Ditch that sway bar?

[guards73/2.0]

I just did a search for "rattle" on this BBS, and came up with a bunch of posts recommending just ditching the swaybar that I was about to put time and energy into rebushing. I'm running too much pressure ( Falken 195/60/15's, 35psi) and I've got this noise, and it rides like a lumber wagon over rough pavement. So. now I'm thinking: ditch the swaybar and drop the pressure and
look at the springs next. I've got Konis in rear, Boges in front, BTW Does this sound like a good plan?

[HMeeder]

but instead of ditching that sway bar, I think that re-bushing and properly lubing the links will do the trick. The pivot points at the arms and where the drop links connect to the lower A-arms need to rotate. If someone in the past had cinched them down too tight they will bind, rattle and cause premature wearing of the link bushings and the bushings where the bar runs through the body.

[Kevin Powers]

try 26 in the front and 29 in the back. this may make a huge diff. although a larger tire those are the tire presssure rec. on the fuel tank.

kevin

[Rouser]

35 psi?! WAY too much air pressure! Amazing they haven't popped off the rim.

The inscription on the sidewall is the 'max' pressure for the 'max' load rating for that particular tire (What ... 'bout 1200 lbs?). It's not the "recommended" tire pressure; your car must be darting all over the road like it has a mind of it's own ...

I have 205/60-15's, running 24psi front/rear, and that's assuming a 50/50 weight bias, with my fat-ass in the cockpit, at somewhere near factory-posted weight (give-or-take a bucket of KFC). And my current Dunlops are quieter than my previous 195/60-15 Michies. Good wear pattern, with no squirrelly tire antics.

Re-bush the swaybar (if that's in-fact where the rattle is) and set to a less stratospheric tire pressure first, before going to different springdingies. If you ditch the swaybar, you may not like the way it handles afterward.

[SummerSledSix]

Don't ditch the swaybar, handling will suffer, especially if you drive "with enthusiasm". Try disconnecting the downlinks to see if your rattle changes / goes away. My sway bar "kisses" the gas tank slightly, had to put some sheet rubber in there. Maybe you've got a similar situation, maybe that's the rattle?

[guards73/2.0]

Noise is in the rear

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

The rear sway bar is a bit controversial on 914s.

A stock car can be OK with it, as long as it has the stock front sway bar. A car with a more "advanced" suspension typically will do better without it, and make up the rear roll stiffness with the rear springs instead.

The rear bar can lift the inside rear wheel, resulting in a loss of traction under power. The bar can also hit the rear trunk floor, which results in instant oversteer. Not really happy... But neither one is much of an issue in a bone-stock car.

I tried my stock 2.0 both with and without the rear bar attached. I preferred it with the bar. When I put uprated springs and a bigger front swaybar in, the rear bar went. Too much oversteer with it in place.

--DD

[MJHanna]

Ditch it you don't need no stinking rear bar. But please keep the front one.