Hey fellas,

I'm looking to upgrade the sway bars on my '13 A6 base car (narrow body, not Z51) soon, and I'm not quite sure what I should get. I'm running:

DRM Bilstein shocks with poly bushings
stock size, non-runflat Michelin PSS

I have no plans to add a widebody, change tire sizes/brands/compounds, or change to coilovers in the future. I will be upgrading the brakes a bit, eventually.

The car is a DD, and my only car; that said, I do go to the road course 2-3 times a year, and I'm really looking to improve handling without sacrificing drivability (much).

So far, I've glanced at the GM t-1 setup, Pfadt JOC, and OEM Z51 or Z06 sways. I haven't really begun to look into endlinks, etc.

Any knowledge/opinions are welcome. Thanks!

 

Love my set-up, base with z51 sways, base springs, koni fsd, Firestone WO RFTs. I track a few times a year, it's well balanced. Wife is happy on road trips.

 

see: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...sway-bars.html

 

I put Z51 bars on when I had my '05. Did not change the ride but cornering was much improved. Most suggest not using the Z06 sway bars with stock tire/wheel size.

 

I would go straight to the joc bars. I had a z51 and changed to c/o, joc bars....worth every penny.

 

zo6 front sway bar is one and the same as z51, the rear bar is bigger, and yes have heard the same on using zo6 (rear bar) with stock base tire sizes.

 

Thanks, learned something new.

 

Since you have DRMs, and you can't find much better experience in road racing and street setups, why not call and ask either Randy or Doug?

 

Thanks for the info/links. From a little more research that I've done, it looks like I'll want to stay with the Z51 size to optimize rear traction on corner exit.

I also saw the Hotchkis setup, which offers about the same size bars coupled with an adjustable rear bar. Is this worth paying nearly double the price of Z51 sways? I wouldn't think so, as I could buy a Z06 rear sway for less than the difference and test out both setups. Also, I would think OEM bars would be kinder to the OEM endlinks, etc.

Any other thoughts? Worth changing out springs or any other suspension components while I'm at it? I'm not interested in lowering the car as I scrape on just about everything in Louisiana as it is...

 

We have the aFe control Johnny O'Connell sway bar kit. If you have any questions feel free to PM on the product and I will be more then happy to help you, being we are a vendor on the forum and want to help our members out if we can .

 

from the other thread so you can compare them all:

Sway Bar Measurements for Comparisons
HOTCHKIS - 31.75 mm & 25.4 mm
LG G1 - 39.6875mm & 26.9875 mm
C6 Base - 25.5mm & 17.5mm
C6 Z51 -31mm & 25.6mm
C6 Z06 & Grand Sport - 31mm & 27.9mm
C5/C6 T1 - 38.4mm & 27.5mm
C6 ZR1 - 33mm & 31mm
EIBACH - 32mm & 29mm
WCC - 34.9mm & 27.4mm
Johnny O- 35mm & 29mm

I have the eibachs, because they are are the best mix of size vs. price. you'll also want Z06 shocks or better IMHO. next step beyond that is swapping springs to Z06.

 

Already have the shocks taken care of. Threw on a set of DRM Bilsteins a couple months ago and I love em. From what I've read, stiffer sways really take it to the next level. Just want to make sure that I don't go with a setup that makes the car unstable (read: oversteer on the street when I don't want it to).

I feel like to run any stiffer than the Z51 rear bar, I'd have to run a stiffer front bar as well. That appears to be the idea behind the JOC setup.




Now, on the Pfadt chart, the base sways aren't even listed. I assume they would fall even below the C5Z bars.

The main downside to the Z51 bars is also one of their upsides: adjustability. They're stock length and made to fit on the narrowbody without any issues, so there's no tuning of endlinks to be done. On the other hand, if I decide I want the rear stiffer, I get to buy another bar.

I'm a ways away from pulling the trigger on anything; keep the ideas rolling in!

 

Well the base C6 bars are 25.5mm in the front and 17.5mm in the rear, so certainly our bars are much beefier and the rear bar is adjustable. Along with the kit we include the endlinks incase you have your corvette lowered, or may extra insurance for a stronger endlink that can support the extra stiffness of the bar upgrade.

 

the JOC is going too far on the front bar IMHO.

The old saying is that big sway bars turn independent suspension cars into solid axles. Corvettes already suffer from this syndrome because the leaf springs connect to both sides.

I personally wouldn't go bigger than my eibachs, and in a perfect would I'd go a little less but with a stiffer front spring.

Also, if anybody has a chart with all the leaf springs compared please share.

 

, I get great balance nearly equal over/under steer with the softer base front spring and the Z51 Sway. The Koni FSDs round it out. Car pulls 1.03g consistently before giving out. It makes for a very predictable track and street car.

 

Just wanted to point out with hollow sway bars, its very difficult to form a conclusion based on diameter measurements. You also need to know the wall thickness of the tubular steel to begin to guess relative stiffness. Another method might be weight. Pfadt attempted to take some of the guesswork out of the decision by publicizing their chart. Hotchkiss is about the only other manufacturer I've seen who talks about their stiffness/size.

The other issue is GM went to great lengths to produce a good handling car. The monospring with its dual attachment points tends to act as another type of stabilizer bar.

Personally, I like the adjustable bar, that way you have a chance of balancing the car for the type of track you are driving. I intend to upgrade mine at some point but right now the GS seems to balance well. I just changed shocks so I'll wait for another track day to see how the car responds before replacing any other components.

 

Get the JOC bars...

 

that is a good point.. for those who know, can you list which bars are hollow.

 

PM sent

 

I think a lot of the bars are, IIRC, Strano sells both.

Where a lot of marketers miss out, IMHO, is a lack of comparison data so consumers can make informed choices. Pfadt understood this, hence his charts. Hotchkiss understands this too, their bars are listed as comparative stiffness to the Z06 bars which can be translated to the Pfadt chart.

Upgrading or changing sway bars isn't so simple as picking and choosing, however. I think when you are driving a car you have to look at a weakness you've discovered on the roads (or track) you drive on and chose components that overcome the weakness. Otherwise you are wasting time and money and possibly downgrading the performance of the car. Granted GM had to walk the middle of the road in the choices they made, after all not all of us have the skills of a James Hunt or Emmerson Fittipaldi, and it does take a fair amount of training to extract even 7/10's performance from the stock version of the Corvette.

If my car never saw a track nor had I not have a desire to drive a road course, I would go with and OEM upgrade, ie, if a base model go with Z06 bars but stay away from the Z06 shocks. There are some good posts highlighting the mixing of suspension components.

Also remember that shocks and bars are fine tune components, its the springs you have to get right first.

It also helps to do your homework so you know where your efforts need to be expended. Buy a book on suspensions and suspension tuning so you have at least some knowledge of what you are attempting.

Well, that's my .02 worth. Hope it helps.