So I call Sway-a-Way......

[Zeke]

Wanting a little input, I called Sway-a-Way and "Ryan(?)" answers for sales. I told him I had some 23mm S-a-W hollows and wanted to talk about the ideal match for the rear. I was prepared to talk about track width, wheel size and car weight when he says, "I don't know much about the Porsh (sic), let me give you the number of Performance Products, our biggest outlet."

I say I'm a pretty good Pelican customer (although, as of late, I've been lagging) and don't they sell them?

"I don't know, but they don't get them from us if they do."

I really didn't want to talk to the counter/phone sales guy at Performance about suspension set ups, so here I am asking the board. I know this has been discussed a 1000 times, but please bear with me for one more.

Statictics: Narrow car with 6" wheels, stock weight. I'm thinking the 23mm hollows are going to be a bit stiff for all around use. If I had 9's in front and a wide track, I might consider them, but I don't and most likely never will. I am proposing trading/selling the 23's in favor of 21's and installing 26mm rears. I'm looking for the right balance here. Right idea?

Oh, BTW, I have some fresh Koni reds as well and the stock S sway bars for the moment. I have some yellow Koni Sport fronts that go with the 23's, but it truns out that they fit the Boge strut, not my Koni struts. So, I couldn't have used them anyway.

Pending suggestions here, I will be putting the 23's and the Sports up for sale, or trade for 4 torsion bars matched. Someone has spoken for the bars, but I haven't seen any money. I'll give him one more chance before offering the parts.

TIA for your suggestions.

Edit: I don't have "hollow" S-a-W. They are #1823 solid bars. Sorry for the confusion (mine, not yours, LOL) And, of course, all S-a-W products are in the Pelican catalogue, no confusion there.

[addictionMS]

I have a narrow car with a carrera suspension and drivetrain, Bilstein HDs, I don't know off the top of my head what came on a Carrera, but I can tell you it is stiff, really stiff, most people who I have taken for rades cna't stand it and avoid the car. For me it is just right.

On my race car I have 23s in the front, and you don't want that on the street, there is little give and it really would rattle your brain. I suggest you find out what is on a 1985 Carrera and don't go any bigger than that, plus they should be easy to find and cheaper than hollow S-a-Ws

Jim

[Zeke]

No problem with the overall length of the Carerra rear bars? They are the same? You are the 2nd person to mention to me that Carerra rear bars are all that a norrow car needs. And, I think those are 24-25?

[addictionMS]

only 1987 and 1988 Carrera bars will not fit, when the G50 was added the rear bars were changed to accomidate the bigger trani, so 1986 and before fit just fine, another way to check is if the car had a 915, you are cool.

Jim

[IROC]

Zeke,

For all around use on an early, lighter car, I would err more towards something like a 21/27 combo. Even the 21/26 you mention would be great. A little larger (27) in the rear won't be too noticeable with the engine weight back there. I've got 22/29s on my 2450lb '76 and they are pretty stiff for every day use.

Another point (that is driven home quite well by Jim above) is that I've found that torsion bars have a relatively smaller effect on ride comfort than shocks. I've ridden in cars with smaller torsions than mine but with Yellow Konis and the ride was incredibly stiff.

HTH,

Mike

[ischmitz]

Milt,

I have 21solid/29hollow in my 74. Are you asking to get 21 fronts instead of the 23 fronts you have. I might be interested. Mine are not hollow though.

Cheers,
Ingo

[JP911]

Zeke-
I'll be wrapping up the install of 21/26 (SAW) and Koni reds on my '76 this weekend. If you would like drive my car to find out if it is to you liking, I'm only about 30 miles south of you in Mission Viejo. Of course, my car is a targa and may not offer the same feel as a coupe with this setup.

[skinnerd]

You didn't really say what the "use" of this car is?
So I will assume some track/auto-x days plus driving around town.

Assuming this, I'm with Mike.
I'd go with the 21/27 combo.
Just the right amount of stiffness for the competition days you might do, plus not too uncomfortable for the street either. In fact downright comfy and confidence inspiring.

