Sway bars....
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 65,492
Likes: 230
From: Orange Park Florida
Sway bars....
Well as some of you all may have noticed, I have been complaining about the rough ride what with the lousey roads getting worse, especially on top of my street here, think it was a rock quarry or something....
SO, I finally got off my hurting as s and removed the rear VBP sway bar, and changed the front bar for the stock one....about 7/8 that came with the car....
and........
the ride is much improved, and I notice hardly any differance in the handling...not enough to really care all that much these days anyway....
SO, I will be selling the sway bar setup....
GENE
SO, I finally got off my hurting as s and removed the rear VBP sway bar, and changed the front bar for the stock one....about 7/8 that came with the car....
and........
the ride is much improved, and I notice hardly any differance in the handling...not enough to really care all that much these days anyway....
SO, I will be selling the sway bar setup....
GENE
Drifting
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 1,411
Likes: 1
From: Wylie TX
Re: Sway bars.... (mrvette)
What are you asking for the rear bar setup and what size is it? I currently don't have one, but I'm not convinced that I need one so buying used would be the best option for me.
I did notice a big change autocrossing when I went from the stock to 1 1/8" front bar. It went from severe oversteer to moderate understeer. But on the street, I don't drive hard enough much to really notice the change.
I did notice a big change autocrossing when I went from the stock to 1 1/8" front bar. It went from severe oversteer to moderate understeer. But on the street, I don't drive hard enough much to really notice the change.
Safety Car
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 3,758
Likes: 3
From: Surrey
Re: Sway bars.... (mrvette)
Gene,
What size bars were you using front & rear? I've got an '81 which has a 1 1.8" front bar & no rear bar. Apparently a 1 1.8" front works well with a 3/4" rear, but you get very little warning if you're about to spin the car. So I figured that a 5/8" rear bar would be a good compromise ie rear end will let go before the front? Or have I got that completely wrong?!!!
What differences in handling have you noticed since going back to stock? I'm really happy with the handling of mine, apart from the way that it can change direction after one wheel hits a bump/hole (something I'm really not happy about!). I figured that a rear sway bar will limit the travel on each individual rear wheel & stronger springs will help up front. Does that sound sensible.... or could I be looking at a dotage spent in the hands of Chiropractors? :D
:cheers:
What size bars were you using front & rear? I've got an '81 which has a 1 1.8" front bar & no rear bar. Apparently a 1 1.8" front works well with a 3/4" rear, but you get very little warning if you're about to spin the car. So I figured that a 5/8" rear bar would be a good compromise ie rear end will let go before the front? Or have I got that completely wrong?!!!
What differences in handling have you noticed since going back to stock? I'm really happy with the handling of mine, apart from the way that it can change direction after one wheel hits a bump/hole (something I'm really not happy about!). I figured that a rear sway bar will limit the travel on each individual rear wheel & stronger springs will help up front. Does that sound sensible.... or could I be looking at a dotage spent in the hands of Chiropractors? :D
:cheers:
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 65,492
Likes: 230
From: Orange Park Florida
Re: Sway bars.... (UKPaul)
OK, the setup WAS 1.25 front bar, urethane..solid mounts...3/4 rear bar, spring mounts on bolts....urethane....
NOW the front only is 7/8 , and stock rubber frame mounts, and sprung urethand on the bolts....
I just did a spirited drive to the bank...and power company, swung into the power company lot a super high speed off the road, car handles better for MY driving and tires than it did before....I felt that rear end was light, and hung to a point, then I had to correct the wheel....
in an autocross situation, no doubt swinging the rear around at will makes for better handling, but for the street bumps and crappy roads.....I"m staying with stock....of course now, don't forget I have 275/50/17 in rear, and 255/50/17 in front too....
GENE
NOW the front only is 7/8 , and stock rubber frame mounts, and sprung urethand on the bolts....
I just did a spirited drive to the bank...and power company, swung into the power company lot a super high speed off the road, car handles better for MY driving and tires than it did before....I felt that rear end was light, and hung to a point, then I had to correct the wheel....
in an autocross situation, no doubt swinging the rear around at will makes for better handling, but for the street bumps and crappy roads.....I"m staying with stock....of course now, don't forget I have 275/50/17 in rear, and 255/50/17 in front too....
