front sway bar???

[72'Monte]

i got a solid front sway bar that i paid $100 for.the one i have is solid and heavy.my ?? is should i get a hollow front sway bar or is the one i have better?mine is a 1 5/16.i'am new to using sway bars up front.

[Bryce]

you need to be comparing the stiffness or the spring rate of teh sway bar and determining the balance of the car. Do you need a stiffer sway bar or not.

About 90% of the stiffness of a sway bar is in the out 1/4" the material removed from the inside of a hollow bar only makes up about 10% of the stiffness.

[72'Monte]

i don't think i need a killer sway bar.i might never autocross the car.it is really just a street car.i want good power and great handing.

[Bryce]

My best guess without knowing the car would be to get hotckis springs sway bars and shocks. You would have a great car!

[UMI Tech]

We have a pretty nice 1.250" solid front bar. It's medium/heavy rate-wise and works good for spirited street and basic auto-x handling.

-- Ramey

[Skip Fix]

I think the old WS6 Trans Am 1 1/4 front bars will swap on too.

[72'Monte]

i have a solid 1 5/16 away that i just got.i'am just wondering if it is to much for my car.what is better hollow or solid?

[Twentyover]

Functionally, as far as establishing a torsion spring, neither is 'better'. The hollow bar can provide the same spring rate at a lower weight

[72'Monte]

i might sell this one and go with a hollow sway bar.this one is a bit heavy.

[Nicks67GTO]

I think the old WS6 Trans Am 1 1/4 front bars will swap on too.

I did this on my 67' GTO, swapped the stock 7/8" bar and crap bushings for a 1.25" bar and poly links and bushings. The difference was huge, but by the time i sourced the bar,shipped it, got some bushings and end links, i could have just bought a bar from a vendor for a few more bucks and saved myself some time.

[Norm Peterson]

Can't hurt to try it out. In a street-driven car it doesn't make much difference whether it's solid or tubular as long as you're satisfied with how stiff it is. Worst case, it'll 'push' a bit too much when you're driving with some "enthusiasm". At that point, you could dial back the front bar size, dial up the rear bar size (or add one, if there isn't one there already), or even play with different front and/or rear spring rates.

When you are worried about either hitting a specific rate or taking every lb out of the car, a tubular bar is better, because as has been said above a tubular bar will be lighter than a solid bar of equal stiffness (all other dimensions and bends held equal).



Norm

[Skip Fix]

So how many lbs you think you actually save with the hollow bar with teh same torsional rigidity? Bet not as much as you think unless as Norm said you need every last lb out of it for class.

We got crazy with the torch and swiss cheesed the heavy bumper brackets on my 78 TA. When I weighed it we only saved 15 lbs! Bet a hollow sway bar that is thicker to get the same rgidity would save maybe 5-8 lbs.