I've been looking at different sway bars lately and these bars by BMR seem to be a pretty good deal. Are they equivalent to the Hotchkis set? How do those of you that have them like them?

http://thunderracing.com/catalog/?ac...&vid=7&pcid=93

I did a little searching and found the following post:

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Here are all the bars I know of that are available for the C-5.
mm/Inches
T-1
F: 38/1.48
R: 27/1.05
Hotchkins
F: 32/1.25
R: 25/1
Xtreme, BRM
F: 32/1.25
R: 21/.80
Z-06
F: 30/1.18
R: 23.6/.93
Z-51
F: 28.6/1.13
01+
R: 23.6/.93
Std
F: 23.1/.91
R: 19.1/.75

From what i have gathered the BRM is solid and all the rest are hollow. I believe the stock bars are hollow also. This makes little difference as the only the outer edge/diameter controls the torsional resistance. Solid is just slightly heavier, cheaper, and easier to work with. If you are a pure racer then the extra cost of hollow makes since, if not then it doesn't matter.

Aggie_Corvette



[Modified by aggie_corvette, 9:48 AM 5/6/2003]
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My question is that since the rear BMR bar is a smaller OD than the stock Z51 bar that I have, would it actually decrease performance by switching to this rear bar? Should I just get the front bar and keep the stock rear or get the set?

 

FWIW, I I'm local and I have the T1 bars....or at least I will after I finishing swapping out new endlinks and installing the front bar.

 

Those are a little too gorilla for my tastes...what are you swapping out?

 

I have them and like them .
If you install these on a lowered C5 then you will need to cut the front links shorter or the bar will rub on the P/S bellows.
I drive my vette every day also.
Bars really don't affect the ride until you turn and then it's far superior.

 

Swapping out Z51 bars with fiberglass endlinks. The T1 bars will have OEM adjustable endlinks on one end of the car, and the other end will have adjustable QA1 steel endlinks.

 

Never driven in a Vette with T1's have ya'

Trust me they make a dramatic difference in the ride.

 

hmmm...I was not aware that additional modifications were necessary....figured it was plug-and-play. do the hotchkis bars require the same mods if your car is lowered?

 

As Aquaman said-they make a difference.
When you hit a chuck hole with your right front wheel and you have no front swaybar at all, the spring and shock for that wheel absorbs the jolt. If you have a stiff bar like a T1, a significant portion of the force of the right front wheel jolt is transfered to the left front wheel where you have another spring/shock assembly that absorbs a pecentage of the jolt that is proportional to the torsional stiffness of the bar.
This effectively stiffens the response to the jolt even though the car is basically driving straight, not cornering.
That's why most owners of heavier bars like the T1 will tell you the staight ahead ride is stiffer.
Those of us who use the T1's are willing to put up with the harsher ride to keeps the wheels flatter for more effective use of the wide tires when cornering. Everything is a compromise in our cars.
T1's with F45 stock springs (the softest springs) actually ride and corner reasonably well, unless your a racer.
Also the T1 bar is a torsional spring that is not dampened too well by the shocks and a heavy jolt to one front wheel results in a cycle or two of torsional vibration of the stiff bar which ever so lightly rocks the car torsionally and is a little disconcerting sometimes.

Roy

 

Tred both Hotchkiss and T1. On the street Hotckiss is the far better choice IMO, they feel better than the ZO6 bars on the track and have just a tad more harshness around town. The T1's on smooth roads are fine, but any broken up raods and they are not fun at all. On the track it is a huge improvement over the Z06 and Hotchkiss bars. You can't have it both ways. If you are putting bars on a coupe for in town driving you can't go wrong with the Zo6 bars, if you have a Zo6 and are looking for more and drive it around town alot go Hotchkiss.

Hope this helps.....Don't have any experience with the other bars.

Make sure the end links are teflon lined or it will get noisy over time. That may be part of the difference in the cost. They look like a good price, but not sure how a soild bar rate vs a hollow bar in torsion. Seams to me they are a different approach than the others. Thicker up front and thinner in the rear.

 

Are the stock -02 and up end links teflon lined? I saw many posts complaining of noise with heim-joint end links and saw that people had great luck with stock metal end links and aftermarket sway bars.

 

The supplier of my T1 bars gave cheap metal end links with lots of clearance that were VERY noisy! I called them and they said they were for racing only and I should not have put them on my street driven car.
I went to Dick Guldstrands Corvette shop in Burbank and he replaced all 4 metal end links-I think they were just tighter clearanced-more precision/cost! I don't think they are Teflon lined but they have been quiet for 15k miles.

Roy