GENE
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 2,041
Likes: 0
From: Wichita, KS
Re: Sway bars.... (mrvette)
I just installed a 1 1/8th front bar and 5/8ths rear bar. I'm still getting used to it, but my guess is that this a MUCH better handling car than I can make use of. I did notice that the rear got stiffer after adding the bar. Can't tell about the front as I installed a mono spring at the same time. Before chucking the whole system though I'm going to switch poly to rubber sway bar grommets to see if that helps.
It just doen't seem as "tossable" does it?
It just doen't seem as "tossable" does it?
Safety Car
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 3,758
Likes: 3
From: Surrey
Re: Sway bars.... (1979toy)
Gene,
Thanks for the reply. With 17" rims your's will probably feel completely different to mine as you haven't got those huge tires in the equation.
:eek: Could you explainn what you mean by "tossable" :)
:cheers:
Thanks for the reply. With 17" rims your's will probably feel completely different to mine as you haven't got those huge tires in the equation.
It just doen't seem as "tossable" does it?
:cheers:
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 2,041
Likes: 0
From: Wichita, KS
Re: Sway bars.... (UKPaul)
Could you explainn what you mean by "tossable" :)
:cheers:
:cheers:
NOTE: Some of this could be due to the change to 17 inch wheels that I did shortly before installing the sway bars.
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 65,492
Likes: 230
From: Orange Park Florida
Re: Sway bars.... (1979toy)
I think 79Toy here and I am on the same page....tossable to me also means, you cut the wheel, and at a certain point the rear really WANTS to swing around like a pendulum....and you have to actually straighten the wheel....to catch the damn thing before it's outta controll...easy to loose it with a transverse rear spring.....beleive me, I know that's true from an experience with my '87....never want to go there again....
my flipping the wheel and cussing a blue streak at the same time really opened up my daugher's eyes and ears, the glance her way when I recovered , was most telling....all the playground words mommy never wants to hear....but DADDY knows them!!!!
at any rate, point being, the car is much better than I am....for an autocross with the now 'old' setup....
however, for MY everyday street driving....i'ts much better, in and out of parking lots, just SO much smoother, no longer feeling every damn stone and dip on the curb....
GENE
my flipping the wheel and cussing a blue streak at the same time really opened up my daugher's eyes and ears, the glance her way when I recovered , was most telling....all the playground words mommy never wants to hear....but DADDY knows them!!!!
at any rate, point being, the car is much better than I am....for an autocross with the now 'old' setup....
however, for MY everyday street driving....i'ts much better, in and out of parking lots, just SO much smoother, no longer feeling every damn stone and dip on the curb....
GENE
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Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 65,492
Likes: 230
From: Orange Park Florida
Re: Sway bars.... (mrvette)
OH BTW, my first car was a '60 vete, can anyone describe 'Ill handling??"....
then I went into heavy B body Pontiacs....GP, Catalina, Bonneville, even an early 70's Grandville.....all of them damn near 5000 lbs, filled with Helium....
and the Lemans/GTO's....those at 4000++ lbs.....
the sway bars just were barely noticeable with that great a pondering weight to toss around.....so I figgered similar sizes on a vette would be great....
too much of a good thing, IMO....my vette is only ~3300 lbs....
GENE
then I went into heavy B body Pontiacs....GP, Catalina, Bonneville, even an early 70's Grandville.....all of them damn near 5000 lbs, filled with Helium....
and the Lemans/GTO's....those at 4000++ lbs.....
the sway bars just were barely noticeable with that great a pondering weight to toss around.....so I figgered similar sizes on a vette would be great....
too much of a good thing, IMO....my vette is only ~3300 lbs....
GENE
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 2,041
Likes: 0
From: Wichita, KS
Re: Sway bars.... (mrvette)
OH BTW, my first car was a '60 vete, can anyone describe 'Ill handling??"....GENE
On being tossable, watch a dirt track car. They toss it out of line to load the suspension and steer with the throttle as much as with the wheel.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 18,126
Likes: 174
From: WI
Re: Sway bars.... (mrvette)
If anyone is interested I have a complete "factory" 9/16 BB rear sway bar, comes with EVERYTHING you need to bolt it in. e-mail directly for price!!!redvetracr@msn.com I also have a "factory" 7/16 rear bar brand new (bar only)
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 5,236
Likes: 898
From: Myrtle Beach SC
Re: Sway bars.... (redvetracr)
If anyone is interested I have a complete "factory" 9/16 BB rear sway bar, comes with EVERYTHING you need to bolt it in.
