anti-swaybar technical discussion

title says it. i want to know what bars people are using and why. i've read several articles on the principles of tuning with your bars, and how they work but i wanted to bring it up here to see what the stang community thinks. i'm slowly building up my suspension and the swaybars are coming out soon.

here is my current setup. it's not where i want it to be but $ is tight these days.

eibach pro-kit springs
lakewood traction/action lca's (poly bushings both ends)
stock shocks/struts (~140k miles/~230k km )
heavy-duty endlinks on front bar


now before you guys tell me i'm an idiot..... i already know

normally i'd get shocks/struts at the same time as springs, but i got the springs for dirt and didn't have money for shocks but my stock springs were sagging in the back very badly.

also, in retrospect i wish i hadn't purchased the lakewood lca's. they're nice and strong, and a huge improvement over stock, but then i learned about torque box damage and the advantages of spherical bearings. oh well, live and learn i guess.

alright, that about sums it up. let's hear it...

-steve

thanks for the reply rick91gt.

no, i'm not really either. my car is a daily driver so i'm really looking for a good balance. dragstrip performance is MORE important to me than cornering but i don't want to have a car with no front bar, skinnies etc. beyond that i just like to have the knowledge.

thanks

-steve

cavallo- did you notice any difference with the new bar? i'm sure the poly bushings tightened things up a lot too. when i get down to business my setup should include a t/a & panhard setup so i can lose the factory uppers. anyhow, i'm just looking for some more tech info on swaybars, what works/doesn't, how to tune with them etc etc.

-steve

bhuff30 said:

there is always the 4cyl sway bar. it is significantly smaller.
I would run a sway bar that is to big for the strip, and disconnect one side when I make a pass, but that is just me. It is a piece of cake to yank out an endlink.

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how did the smaller bar affect your handling? i would think it would actually hurt cornering performance being smaller, no?

ok guys, try this one on: from what i understand a stiffer front swaybar will increase understeer and a stiffer rear will increase oversteer. since the mustang LOVES to plow through corners, if i were to just upgrade to a stiffer rear bar would this increase overall cornering grip? or just make it more balanced at the same limit?

thanks again

-steve

Cavallo said:

I felt a reduction in plowing with the rear bar.

For the track I just loosen the front bar links 3 turns, no problems and I still have some control at high speed

I run soft shocks (stock) right now so the car squats

Panard bar would really make the car handle big time !

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good stuff. any idea how stiff would be too stiff? if i were to keep the stock front bar and swap to a rear bar ~2x as stiff would i risk inducing snap oversteer?

-steve