Installed the sway bars!!!

[Firehawk N Wv]

Hey guys I finaly installed my v8 sway bars on Tuesday. It wasnt a real tough job but it did take me a little longer than expected to do it. It was the first time I messed with something like that and it came out just fine. The only problem I had was on the front drivers side bushing I couldnt get one of te bolts in becacust the hole woudlnt line up. I tried beating it with a hammer to get the bushing and bracket to move to help line the holes up but that didnt work. So the next morning I took the car to my buddy who is a mechanic and it took him like 3 minutes to fix it. He had a bigger hammer and air tools which I didnt have, lol. So its all good now. I have the 32m/19m setup with energy suspension bushings. I will be puting on my Hotckis 1in drop springs next week to complete my suspension. As it sets now the car feels great around curves cuz it dont lean as much and just hugs them. It feels like I float around them now compared to before on the stock v6 bars. I like it overall, great upgrade.

[youngsc]

Re: Installed the sway bars!!!

Silly question. What is the weight diff between the stock solid one and the hollow 32mm? Or what are their respective weight alone. I'm a weight freak nothing unneccesary added ever.

[SilverRS96]

Re: Installed the sway bars!!!

i felt a nice differnce when i went with my 1LE bars over my stock ones...good mod to do

[Niko97RS]

Re: Installed the sway bars!!!

i agree, i forget what my rear is at now...but its a hell of a lot bigger than the stock one, side by side it was like a pencil and a banana

[PalmHarborBlkv6]

Re: Installed the sway bars!!!

that is 32 front? Are your shocks stock (original)??????

[T-Punk]

Re: Installed the sway bars!!!

Yes it's the front bar. The front bar is fine to go large on even with stock shocks and springs though. The rear bar is another story.

[silvachris1]

Re: Installed the sway bars!!!

I'm pretty sure Chris (Firehawk N WV) has Bilstein HD's under there. I think he said they were the SLP revalved deals, but I can't remember for sure.

[Firehawk N Wv]

Re: Installed the sway bars!!!

Yes, they are the revalved SLP shocks. Im not sure on the weigh difference on the bars man, but im sure its no more than 5lbs or so.

[rdrr96]

Re: Installed the sway bars!!!

32mm in front 21mm out back for me... rear end seems a little stiff but she definatley scoots around the turns. what brand did you go with? BMR is what i have!

[V6Bob]

Re: Installed the sway bars!!!

32mm in front 21mm out back for me... rear end seems a little stiff but she definatley scoots around the turns. what brand did you go with? BMR is what i have!

The rear is definitely too stiff. It may scoot around turns when drixen briskly. In a more stressful situation, like wet weather or making an emergency swerve to avoid an accident, you're likely to spin. Not good.

The 21 is simply too big for the car. The rear bar doesn't prevent roll, it's a tuning device for balance. It places more load on the rear, and thus reduces rear traction. Too big is really bad.

A 21 rear is too big for most all springs. With stock V6 springs I think even a 19 is too big. They're surely not the hot setup.

[rdrr96]

Re: Installed the sway bars!!!

the car handles better than i can stay in the seat... also i have never had a problem with spinning out and i have swerved to avoid all sorts of things at some pretty dang high speeds... i think its a great set up. my dad is the one that did the suspension, he knows his stuff about auto xing and thats what he built it for. now that it scoots through the turns im hoping to make it scoot a little faster in a straight line.

[FirebirdGT]

Re: Installed the sway bars!!!

the car handles better than i can stay in the seat... also i have never had a problem with spinning out and i have swerved to avoid all sorts of things at some pretty dang high speeds... i think its a great set up. my dad is the one that did the suspension, he knows his stuff about auto xing and thats what he built it for. now that it scoots through the turns im hoping to make it scoot a little faster in a straight line.

I have to agree with V6Bob. A 32/21 is not safe on V6 springs. I had it and changed my springs.

So, if your dad did your suspension, what spring rates do you have front and rear?

[rdrr96]

Re: Installed the sway bars!!!

no clue as to what the spring rate is... my dad put the suspension together with some Bilstein SS shocks, lowering springs, sway bars, panhard rod, all new poly bushings and LCA's

i dont doubt that V6bob is correct when your using v6 springs but with how the car is set up it handles, like i said before, better than i can stay in the seat.

im not on here to get told whats wrong with my set up. i was just curious as to what size rear sway bar he had.

[Firehawk N Wv]

Re: Installed the sway bars!!!

I wanted BMR origianaly then I realized why pay all that money when they arent realy seen. So I just went with stock v8 bars. I sanded some of the rust off them then repainted them black. I added the red Energy Suspension bushings for better control and a little color. As sadi before Im running the 32/19 setup and I love it so far. I will be puting on my Hotckis springs this week or so to finish out my suspension.

[T-Punk]

Re: Installed the sway bars!!!

no clue as to what the spring rate is... my dad put the suspension together with some Bilstein SS shocks, lowering springs, sway bars, panhard rod, all new poly bushings and LCA's

i dont doubt that V6bob is correct when your using v6 springs but with how the car is set up it handles, like i said before, better than i can stay in the seat.

im not on here to get told whats wrong with my set up. i was just curious as to what size rear sway bar he had.

Poly bushings for LCA's aren't the best option in most cases. Find out the brand but there is only one brand that doesn them so that they can work correctly. The problem is that with a solid rear axle the bushings can bind causing problems through turns when you are really pushing it. A certain amount of articulation is required to allow for the suspension to work correctly. Hard rubber bushings are a great option (moog offers a perfect bushing for stock LCA's), rod ends are amazing if you don't mind replacing them every so often or the harsh ride quality that thends to come with them as well. Now if you want something a bit different and offers proper articulation J&M has an interesting 3piece poly bushing that appears to be acceptable. One of the guys on frrax did some tests comparing them to standard poly and these require a lot less torque to move. Find out your spring rates and which bilsteins there are exactly (the revalved bilsteins from SLP maybe or just standard HD's) as you can tune the suspension around the poly bushings (though I'd recomend against it). I'm not putting down what your dad did (he at least seems to have upgraded the propper components) but you might want to work it out to make it a bit safer in adverse weather conditions. Also check how your rear is centered side to side, typically you will need an adjustable PHB to get it back to center after lowering springs are installed. I'm here to tell everyone what is wrong with there setup... it's what I do :P . Really I only do this if I think there is a possible safty issue though.