Sway bar size vs bushing type - fine tuning
08-31-2009, 08:30 PM
#1
Race Director
Thread Starter
Sway bar size vs bushing type - fine tuning
If you have almost the right size bar for the setup you want is it possible to make changes to the bushings that will have the effect of a slightly stiffer/softer bar?
Say rubber to poly to delrin to solid (bearings).
Or does that have a different effect that is not like changing bar size?
I know that there are adjustable bars (mega bucks) but I am looking for just a little "more" front bar tuning.
Right now front bar is stock rubber bushings shimmed to allow the desired amount of unloaded movement.
So leave out adj bars & shimming & just discuss the bushings & how they "change" the setup.
Thanks.
Say rubber to poly to delrin to solid (bearings).
Or does that have a different effect that is not like changing bar size?
I know that there are adjustable bars (mega bucks) but I am looking for just a little "more" front bar tuning.
Right now front bar is stock rubber bushings shimmed to allow the desired amount of unloaded movement.
So leave out adj bars & shimming & just discuss the bushings & how they "change" the setup.
Thanks.
08-31-2009, 09:07 PM
#3
Melting Slicks
Sway bar bushings are just simply part of a spring system that connects the wheels on each side of the car. From one side to the other the bar connects the wheels, but the stiffness of the end links and the stiffness of the attachment bushings are also part of the overall stiffness of the system.
The bars on our cars are pretty stiff, so small changes to the bushings can and do make a difference in how stiff the overall bar system is. For years folks have been taking out the rubber bushings, putting in poly or delrin bushings and fine tuning the stiffnes of the bars. I have a couple of coffee cans full of different stiffness bushings that I use to help fine tune balance when the car is close. It is just one more tool in the box of tricks that are available...
One thing about tuning with bushings is also to recognize that threre are sometimes more than just the stiffness of the bushing going on there. For instance, on the C4, the stock bushings are tight enough to clamp the bar and don't slide. In this case the rubber is twisting and it adds to the stiffness of the overall system. For that reason, if you replace a clamping rubber bushing with a slipping poly bushing that isn't a lot stiffer, the net effect is that it won't change the stiffness very much.
So the short answer is yes you can easily change the stiffness and it is done all the time.... Stiffer bushings are the same things as thickening the bar, softer bushings are like going to smaller bars...
The bars on our cars are pretty stiff, so small changes to the bushings can and do make a difference in how stiff the overall bar system is. For years folks have been taking out the rubber bushings, putting in poly or delrin bushings and fine tuning the stiffnes of the bars. I have a couple of coffee cans full of different stiffness bushings that I use to help fine tune balance when the car is close. It is just one more tool in the box of tricks that are available...
One thing about tuning with bushings is also to recognize that threre are sometimes more than just the stiffness of the bushing going on there. For instance, on the C4, the stock bushings are tight enough to clamp the bar and don't slide. In this case the rubber is twisting and it adds to the stiffness of the overall system. For that reason, if you replace a clamping rubber bushing with a slipping poly bushing that isn't a lot stiffer, the net effect is that it won't change the stiffness very much.
So the short answer is yes you can easily change the stiffness and it is done all the time.... Stiffer bushings are the same things as thickening the bar, softer bushings are like going to smaller bars...
Last edited by Solofast; 08-31-2009 at 09:09 PM.