How to Retain Handling Without Front Sway Bar

[QBailey]

To everyone suggesting a splined bar, I’d suggest you look at the shape and mounting location of our bars and then you will understand why that won’t work.

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[K4fxd]

I called a fab shop I used to work at. I was told they are too covered up to want to do this.

Too bad you arn't closer to me I've got a lot of 1.25 tubing including bends, I could fab up a pattern. I'm sure if you took a pattern to a shop they would reproduce it out of some chrome moly.

 

[QBailey]

I called a fab shop I used to work at. I was told they are too covered up to want to do this.

Too bad you arn't closer to me I've got a lot of 1.25 tubing including bends, I could fab up a pattern. I'm sure if you took a pattern to a shop they would reproduce it out of some chrome moly.

That’s probably the best bet. I’ll just cut the factory one in the center, make my bends to avoid the support and reconnect it. Then I’ll just have to find somewhere willing to make it from one piece.

 

[K4fxd]

You might have to add a mount where the bend is. I'm not sure how much a sway bar rotates in it's mounts. But I wouldn't want that bend to hit something.

This may be why Steeda et al don't want to fool with it.

 

[QBailey]

You might have to add a mount where the bend is. I'm not sure how much a sway bar rotates in it's mounts. But I wouldn't want that bend to hit something.

This may be why Steeda et al don't want to fool with it.

There is definitely room. Only real reason I can think of is they there are so few people with a crank support that they don’t bother to accommodate for it.

 

[TeeLew]

I could be making a mountain out of a mole hill. But the risk/vs. reward just isn’t there for me. Especially not on a 1000+rwhp car.

I don't think the risk is nearly as high as you might suspect.

 

[TeeLew]

OP, numerous race cars run without sway bars. They are an easy solution to a problem and do their job well but sway bars are by no means necessary.

You will however need some quite expensive coilovers. I would contact MCS, Penske, Cortex, Kohr, Multimatic, etc to see what they think and if they offer custom packages. You'll likely need some very stiff springs with excellent shock valving but I believe it can absolutely be done.

There are situations where you run without a front bar, but I've never seen it on a high-HP front-engine GT car. They generally run the best with a drain-pipe for a FARB. If you're going to ditch one, it'll be the rear.

If you were going to try it, I'd put as much front spring on the car as you can find...and then double it.

 

[QBailey]

Update on this. I have sent emails to every sway bar manufacturer I can think of and have made some progress with a company called Carolina Sway bar.

If I send them my current sway bar and take some measurements they can bend up a custom bar for this application.

That being said one bar is pricy, but I’m willing to buy it reguardless. If I can get a group of 10 it cheapens the cost significantly. Any takers?

 

[DougS550]

Price isn’t an issue at this point. Just need to find someone willing to make me one.




That also crossed my mind as a solution. The car will be getting coilovers soon.

Has anyone made a sway bar to fit around the crank support brace? To me, this would be simple engineering to alter either the crank support to clear the OEM front sway bar or just alter the Sway bar to clear the Crank support. To me, i've been working with engineers my hole life and cannot see how this would even be an issue now days. Its like shops cannot make a product outside of the OEM basic specification part. Makes no sense to me.

 

[shogun32]

. Its like shops cannot make a product outside of the OEM basic specification part. Makes no sense to me

The engineers can't conceive of anyone combining parts that may cause interference. Plus they paid for that Ford cad disk, you can't expect them to revisit factory assumptions. They don't teach thinking in school anymore.

 

[DougS550]

The engineers can't conceive of anyone combining parts that may cause interference. Plus they paid for that Ford cad disk, you can't expect them to revisit factory assumptions. They don't teach thinking in school anymore.

So sad. I might just buy the crank support kit and modify the sway or the crank support to work without causing issues. Thanks

 

[SheepDog]

What is the point of any of this? the only reason you need a crank support and a giant blower, is to run down the drag strip at ludicrous speed. If that is the case, omit the sway bar. If you are trying to build a 1200 HP track car, you are doing it wrong....

 

[shogun32]

speed. If that is the case, omit the sway bar

Hey now, if you shape the bar into an aerofoil you can get valuable downforce to keep the nose down once over 100mph.

 

[DougS550]

What is the point of any of this? the only reason you need a crank support and a giant blower, is to run down the drag strip at ludicrous speed. If that is the case, omit the sway bar. If you are trying to build a 1200 HP track car, you are doing it wrong....

With a whipple 10 rib and Alternator relocation, the added pulley length to the crank snout to me is worrisome. I am a person inherently who sees things from outside the box, and of course the what ifs. I have found it is easier to build with high reliability as possible, and accordantly, then to wind up spending 20k-30k for a new engine because I just felt it just wasn't needed, should be OK, it wouldn't happen to me way of thinking. Pay now or pay later, that is the old cliché which still stands true today in performance building.

 

[SheepDog]

Crank supports are for big Horsepower drag cars that go home on a trailer.

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