Sway Bar Adjustments

[RRRob]

This topic may have already been discussed but here it goes.
On adjustable sway bars. Mine (rear only) has 3 holes and I did the initial setup using the middle holes. It made a huge difference in the handling and I could really feel the car rotating in the turns. I felt almost to responsive at high speed. I currently using the least firm setting and the car feels more stable at high speed but of course has given up some of that responsive feel. Can I run the bar with one end link in the least firm and the other in the middle hole to get a more intermediate ride feel from full soft to middle?

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[PC_GUARD]

This topic may have already been discussed but here it goes.
On adjustable sway bars. Mine (rear only) has 3 holes and I did the initial setup using the middle holes. It made a huge difference in the handling and I could really feel the car rotating in the turns. I felt almost to responsive at high speed. I currently using the least firm setting and the car feels more stable at high speed but of course has given up some of that responsive feel. Can I run the bar with one end link in the least firm and the other in the middle hole to get a more intermediate ride feel from full soft to middle?

As a rule no. To fine tune you'd get adjustable links

 

[kz]

As a rule no. To fine tune you'd get adjustable links

That's not what the adjustable links are for - they're just for allowing to use adjustable bar and put it in more or less right position with no preload at right height.

OP - yes, you can.

 

[RRRob]

Thanks @kz.

A friend of mine found this. I kept searching for Mustang sway bars and it never popped up.

" For advanced users, note that you can set the front and rear bar in "middle" positions. For example, the rear E36 M3 Sway Barbarian has two adjustment holes. Conventional thinking would assume that you have two positions, stiffer (holes furthest away from the ends of the bar) or softer (holes on the ends of the bar). For increased fine tuning, you can set one side to soft and the other side to stiff. The vehicle does not know the different from side-to-side when it comes to bar stiffness, so in effect, you have a "middle" position. "

I wouldn't think that anyone would set the end link to full soft and full stiff on a 3 hole setup. More like middle and front or middle and back.

I am going to drive the car as-is for a week so I get a full sense of the change and then put one in the middle setting.

 

[PC_GUARD]

That's not what the adjustable links are for - they're just for allowing to use adjustable bar and put it in more or less right position with no preload at right height.

OP - yes, you can.

My interprutation to what he was getting at is adjust the pre-load of the torsion spring, besides the holes.

WIthout sounding douchie, wouldnt one side being middle and one side being and end, make one side different than the other? <<< Serious question, not being a douch.


Setting rally cars, we adjusted the bar with pre-load for late corner grip, and on the front the pre-load/ Pre-weight adjusted the entry of corner grip (dirt/mud etc not asphalt so much)

 

[RRRob]

wouldnt one side being middle and one side being and end, make one side different than the other?

That is exactly what I was thinking about but it appears that is just acts like a level arm that is being shortened or lengthened and is equilibrated across the bar.

 

[WItoTX]

That is exactly what I was thinking about but it appears that is just acts like a level arm that is being shortened or lengthened and is equilibrated across the bar.

Yep. Had to research it a bit after @kz mentioned it, it makes perfect sense. And why there is no need for a bunch of holes on a bar.

Learn something new every day.

 

[bnightstar]

Steeda developed a softer rear swaybar for a reason. There is no need for stiff rear swaybar or adjustable rear swaybar. The car have enough rear bar from the factory so eventually people also settle for the softest setting on an adjustable bar. If you want more rear grip springs is a better option to address that. You need to chose them in pair with the front springs though.

 

[RRRob]

The car have enough rear bar from the factory

I disagree, the car from the factory is made to have a fair amount of understeer. It is a safer configuration to plow through a turn than have it be neutral or light in the tail and have it spin out. Having an adjustable bar allows the understeer to be dialed back or out completely. Just picking another bar without adjustability would be guessing game.

 

[TeeLew]

My interprutation to what he was getting at is adjust the pre-load of the torsion spring, besides the holes.

WIthout sounding douchie, wouldnt one side being middle and one side being and end, make one side different than the other? <<< Serious question, not being a douch.


Setting rally cars, we adjusted the bar with pre-load for late corner grip, and on the front the pre-load/ Pre-weight adjusted the entry of corner grip (dirt/mud etc not asphalt so much)

No, it doesn't work that way. A the bar has the same rate regardless of which direction it's twisted and the different motion ratios work out to end up in the middle. What it does introduce is a little bit of bar twist in heave, but that's really not that big of a deal.

 

[NightmareMoon]

No, it doesn't work that way. A the bar has the same rate regardless of which direction it's twisted and the different motion ratios work out to end up in the middle. What it does introduce is a little bit of bar twist in heave, but that's really not that big of a deal.

^ this.

 

[PC_GUARD]

No, it doesn't work that way. A the bar has the same rate regardless of which direction it's twisted and the different motion ratios work out to end up in the middle. What it does introduce is a little bit of bar twist in heave, but that's really not that big of a deal.

In mind im thinking about the pre-load added to the body changing the dynamic one side to another. Thats where my mind is hung up

 

[bnightstar]

I disagree, the car from the factory is made to have a fair amount of understeer. It is a safer configuration to plow through a turn than have it be neutral or light in the tail and have it spin out. Having an adjustable bar allows the understeer to be dialed back or out completely. Just picking another bar without adjustability would be guessing game.

you do understand that a lot of the understeer come from the staggered tires setup right ?

 

[RRRob]

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