ditch it imo

 

If your performance goals only involve going in a straight line, yank it out of there (along with the ridiculously heavy stock radiator support) and install a BMR swaybar delete bracket. Shave about 26 pounds off the front of your car and improve your 60' times in the process. What's not to love?

 

That it might feel like driving an old Toyota the rest of the time?


Norm

 

What would be your plans for the endlinks? Simply re-torque them, or replace them with something better?


The need for a sta-bar on a lowered car is pretty much the same as it is for a stock-height car. It controls roll while cornering and tends to make the handling behavior predictable. In very mild driving, you probably wouldn't need one, not enough is happening dynamically for it to be noticed or matter.

For reference, very mild driving would be the way I remember that my grandmother's sister drove (this would have been back around 1952, in her Studebaker). She'd have never noticed whether there was a bar or not, or if there had been and it had been secretly removed.

But as you get away from just driving in a straight lines and ramp your real road driving intensity up from my great-aunt's level, the need for having one gets stronger. Ultimately, the car might get too tail-happy without one.


Consider better endlinks that will let you disconnect and reconnect one at the dragstrip. Most of the gain from losing the front bar does not come from losing the weight.


Norm

 

If you do tighten the end links, make sure you have one wrench on the end link and the other on the sway bar. Some guys don't know the smaller 8mm stud will spin.

 

IF YOUR PERFORMANCE GOALS ONLY INVOLVE GOING IN A STRAIGHT LINE. If you're going to quote, keep the important stuff.

And I've had my swaybar removed for almost 4 years. Unless you take every turn and corner like you're indy racing, you'll never miss it.

 

If you removed it right after you bought the car and have never put it back on since, after four years you've completely forgotten what the difference was if you even noticed it in the first place (not everybody does, so don't feel bad if you didn't).

But some of us do notice that sort of thing in driving that's only moderately harder than how average traffic drives, and that's something that's with you every time you get in to go anywhere. At least a few of us do drive the corners a little harder than average, just like many of you straight line guys tend to leave the stoplights a little harder than the rest of traffic.

If your car is a dedicated drag strip car with little or no street driving, then you've got a whole lot more justification for losing the front bar and some of the other weight in that area. Please understand that overall it's less "streetable" that way.


Norm

 

Less streetable, agreed. But the difference is minute. I did a little before and after corner hugging when I took it off, and it really wasn't a very noticable difference. Fats and skinnies, on the other hand, make a VERY noticable difference.

 

I'm with Norm on this. The sway makes the front end float around, lean badly around regular corners and push if you turn to sharp.

I take mine out when I go to the track and it's a night and day difference between the two set ups.

 

ya i think i will look into an aftermarket set for the rear as well as the front. i corner hard