Sway Bars

[JonT]

I did a search on these and I couldnt find why one chooses a specific manufacturer for these--only don't buy Welmeister and do buy Smart Racing or Charlie Bars (don't know what this means). Can someone elaborate on the differences please? Thanks

[JonT]

any sway bar guru's out there?

[jpachard]

Sway bars can be rated as follows:
1. Smart Racing, the best you can get. High quality, excellent range of sizes, first rate customer service.
2. Charlie bars, impossible to get( I had a set on order for 9 months)
3. Weltmeister, Ok for street, light DE, several folks have had failures with these bars in moderate track usage.
4. There are several others out there too( Tarrett and Elephant come to mind). Nice bars, good quality but limited in sizes if racing is in your future. These bars only go up to 22mm diameter wheras the Smart bars are available up to 31mm. I have Smart 27mm front and rear on my '87. Smart bars are also the only bar that is properly engineered in the rear so it doesn't bind the suspension in certain situations. Let me know if this helps.

Cheers, James

[tobluforu]

I'm no guru, but I have the weltmeister bars on my 72 and they have worked great for 8 years now. Are they as ggod as smart racing, charlie and other bars that are more race oriented? Nope! But for what I use them for, they work fine.
If you are going to race, auto-x, or time trial, get the charlie bars, etc. If just street, then get welt. But if your after the "cool" factor and have money to spend, buy the best out there.

[DByers]

Since we are on the topic of sways and I am adding sways to my no sway 71T which will mostly see street use with about 8-10 DE's a year, I have read, heard and even PM'd a few folks about runnig no sway bar in the rear. I am told a few guys are running this set up and love it. Mostly track cars from what I hear so I am sure rear TB size is considerable. Any thoughts on this?

[JonT]

Thanks all--I will be doing mostly street with 4+ DE's per year and maybe more if finances allow.

[aj88cab]

Originally posted by DByers
I have read, heard and even PM'd a few folks about runnig no sway bar in the rear. I am told a few guys are running this set up and love it. Mostly track cars from what I hear so I am sure rear TB size is considerable. Any thoughts on this?

My understnding is that if you are going to be racing and do not have a LSD then running W/O a rear sway bar might be a better set-up. In hard cornering with a sway bar the inner wheel will be lifted more and grip can be lost. I read that in the 914 Tech articles. Just amazing what you can learn on this web site.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/914_rear_sway/914_rear_sway.htm

Andrew

[Zeke]

Originally posted by aj88cab
My understnding is that if you are going to be racing and do not have a LSD then running W/O a rear sway bar might be a better set-up. In hard cornering with a sway bar the inner wheel will be lifted more and grip can be lost. I read that in the 914 Tech articles. Just amazing what you can learn on this web site.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/914_rear_sway/914_rear_sway.htm

Andrew

True for a 914 mid engine. If you do that with a 911, I believe you would have an ill handling car. Might also be called a tricycle.

Lot of guys here run 19mm and up rear bars and don't have LSD's. Tail draggers are different.

[SteveF_911]

I have run on the track with and without a rear bar. Just to compare times.

Times are 1:20.1 without, 1:19.5 with 19mm rear bar. Nothing else changed on the car, just 10 lap to dial in the driver.

The thing that is most noticable is the better turn in and extra oversteer you get with the bar on.

I do not have a LSD and did suffer out of some corners due to wheel spin.

All in all I prefer the car with the bar on as you can push a bit harder through the corners.

[DByers]

Milt, Most of the items I have read and heard about involve a 911. At HSR one of the SWB 2.0l guys was saying he removes his on shorter more technical tracks like Streets of Willows but at CS and such will put one on.

Steve, interesting your times did not suffer that much without a rear bar. This is the stories I have heard but your the first on this board to say something.

[SteveF_911]

Dan,

I am a bit anal when it comes to my motor sport. I run historics and club level events and keep records of every lap I do and note any change I make.

I did expect the rear bar to make more difference, I was expecting about a 1.5 second improvement and had to drive the car hard to get a .5 improvement.

I am waiting to do a wet event and compare wet times with the bar connected and removed.