Seraphim118

I would like to add a rear sway bar to my base model v6 to start off my suspension mods. I know that the hardware is not all there for a sway bar install. However, I was looking at this bar http://www.americanmuscle.com/whitel...ybar-0513.html and it seems like it comes with everything. If I ordered this from AM, would it come with everything I need? OR would it be better to go another route all together?

baddog671

It should have everything you need! I also plan on getting that brand sway bars, btw.


I should also note that I just realized something about this sway bar. If you look at this picture of a sway bar, it has 2 brackets that attach it up to the chassis, and then the ends of the bar attach down near the rear end of the lower control arms.


The whiteline bar is backwards. The middle of the bar attaches to the tubes of the differential via clamps (3rd picture on AM page) and the end of the bar attaches to the chassis.

Seraphim118

Awesome! Thank you! So this mod should be a good? I figure it would be a good first suspension mod since my 6 had no rear sway at all..

baddog671

I've heard it gives a definite noticable improvement, since there was not one included stock. I wouldn't know though

Seraphim118

Ok, awesome! Thanks for the help!

Norm Peterson

If you're going to add a rear bar to a V6 model that never had one, you really want to swap the front bar out for a stiffer aftermarket one in order to maintain the same or similar handling balance. And if you're going to run Whiteline's rear bar, you should run their front one too.

That Whiteline rear bar being completely different from the rest makes it a little trickier to say what other front bars might be good matches, but this also allows you to run a wider rear tire&wheel and/or a wheel with more positive offset than most other rear bars do.


Norm

Red_Devil

Hey Seraphim!

I would totally agree with Norm on this one. Sway bars should be designed to work as a pair, and the Whiteline bars are. Using a stock front bar with an upgraded rear bar is probably a recipe for unhappy handling characteristics. I would recommend doing them both together, or if you are going to start with one, start with the front.

Seraphim118

Ok will do both at the same time. Also, based off of the sizes of the bars the whiteline is much larger. Is that a good thing? What is the pro/con of the larger whiteline bar rear vs a smaller bar such as the eibach?

Norm Peterson

If you're talking about the rear bar, there are too many other differences between the Whiteline bar and the rest to be able to use diameter alone as your basis for comparison. Arm length is also quite important (it's how adjustable bars get their adjustment).


Norm

baddog671

I don't want to hijack the thread, but since it's pretty similar to this subject matter, maybe Norm can shed some light on it.

I already posted pictures above of the stock bar configuration vs the Whiteline's backwards attachment. I used to have a 98 v6 which I added a GT bar to, and it was different than both of these. It connected the control arms together at the swaybar ends, and had no other attachment points.



I wonder how these 3 configurations vary in their effectivness, if any?