im wondering which sway bars reduce the roll the most? the eibach anti roll bars look a lot different from other sway bars, is that better? any advice? i want the stiffest kind availible

 

the one that reduces roll the most will be the one with the highest torque rating (usually measured in inch*lbs/degree on sway bars), unfortunately most of the manufacturers for sways bars that fit our cars don't advertise their ratings, so you will need to call each manufacturer individually. I can tell you that I have the Steeda rear sway bar and it makes a huge difference. Keep in mind that stiffer isn't always better (unless you're drifting, then you want them to be as stiff as possible), you want your car to be able to transfer weight, but still feel tight and in control. As far as Eibach is concerned, I don't know why their bars are shaped slightly different, but it's probably just a design issue, they'll work the same.

 

Sta-bars* (aka "sway bars") can be selected to change various aspects of vehicle behavior. What are you trying to improve?

Understand that just slapping on the stiffest bars you can find will tend to make the ride harsher over one-wheel bumps and on entering driveway ramps. Bar choice is a compromise, with side effects that probably become unacceptable to just about anybody by the time some vague point between the softest OE set and some crazy-stiff one-off custom set is reached.

That said, and as long as the discussion is limited to bars that fit one particular chassis, bar stiffness is most sensitive to its diameter. Diameter and wall thickness, in the case of tubular bars. It's less sensitive to the bar's "arm" lengths, though you don't have much choice here unless the bar is an adjustable-stiffness design.

Bar stiffness can be ballpark-estimated by various structural/mechanical engineering calculations if you know enough of the bar dimensions.


* - "sta-bar" is short for "stabilizer" or "stabilizer bar", which is how this bar is known at the OE level and identified in factory shop manuals.


Norm

 

I think we'd all be interested in knowing why you want the "stiffest available" and what is it you are trying to accomplish. Not knowing you, your experience level and your goals its hard to give advice. But, just in case you don't know, if your goal is to improve handling of the car then just stiff swaybars is not the route to take. In fact it can quickly reduce ultimate grip and thus degrade handling. But if better handling is not your goal...let us know and maybe we can better advise.

 

The stiffest ones? Hellwig (both solid, both adjustable), Hotchkis (both hollow, both adjustable) and H&R (front hollow + adjustable, rear solid and not).

Hotchkis and Hellwig being the stiffest considering the rear adjustment. Hotchkis being far lighther.

Aside from those there are a number of other options as well. I certainly can't make a recommendation without knowing the other parts on the car and why you think you need the "stiffest" out there. Depending on other parts the recommendtion could well change.

 

i want a pretty even ride, but with a lot less body roll. i currently have tokicko d spec with eibach prokits and a ford racing strut bar, well im debating the strut bar. someones going to sell it to me for $100 used on wednesday. worth it?

 

A few questions pop to mind... Where are the shocks set. How much have you played with them? Shocks have a effect on body roll too (how fast, not how much). The STB is good for bracing, but will not effect roll of the car. Can't hurt, but is not a part like a swaybar.

That said, everyone is different. All the companies that make bars think they have a lock on what's best. And there are some very reputable companies doing some very different things.... Adjustable bars clearly give you more options than non-adjustable (or only one adjustable) bars.

 

How much roll do you think you have and why do you think it's too much? Can you get somebody to take some [telephoto] head-on pictures while you're cornering it?


Norm

 

I used the FRPP(eibach) sways and the front sway bar was adjustable. It made a huge difference on mountain twisties. I can only tell you the car felt more balanced and it didn't suffer from lateral roll-out on hard sharp turns.I also like the fact you could service(grease) the bushings.I don't race my car on a track,its just for street driving.

 

A word of warning on the FRPP/Eibach bars... the front swaybar brackets are very, very weak and prone to failure (we've broken a total of 7 now on various SGT's that have that front bar stock).

Pretty much every front bar for this car is adjustable. But that's not the case in the rear.....