Alternative to Hotchkis Sway Bars [Archive]

brickyard69

01-31-2006, 08:51 AM

I need to order front and rear sway bars for my 69 Camaro.

I have used the Hotchkis ones in the past, but I feel they are over priced just for the name.

Anyone ever used Suspension Techniques? $250 for the set.

I don't like the coating (none) on the Addco brand.

Any ideas/recommendations?

Steve

Travis B

01-31-2006, 08:53 AM

air ride tech has a 1 5/8 muscle bars you might contact them see what there prices are and if they would work on your app....they are very nice for the money!!

baz67

01-31-2006, 08:59 AM

1 5/8 holy crap that is big :seizure: I would guess that would cause some under/oversteer issues. I have to look into that. Thanks Tavis.

Steve, FWIW you do not need a rear bar for your first gen. It most likely will cause some oversteer.

importkiller69ss

01-31-2006, 08:59 AM

i had the adco bar on my 69 and i liked it the only reason i went with the hotchkis is b/c i bought the tvs and a friend wanted my adco for the same price it was new...b/c it basically was the only thing i see is the hotchkis bars are slightly bigger and alot lighter but for a street car i dont think you need it but i love the look of it but that my mo

brickyard69

01-31-2006, 09:18 AM

You don't really need a rear bar on a 69 Camaro?

I thought the car would handle like crap without one. The car is street only. If I don't need one. I'll save the extra $200.

Steve1968LS2

01-31-2006, 09:30 AM

air ride tech has a 1 5/8 muscle bars you might contact them see what there prices are and if they would work on your app....they are very nice for the money!!

I "think" their bars are made by Hotchkis..

Have you thought of shopping around for the Hotchkis bars (from a dealer rather than from Hotchkis direct) for a better price?

Travis B

01-31-2006, 09:33 AM

baz67

01-31-2006, 09:33 AM

Nope, you do not need one especially if you upgraded your leafs. Give this a read https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=205 Remember the search function is your friend.

Steve1968LS2

01-31-2006, 09:40 AM

generally if you have stiffer rear leafs (like aftermarket DSE, Global West, Hotchkis, etc) and stiffer bushings (poly, etc) then you really don't need, or want, a rear sway bar since your back end is stiff enough already.

Project g/28 actually got slower when we put on a rear swaybar.

The reason a stock '69 improved with a rear swaybar was that the stock leafs was that the stock suspension with it's rubber bushing had a lot of "give".. so if you have an upgraded set-up then you can skip the rear sway (i did on my '69)

baz67

01-31-2006, 09:56 AM

(i did on my '69)

That is not fair because you never got to drive your 69. :lmao:

Steve1968LS2

01-31-2006, 10:06 AM

That is not fair because you never got to drive your 69. :lmao:

Hey, I actully managed to put 500 miles on it before it became a garage queen.. :)

brickyard69

01-31-2006, 11:04 AM

I am doing Hotchkis rears.

You guys just saved me $300-$400 bucks.

Thanks!

(sorry no commission $)

CarlC

01-31-2006, 05:47 PM

generally if you have stiffer rear leafs (like aftermarket DSE, Global West, Hotchkis, etc) and stiffer bushings (poly, etc) then you really don't need, or want, a rear sway bar since your back end is stiff enough already.

Agreed.

With a good tire, these springs may be too light. Mine have a similar rate and are too light when pushing the car on an open track day. Currently, I use the Hotchkis sway bar as a helper, but it's soon going to leave permanently.

Rick Dorion

02-01-2006, 04:49 AM

Agreed.

With a good tire, these springs may be too light. Mine have a similar rate and are too light when pushing the car on an open track day. Currently, I use the Hotchkis sway bar as a helper, but it's soon going to leave permanently.

Are you going with a different rate spring, Carl?

CarlC

02-01-2006, 07:48 AM

We've already guinea pig'ed a new setup on another car. Nothing new, the parts are out there, but we have not seen them combined. The rate is about 240#/in. None of the parts simply fit together. Lots of machining is needed to get it right.

When it's done, installed, and tested on mine I'll post pics and info.

wendell

02-01-2006, 08:10 AM

Carl C,
You've got a great web site. I've used the alternator and the sfc sections.

#240 seems like a lot of spring. Are you going ot run a lateral locating device (p-bar/ watts) with that? the reason I ask is that I've seen good results w/ less spring when the rear RC is lowered and non binding bushings are used (mono balls or even stock rubber). Don't get me wrong, I believe it's working for you, I'm just interested.

Rick Dorion

02-01-2006, 09:40 AM

I think David Pozzi ( and probably others) have said the Hotchkis is progressive so the 175# rating is under a certain amount of deflection. I don't know how that compares to GW or DSE for example. I feel my Hotchkis leafs , with GW del-a-lums, are a bit soft on street driving. I have a set of 250ish springs from a GP a while ago but will look forward to some more real-world feedback here.

CarlC

02-01-2006, 01:51 PM

Nope, just the springs. It does have del-a-lum bushings and plastic pucks between each leaf.

JonB used to have some pics hosted that showed a side view of the car under max cornering load. It squats a lot. There's a pic here that does not show the full extent, it does squat more.https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2358&highlight=JonB

As the car burns fuel it handles better. It also handles a bit better with the swaybar, but it won't fix the root cause.

Shocks make a huge difference for making the car street-friendly.

Damn True

02-01-2006, 04:38 PM

Wow, great photo of your car. It corners pretty flat.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif