction in a corner by weight transfer. It does not reduce roll significantly. It's simply a tuning device to balance cornering load between the front and rear tires. It needs to be the right size, not too big and not too small. But a little too small is better than too big.

Putting a large rear bar on a stock suspension is like putting a full race cam in a stock motor. The stock motor will run worse. The stock suspension will handle worse, particularly when you need good handling most.

Once again, guys who have a big rear bar should use a smaller one. If they think it's good, it's usually because they changed a lot of stuff at the same time and it's the other stuff that is making the car handle better.

If people with an oversized rear bar JUST changed back to a smaller rear bar leaving everything else the same, the following things will happen. The car will feel a litttle less "lively". It will stick to the road better and be more controllable, particularly in tough situations like wet weather or an emergency swerve. The amount of body roll will not change noticeably.

And you'll be a lot better off.

[FirebirdGT]

Re: installed sway bars

Arrgh. This is about the worst suspension mod you could do. It's downright dangerous.

Honestly, big rear bars feel fine, even lively, until you really need handling. Then they're trouble. Big trouble. "Lively" changes to jumps out of control as the car loses the rear end.

An oversized rear bar does not make the car handle better. It's the opposite, the bigger a rear bar is, the more it REDUCES rear traction in a corner by weight transfer. It does not reduce roll significantly. It's simply a tuning device to balance cornering load between the front and rear tires. It needs to be the right size, not too big and not too small. But a little too small is better than too big.

Putting a large rear bar on a stock suspension is like putting a full race cam in a stock motor. The stock motor will run worse. The stock suspension will handle worse, particularly when you need good handling most.

Once again, guys who have a big rear bar should use a smaller one. If they think it's good, it's usually because they changed a lot of stuff at the same time and it's the other stuff that is making the car handle better.

If people with an oversized rear bar JUST changed back to a smaller rear bar leaving everything else the same, the following things will happen. The car will feel a litttle less "lively". It will stick to the road better and be more controllable, particularly in tough situations like wet weather or an emergency swerve. The amount of body roll will not change noticeably.

And you'll be a lot better off.

X2

This has been discussed over and over.