That's a lot of bar! I'm looking to pick up some used original shocks if anyone has those laying around after their mods!
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 6,273
Likes: 14
From: Austin TX
Re: Sway bars.... (mrvette)
After experimenting with various combinations, I have landed on 1 1/8" front and 5/8" rear.
If you have wide sticky tires, you can use a heavier rear bar but bear in mind that a 3/4" bar has over twice the roll resistance of a 5/8" bar. See the Addco web site for a table that compares relative stiffness.
[Modified by flynhi, 7:04 PM 8/14/2003]
If you have wide sticky tires, you can use a heavier rear bar but bear in mind that a 3/4" bar has over twice the roll resistance of a 5/8" bar. See the Addco web site for a table that compares relative stiffness.
[Modified by flynhi, 7:04 PM 8/14/2003]
Abby Normal
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 53,434
Likes: 92
From: Press "2" for English
Re: Sway bars.... (mrvette)
o.k. i'd be interested in the front bar. you said 1-1/4, right? i currently have a 1-1/8 and am kicking myself for not getting the fattest thing sold. let me know.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 2,041
Likes: 0
From: Wichita, KS
Re: Sway bars.... (UKPaul)
UKPaul, you might even want to look at the 9/16ths bar that redvetrcr has mentioned above as having for sale. The roads here in Kansas are just too rough for the 5/8ths and poly bushing setup that I currently have. I'll swap to rubber bushings and longer bolts to limit the amount of preload on the bushings before giving up on the setup but I wish that I had started with a lighter bar.
Safety Car
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 3,758
Likes: 3
From: Surrey
Re: Sway bars.... (1979toy)
1979toy,
Yes, he's had that on sale for a while & I've had my eye on it. At the moment I'm in a financial mess so I'm hoping he'll still be trying to sell it when I'm back to being "flush". What's the difference between a BB rear sway bar & a SB one? :confused:
The roads around here can be very rough (a forum member who was here once described them as "treacherous"!!!) so I'm very reluctant to do any mods that could give me a nasty surprise. One thing I have found is that my front sway bar end links had 1" spacers in them. After talking to Gator81 I made up a pair of correct length 1 1/2" ones & it transformed the handling. No longer did it violently change direction if one front wheel hit a bump, it's much more precise on rough roads now. So what would shorter spacers (or slackly adjusted end links with springs) do for the handling that would make somebody fit them????
If only handling & suspension mods were as easy to understand/remember as engine mods! :lol:
:cheers:
Yes, he's had that on sale for a while & I've had my eye on it. At the moment I'm in a financial mess so I'm hoping he'll still be trying to sell it when I'm back to being "flush". What's the difference between a BB rear sway bar & a SB one? :confused:
The roads around here can be very rough (a forum member who was here once described them as "treacherous"!!!) so I'm very reluctant to do any mods that could give me a nasty surprise. One thing I have found is that my front sway bar end links had 1" spacers in them. After talking to Gator81 I made up a pair of correct length 1 1/2" ones & it transformed the handling. No longer did it violently change direction if one front wheel hit a bump, it's much more precise on rough roads now. So what would shorter spacers (or slackly adjusted end links with springs) do for the handling that would make somebody fit them????
If only handling & suspension mods were as easy to understand/remember as engine mods! :lol:
:cheers:
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 2,041
Likes: 0
From: Wichita, KS
Re: Sway bars.... (UKPaul)
I'll have to try the longer spacers. That may help my setup too.
I have no idea what the changes are from big block to small block sway bars.
I've seen the springs used in place of spacers but I figure that would defeat the purpose of the bar.
We could just keep talking about what works and doesn't work for us on real roads rather than a race track. Maybe we'll be able to compile enough information for folks to be able to make better choices in the first place.
I have no idea what the changes are from big block to small block sway bars.
I've seen the springs used in place of spacers but I figure that would defeat the purpose of the bar.
We could just keep talking about what works and doesn't work for us on real roads rather than a race track. Maybe we'll be able to compile enough information for folks to be able to make better choices in the first place.