Sway Bar Question Options

[Osnabruck914]

Well, the other day I noticed my '74 2.0 had something dangling underneath. Sure enough, those cheap nylon rear sway bar downlink bushings had failed again. I did not have any replacement bushings on hand, and with a car show coming up the next day, I just decided to remove the whole rear sway bar assembly until I could order and receive new bushings.

Driving without the rear sway bar, I was surprised to note that the car felt lighter and more responsive at the wheel. What's going on here? I thought having both bars was always a better option. Is it a psychological thing or is it real. Should I leave the rear bar off? I do not drive that aggressively nor do I autocross or rally.

I have read that it is not Kosher to drive with only a rear bar installed, but OK with just the front. Is that true?

Osnabruck914

[technicalninja]

Well, the other day I noticed my '74 2.0 had something dangling underneath. Sure enough, those cheap nylon rear sway bar downlink bushings had failed again. I did not have any replacement bushings on hand, and with a car show coming up the next day, I just decided to remove the whole rear sway bar assembly until I could order and receive new bushings.

Driving without the rear sway bar, I was surprised to note that the car felt lighter and more responsive at the wheel. What's going on here? I thought having both bars was always a better option. Is it a psychological thing or is it real. Should I leave the rear bar off? I do not drive that aggressively nor do I autocross or rally.

I have read that it is not Kosher to drive with only a rear bar installed, but OK with just the front. Is that true?

Osnabruck914

What you are describing with "car felt lighter and more responsive at the wheel" is how "loose or tight" the car was.

Loose equals more body roll and steering inputs "feel" more pronounced as they create more movement in your torso (due the increased roll). You "lean" more.

Tight means less roll and smaller suspension angle changes creating more grip.

Loose normally gives more "feedback" up to the point of losing traction (spinning) and is easier for most folks to control.

Loose broadcasts its intentions.

Tight is better for control under high load conditions right up to the point it breaks loose.
It gives you less warnings!

In the case of a street driven basically stock 914 that the owner is not using for combat (competition) the rear bar is not mandatory.

As not having the bar reduces strain on the trunk pan, I'd probably leave it off, especially if the trunk pan was rusty. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

You might test no bars...

Leave the rear off, disco one side of the front, drive it, see what you think.

You could then connect just the rear bar and see if the legends are true...
I've never tried rear only myself on anything.