Front Sway Bars Options

[wndsnd]

I'm see prices of $150, 350, and 500+ for new sway bars

Just wondering, once on the car will there be a difference in feel?


I really only want to spend $200.00, want adjustability, and 19mm for road only.

Your opinions please. Make some sense out of this for me.

Thanks
John

[SLITS]

The 914 was 13 or 15 mm. I don't remember which as I gave it away. Bruce Stone can measure it for you plus it is stamped into one end.

I have a stock bar on the front of my six conversion (2.7L) with 140 lb rear springs, Bilsteins w/ adjustable perches on the rear and Koni Reds up front (911 struts). It corners nicely.

I do have a 19 mm bar (911 front) that I will replace the stock one with someday. I also have a rear bar and have not installed it ... maybe some day.

Car is not tracked.

The best setup I ever put on a 914 was an SC front end complete with under body sway bar. Even though it was 22 or so mm, the way it is attached there is not as much deflection so the full rate is not realized. Flat as could be in the twisties.

No need for adjustable drop links on a street car other than making sure the bar is not preloaded in rest position. Just a costly, unnecessary option.

It's a torsion bar and the rate is determined by the diameter of the bar, length of the arms.

Most importantly, the bar is most effective when it is horizontal to the ground plane and the arms are vertical and equal (bar not preloaded). Most effective place to tie in the drop links is at the ball joint for maximum available deflection with suspension movement, but that generally doesn't happen except on full race cars.

Being able to adjust the arm length and keeping the drop links in a vertical plane is most effective, i.e., longer the arm for a given bar diameter, more torsional resistance.

On the race cars, we had multiple attachment points on the arm and commensurate attachment points on the "A" arm so that the arm could be lengthened while keeping the drop links vertical.

We had a rear bar set up in the same manner. On some tracks it was used and on others, we disconnected it. And yes, we used Detroit Locker rear ends.

I'm done!