Welt adustable sway bar pics needed

[JoeyJoeJoe]

I just got some weltmeister adjustable sway bars put on. I am trying to stiffen them up as much as possible because the car seems loose and has noticeable body roll. The front is easy but the rear bars don't seem adjust to much.


I have moved the setting in towards the bar as much as possible which was about 1/2 inch, I can't seem to get in closer because the bar starts to curve a little at that point.


Does anyone have a picture of how far they will adjust so I know how much I have to go?

thanks

[rvanderpyl]

I don't believe the Welts are really that adjustable. You have to buy the stiffness you want. If you want full adjustable you need to go with Tarret or Smart Racing. On the other hand you may need to up your Torsion bar size first as sway bars alone are not going to get rid of all body roll.

[911pcars]

"I have moved the setting in towards the bar as much as possible which was about 1/2 inch, I can't seem to get in closer because the bar starts to curve a little at that point."

You don't want to adjust the bar too "short". The suspension should apply force to the arm so it can twist the sway bar. If the arm is too short, the force will be applied directly to the bar, less on twisting it. This could result in tearing the sway bar mount. In addition, the drop link angle in this position won't provide the best geometry.

Once you have adjusted the arm as short as practical, stop, then increase the sway bar size.

Sherwood

[Ducman]

If you say the car seems loose then the backs may already be too tight. However....I have welts and the rears are a lot farther than 1/2 in from the end. Generally because of the way the bar curves it is difficult to move one side or the other very far before moving the opposite side some as well.

Don

[JoeyJoeJoe]

well I got the rear end up and loosened both sides and slid them as close to the curve inward as they would go. I did the fronts as well
Just took it out for a drive and it seems stiffer but have driven it enough to tell. I will check back when stupid rain stops.

if the car feels loose why would the back be to tight? I know different stiffness back and front can control over / understeer but I stiffened front and back expecting to stiffen the whole car as equally as possible.

maybe I need new shocks and torsion bars... those are on the list but not for a few months

[One-more-time]

If the back is loose you need more compliance in the rear
for better grip. Take out all of the rear sway bar and work
back from there. Keep the front sway towards the mid range to start.
Add 2 PSI to the rear and drop 2 out of the front.

Let us know what happens.

Cheers,

[JoeyJoeJoe]

well, by loose I mean the whole car feels loose. it is a targa so I know it will have some give and it has the original torsion bars and shocks.

When I am over 80KM and I turn quickly to change lanes etc. it feels like the back needs to catch up with the front....a little wobbly....since I have tightened up the bars and drove to work it has improved but not enough...thoughts?

[chrisp]

new torsion bars will get you what you want.

sway bars are for fine tuning not gross spring rate changes.

also shocks with more low speed damping will help eliminate the highway-sway.

[JoeyJoeJoe]

what is low speed damping?

[Ducman]

I would not initially perform any other component change. My comments earlier were just aimed at the available adjustment of the weltmeister bars - and "loose" as in tail first - not as in how much the body rolls. Determining a suspension upgade path is quite a bit more involved.

I would not expect to see major differences in the car's behavior when simply switching from non to adjustable sways - provided the bars are of similar size (being very general here).

Don

[911pcars]

All the above suggestion assume the suspension pieces are working to factory spec. If parts are worn and/or not aligned, then that could be the source of your symptoms. Confirm these are okay before launching a suspension upgrade that will only partially mask the symptoms.

While adj. sway bars are just part of the suspension equation, they will help some. Factory bars are not adjustable, thus the roll stiffness can't be adjusted, nor can individual wheel preload be compensated with fixed-length drop links.

Sherwood

[JoeyJoeJoe]

thanks all for the advice.

pcars, yes I just had it lowered, aligned and corner balanced as well as new bushings. after I stiffened both back and front sway bars I do notice an improvement. It handles much much better now but I guess I was expecting more from the sway bars. Torsion bars and new shocks next I guess good problems to have

[Andrew_J]

Originally Posted by chrisp

new torsion bars will get you what you want.

sway bars are for fine tuning not gross spring rate changes.

also shocks with more low speed damping will help eliminate the highway-sway.

I swear I should have that bold text tattooed to my forehead. I learned the hard way, putting a Welt on my 914-4. Added way too much stiffness. Putting the linkage bar toward the end of the sway bar will give you the most spring or movement you can get.