Sway/Stabilizer bar advice needed.
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 3,534
Likes: 432
From: Atlantic Beach FL.
Sure, there is more than meets the eye. All things being equal, and comparing bars from the same manufacturer when they use thicker gauge tubing for some of the thicker OD bars, thicker is most likely stiffer in the C5-C7 bars.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 2,300
Likes: 115
From: Odessa FL
St. Jude Donor '10-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17
1. The length of the portion of the bar that will twist with chassis roll affects its rate.
2. The outer diameter of the bar affects its rate. The larger, the stiffer it will be.
3. Hollow bars are less stiff than solid bars and the wall thickness affects the rate.
4. The arm length affects the rate, the longer the arm, the softer the bar rate.
5. The material the arm is made of ultimately affects the rate if it is too soft and bends.
6 The material the bar is made of, or the hardness of the steel, affects the rate.
So yes, while in general, larger bar OD will make a bar stiffer,thicker walls on a hollow bar will make it more so, and solid bars would make it optimal. At least how I understand it. Always willing to learn.
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 3,534
Likes: 432
From: Atlantic Beach FL.
The bar is a torsional spring.
Most of the torsional springiness exist on the outer portion of a given torsion spring by a proportion of x^4. So size does matter (the outer diameter plays a huge roll).
Leverage is a factor but in this case we are using one basic design with the same mounting points.
The length is the same. We are not comparing a F550 truck to a Miata. We are talking about C5-C7 sway bars that have similar design characteristics for all intents and purposes.
The material they are made of can be a factor. In most cases there are industry standards. Why bring up exotic material?
Most of the torsional springiness exist on the outer portion of a given torsion spring by a proportion of x^4. So size does matter (the outer diameter plays a huge roll).
Leverage is a factor but in this case we are using one basic design with the same mounting points.
The length is the same. We are not comparing a F550 truck to a Miata. We are talking about C5-C7 sway bars that have similar design characteristics for all intents and purposes.
The material they are made of can be a factor. In most cases there are industry standards. Why bring up exotic material?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 2,591
Likes: 144
From: Mobile al
What I'm saying is you can have a 33MM bar made from say .080 wall steel, and a 32MM bar made from .100 wall steel and the smaller one may be stiffer than the larger one.
Just a heads up.
I find the My stock suspension C5 Z06 is DAMN quick on a set of slicks on track. It will be a while before I reach it's full potential with the car in stock form.
Just a heads up.
I find the My stock suspension C5 Z06 is DAMN quick on a set of slicks on track. It will be a while before I reach it's full potential with the car in stock form.
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 3,534
Likes: 432
From: Atlantic Beach FL.
Consider weight to benefit. As long as the tubing doesn't start to collapse under a load, then from a design concept, the larger diameter will provide more torsional resistance.
The core provides diminishing returns per material weight/density.
One thing to consider is your goal.
The suspension only needs to be as stiff as necessary to accommodate your driving. Any more then you will be unfavorable in a real world scenario. The stiffest suspension would be no suspension at all (wheels mounted to a solid frame). You want the softest suspension you can get away with.
Think about under-steer and over-steer.
The core provides diminishing returns per material weight/density.
One thing to consider is your goal.
The suspension only needs to be as stiff as necessary to accommodate your driving. Any more then you will be unfavorable in a real world scenario. The stiffest suspension would be no suspension at all (wheels mounted to a solid frame). You want the softest suspension you can get away with.
Think about under-steer and over-steer.
Last edited by Rob 02; Aug 14, 2016 at 09:21 PM.
