Front and rear sway bars, What works for you? Options

[mgp4591]

Just missed out on a set of sway bars in the Classified but have a question for those who know-
I'm looking for front and rear sway bars for my car which is running a heavier than stock equipment EG33 and was wondering what has worked for others? I know Tarrett and other companies make the full-on race bars but I don't think I'll need something that fancy. Anyone have experience with Addco or any other aftermarket bars? Any opinions on what would work, possibly someone with a V8 conversion could chime in as to what their builds are runnning? That would be in the weight range- I may run an autocross and a track once in awhile but mainly spirited driving on twisty roads which is everyones favorite! What works on your car?

[stugray]

I wont say "all", but "most" 914 racers that I know of do not use a rear sway bar.

The 914s on the track are about the "flatest" cornering cars of all the vintage cars on the track even without rear bars.
I believe the mid engine contributes a lot to that.

I think the biggest argument against rear bars is that it will make the car more likely to lift a rear wheel.
So unless you have a LSD, that is a highly undesirable trait.

[SirAndy]

I wont say "all", but "most" 914 racers that I know of do not use a rear sway bar.
The 914s on the track are about the "flatest" cornering cars of all the vintage cars on the track even without rear bars.
I believe the mid engine contributes a lot to that.
I think the biggest argument against rear bars is that it will make the car more likely to lift a rear wheel.
So unless you have a LSD, that is a highly undesirable trait.

That only applies to race cars and dedicated AX cars.

For a street car, a rear sway bar is indeed desirable. In fact, i have one on my car and only disconnect it for AX.
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[stugray]

That only applies to race cars and dedicated AX cars.

For a street car, a rear sway bar is indeed desirable. In fact, i have one on my car and only disconnect it for AX.
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I would like to understand why.
I could imagine that one difference between track & street is that on the street you would have a greater chance of more serious bumps like speed bumps, potholes or gutters.
But in those cases I would think that a less stiff suspension might be the better choice.
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I guess Ive never had a rear bar and my current springs are 275s so I dont know what "normal" feels like.

[SirAndy]

I would like to understand why.

There are only two scenarios where you DON'T want a rear sway bar and both of those only apply if you don't have a limited slip in your transmission.

- In really tight low speed corners where you need to accelerate out of the corner with as much throttle as possible.

- Under hard (trail) braking when entering a tight corner.

This really only presents a problem at the race track or at an AX.
The reason being that in those scenarios, the rear bar will tend to lift the inner wheel and without a limited slip in your transmission, you will get wheel spin under acceleration and loss of traction under braking.


Under any other driving condition a rear bar will actually help balancing the car and improve corner stability.
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[mgp4591]

I would like to understand why.

There are only two scenarios where you DON'T want a rear sway bar and both of those only apply if you don't have a limited slip in your transmission.

- In really tight low speed corners where you need to accelerate out of the corner with as much throttle as possible.

- Under hard (trail) braking when entering a tight corner.

This really only presents a problem at the race track or at an AX.
The reason being that in those scenarios, the rear bar will tend to lift the inner wheel and without a limited slip in your transmission, you will get wheel spin under acceleration and loss of traction under braking.


Under any other driving condition a rear bar will actually help balancing the car and improve corner stability.
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Thanks for those details Andy! I'm running an automatice initially but building up a Subaru 5 speed with a limited slip and different final drive gears to lengthen the stride on the freeway. It sounds like the front and rear bars will help out cruising the canyons and any other roads matching the description of the PCH!