I used this combo for a number of years (and still have it on one of my cars), and it is hard to fault.

good luck
-Doug

[}{arlequin]

I have SC swaybars front and rear. The car weighs 2350, plus 180lbs driver. Feels just right. When you hit bumps you know the car is biased for sport, but it's not offensive unless the road is really horrible. Any other smooth road, you don't even notice them.

edit: it's a narrow body too

[911ctS]

I have 21/26 combo and think its the cats meow. Good compromise between comfort and track. 27 in the rear would be good too. You should take your koni yellows apart and replace the fluid with some thiner viscosity shock oil (sold at motorsports stores for motorcycle shocks). This way you can have koni's that are stiffer than reds but adj. Or have Koni do it. Just a thought.

[Joeaksa]

I called and emailed with them and their customer service SUCKS! Did not even admit to making the bars at first then they did but said that they just make them to others specs and do not know anything about them.

Gosh, what salesmen they are! Not going to buy any of their products anytime soon...

Joe

[Zeke]

Originally posted by Joeaksa
I called and emailed with them and their customer service SUCKS! Did not even admit to making the bars at first then they did but said that they just make them to others specs and do not know anything about them.

Gosh, what salesmen they are! Not going to buy any of their products anytime soon...

Joe

Yeah, I hit the redial button forgetting that the last call was to SaW. When the lady came on instead of the directory recording, I told her that I was disappointed with the lack of infor and wasn't there a product engineer that I could talk to. After a brief description of what info I was looking for, she said that she would take a "holistic" approach to gathering info. WTF??? All done with them.



911cts, read again; my Koni Sports don't fit my car.

[Eugene at Pelican Parts]

Actually, I think Sway-A-Way products are pretty darn good. The set I just installed fit like a charm, look like candy with its sexy red paint (not that it matters), were packaged well, and even came with installation instructions in english.

As for customer service, I have very little personal experience with them since, as you pointed out, we do not buy directly from them. Their terms didn't exactly suit our needs, but no biggie there. Next time someone needs to call them, it might be more helpful to ask for someone familiar with their VW products instead.

Zeke, for your 911S, I would probably prefer 21/27 for a touch more oversteer. They should still match up to the Koni Reds pretty well. And after all, it is an S. Anway, good luck with the suspension.

[banjomike]

Originally posted by Zeke
I have some yellow Koni Sport fronts that go with the 23's, but it truns out that they fit the Boge strut, not my Koni struts. So, I couldn't have used them anyway.

Those are probably the right inserts. I got new inserts for my origninal koni struts last november. I really wanted the easy to adjust gas struts. I emailed koni and this is what they said:

Actually, you can use the 8641 1039 (externally adjustable front insert) in the Koni housing but you have to use a different gland nut (the cap that holds in the insert in) than what is included. If you want the externally adjustable setup, go ahead and order them. Once you receive them, please call us and we'll get the correct gland nut to you (they're about $10/each). I will need to know a measure of the insert that you receive though as some recent production changes make a difference in the exact part number you need. Thanks for writing.

8641 1039 is the part # for the inserts for the boges is I remenber.

[Zeke]

Originally posted by banjomike
Those are probably the right inserts. I got new inserts for my origninal koni struts last november. I really wanted the easy to adjust gas struts. I emailed koni and this is what they said:



8641 1039 is the part # for the inserts for the boges is I remenber.

No kidding? The bottom of the Boge insert made by Koni or anyone else has a step down in diameter about the last inch. Whereas, the Koni strut takes a straight tube. I never thought about it, why can't you put something smaller in to a bigger hole? Heh He.

I'll go look for any other differences.

Damn, I just put the reds in on Easter Sunday before dinner.

[Zeke]

Here's what I found:



The diameters are the same, a different nut at the top would take care of about an 1/8th " difference in the tops



Thanks for the tip. The Sports aren't FS after all.