'86 T-bars and Sways on an SC?
 

The car is bone stock and I would like it to corner a little flatter. Street driven, no track, but would like to try AX some day.

From my understanding, the '86 Carrera had the largest torsion and sway bars of all the pre-G50 cars. So,

If I can find a set at a good price, is this a worthwhile upgrade on an SC or am I better off saving all of my pennies for aftermarket parts?

I broke a torsion bar in my '77 Carrera 3 and was given a set from a 3.2 Carrera and found that they did not fit because the diameter of the spline ends was larger. I have since been told that this change occured around '86 or '87. If you are buying the new tosion bars why not just upgrade to a larger set that you know will fit your car. I am swure our host can help in this regard.
Good luck,
Richard.

I believe the change was in 87 to accommodate the G50 transmission.

I'm thinking this could provide a modest improvement in handling at a much more reasonable cost than going with aftermarket parts who's performance I will never fully utilize.

... hoping someone else has done this and can weigh in with their experience.

You cannot use the G50 torsion bars in your 915 car because the G50 torsion tube was bent to accomodate the much larger transmission. Earlier 915 torsion tubes are straight. I believe the 1986 model year was the first for the G50 but don't quote me.

Removing weight will have a similar effect to stiffer torsion bars but will help you EVERYWHERE:D braking, turning, accelerating, and fuel economy;)

All front 911 torsion bars are 18.8mm.

The factory rear torsion bars are 24.1 mm. The Carreras use a 25 mm bar. The later 930 turbos use a 26mm bar.

Other owners of your 86 vehicle typically use 21-22mm fronts and 27-29mm rears with appropriately-matched shocks.

Using larger torsion bars has less of a ride impact than installing larger sway bars.

Hope this helps,
Sherwood

I did the later sways on my SC. HUGE improvement. It's a fairly inexpensive way to flatten out the car. You'll see a vast improvement in preloading for hard corners over the stock SC sways.

IMHO its not enough of a change to make the impact your looking for. Plus you are already installing components that are more then 20 years old. I'm not looking to turn this in to a torsion bar size post, but I've gone from stock to 22-28 and then 30's in my 89 and I really don't see a huge degradation in ride quality.

'87 was the year for the change to G50 and the change in bars.

Given the cost of an alignment and corner balance that will be needed afterward, I would tend to get some hollow sanders bars in a bigger size and some adjustable sways. Probably start w/ the sways, that may be enough for you as if you aren't racing the oem suspension is pretty good.

One other thing is that if the car hasn't already been lowered and set up it can feel relatively tippy.

I installed, 21MM front and 27 MM rear, on my SC. Also installed Carrera sways. This, along with new shocks, made a huge difference. Of course these were new torsion bars and I also added new poly bronze bushings in the rear. The car rides the best it ever has. On the track it is much more stable and predictable than before. I am not sure I can say which component made the biggest difference.
The last DE I attended I had an instructor who had ridden in my car several times prior. He was pleased with the improvements but mentioned that the rear could use a little more stiffness. Not sure I would notice a difference, but he did.