Rear Sway Bar

Author Topic: Rear Sway Bar  (Read 1801 times)

Justins72

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Rear Sway Bar
« on: April 08, 2006 - 02:20:55 PM »
I was looking underneath the rear of my car today just for the fun of it and i noticed from whats there and the pictures from firmfeel that i have a factory rear sway bar. now i was was wondering if the make a bigger size bar for the factory setup or am i stuck with what i got?           thanks




Offline Chryco Psycho

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Re: Rear Sway Bar
« Reply #1 on: April 08, 2006 - 11:45:51 PM »
Basically if Firm Feel doen`t make a bigger one you are stuck with what you have , the other thing to be aware of is balance , you should always have a larger front bar than rear other wise the handling can get squirrelly

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Offline Killer_Mopar

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Re: Rear Sway Bar
« Reply #2 on: April 09, 2006 - 12:00:52 AM »
I think addco might make a bigger bar, but Im pretty sure it doesnt use existing hardware. If you do upgrade, I would be interested in buying your old sway bar ;)
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Offline chevyconvert

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Re: Rear Sway Bar
« Reply #3 on: April 09, 2006 - 12:42:02 PM »
If you have rubber bushings replacing them with urethane will make a big difference
in the Anti-Sway bars effectiveness with your stock diameter bar.
Remember the bigger the sway bars the stiffer the ride.
 Also, in a uni-body car you'll start to transfer the flex from the suspension to the body if you go with the bigger bars.
Eric
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Offline Chryco Psycho

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Re: Rear Sway Bar
« Reply #4 on: April 09, 2006 - 11:51:22 PM »
therre are bigger aftermarket bars But they are not designed as well as the factory bar, & they sit on the diff adding to unsprung weight & hurting handling & there are also problems with the area where the bar attaches to the frame tearing 

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Offline 71fish

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Re: Rear Sway Bar
« Reply #5 on: April 10, 2006 - 05:56:13 AM »
Does a rear sway bay make a big difference in handling than without one?? Mine came w/ one according to the buildsheet, but it's no longer there. Thinking of getting a firmfeel rear bar

fish
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Offline Chryco Psycho

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Re: Rear Sway Bar
« Reply #6 on: April 10, 2006 - 09:20:57 AM »
yes

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Offline miketyler

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Re: Rear Sway Bar
« Reply #7 on: April 10, 2006 - 09:28:14 AM »
add me to the list of those without a rear sway bar. I can only assume the previous owner took it off to ease the fit and installation of new exhaust and never put it back on. If I buy another rear sway bar to replace it what are the chances that it would foul or rattle on those pipes? It doesn't look like there is much space under there  :dunno:
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Offline Grancoupe

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Re: Rear Sway Bar
« Reply #8 on: April 10, 2006 - 03:32:32 PM »
You should have something back there. Even if its not a large bar. They keep the car balanced side to side on straight launches as well as around turns.

Offline wiging19

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Re: Rear Sway Bar
« Reply #9 on: April 10, 2006 - 03:52:54 PM »
therre are bigger aftermarket bars But they are not designed as well as the factory bar, & they sit on the diff adding to unsprung weight & hurting handling & there are also problems with the area where the bar attaches to the frame tearing 
I have to agree with Chryco.  I put on the adco product and it was great until it tore out the section where it was attached to my frame rail.  I had the section repaired and put in the original style  rear sway bar.  They are hard to come by and took me three years to find one.  It does improved the handling and I like having one. :bigsmile:

Offline MEK-Dangerfield

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Re: Rear Sway Bar
« Reply #10 on: April 10, 2006 - 03:54:35 PM »
You should have something back there. Even if its not a large bar. They keep the car balanced side to side on straight launches as well as around turns.

My car only has one in the front, but I can tell the back is swaying on turns. In the past I put one on the rear of a Mopar that didn't have one originally. The difference was dramatic.  :burnout:

  Mike

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Offline miketyler

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Re: Rear Sway Bar
« Reply #11 on: April 10, 2006 - 05:14:59 PM »
well there you go - looks like my Ebay shopping isnt done yet then. So the originals are preferred over aftermarket? Dont suppose anyone has an extra one laying around?  :1zhelp:  :naughty:  :1zhelp:
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Offline 1BADFISH™

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Re: Rear Sway Bar
« Reply #12 on: April 10, 2006 - 05:40:50 PM »
Mike, from what I've found, these kits are the closest to the original. $295

http://www.firmfeel.com/swaybars_e.htm

Dave
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Offline miketyler

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Re: Rear Sway Bar
« Reply #13 on: April 11, 2006 - 05:52:17 AM »
cool - thanks for that;I may go that route if I cant find an original.

So are all 70-74 rear sway bars the same? Challenger rear sway bar will work as well?
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Offline Steve

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Re: Rear Sway Bar
« Reply #14 on: April 11, 2006 - 07:24:14 AM »
The diameter of the sway bar is only part of the story. You should check with the manufacturer about the rate of the sway bar.

Here are some tips from Tom Condran's book, "Performance Handling for Classic Mopars", which all of you should buy!

First, the rear sway bar is the final tuning tool for good handling. Drive your car without the rear sway bar in order to assess needs.
Second, the more power and the faster you drive, the less rear bar you need.
Third, bars come in different rates. Addco offers two bars for the E-body: 3/4" at 140#, 7/8" at 220#. Replace the end links with better units.
Finally, installation and setup is very important and you can do this incorrectly.