1989 sway bar question
11-24-2013, 09:16 PM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
1989 sway bar question
Have a 1989 FE1 car that is lowered. It has old KYB's that will be replaced before long. I plan to do occasional autox and HPDE. I would like to know if a 32mm solid front bar with a 22mm stock rear bar will work. I thought this might push too much and wondered if using poly on the rear bar would stiffen it enough to balance the car vs buying a 24mm or 26mm bar. As far as class I would be in whichever class is above BSP due to rocker arms and NXC with NASA. Not looking to be fully race prepped but handle better and be more competitive. Thanks!
11-26-2013, 08:44 AM
#3
Melting Slicks
It might, you will have to try it, but you should really look for a 24mm rear bar. Note however, that you should never use a 26mm rear bar unless you have lower rate rear springs or the back end will jack due to too much roll stiffness.
If you try the 22mm bar with poly or delrin bushings it might be good enough. If the car still pushes, soften the front mounts by putting a 1/16 of an inch spacer in the front bar mount to reduce a bit of the preload on the front bar.
Overall you will be limited by how much you can stiffen the rear, but just putting on a bigger front bar won't buy you much if you have to soften the mounts to get it balanced.
You would likely get to the same place by just keeping the original bars and using poly bushings all around.
24mm rear bars are around, you just need to find one, and since it is easy to install that is really what you should do. with the 24mm rear bar you can use the 30mm front bar and life will be good.
If you try the 22mm bar with poly or delrin bushings it might be good enough. If the car still pushes, soften the front mounts by putting a 1/16 of an inch spacer in the front bar mount to reduce a bit of the preload on the front bar.
Overall you will be limited by how much you can stiffen the rear, but just putting on a bigger front bar won't buy you much if you have to soften the mounts to get it balanced.
You would likely get to the same place by just keeping the original bars and using poly bushings all around.
24mm rear bars are around, you just need to find one, and since it is easy to install that is really what you should do. with the 24mm rear bar you can use the 30mm front bar and life will be good.
11-28-2013, 08:07 PM
#5
Racer
Thread Starter
So I was bored and measured the front sway bar where it bends and attaches to the end link with a fabric tape measure and it was 9.2cm. So 92mm/3.14 gives me a diameter of 29.6. I know this is a crude measurement process but that leads me to believe I may already have a 30mm front bar. It's supposed to be 26mm for my FE1 suspension. I did the same measurement on the back and it is 22mm as it should be. I am borrowing my fathers digital calipers Monday to confirm the sizes in the middle of the bar. I'm pretty pumped that a previous owner may have saved me the trouble of buying a 30mm front bar!
