Welp... Took off my Front Sway Bar!

MustangLife · Feb 6, 2004

Man, If there wasn't so much tech in here, they would have closed this post. Great info guys. Alot of education just on sway bars.

Josh

TheShagg · Feb 6, 2004

just some guy said:
it doesnt pivot though, it has no lateral(front to back movement) hell, the swaybar doesnt move at all, everything else moves around it, or it flexes(im not sure about the structural integrity of the s/b.

Um, either your thinking about it completely wrong, or in a strange way completely right, but not really.

The swaybar DOES move, and it DOES pivot. Generally the less it moves, the more effective it is (at its purpose, but definately not the overall picture). Now.. the center point of it does not move at all, and the left side and the right side move the same amount but in opposite rotational directions.

Now... it does move, in a rotational manner, but not in a translational manner (except at the A) arms.

Its goal is to keep the A arms at the same position. So why would drag racing have any benifit from removing it? Well.. the answer is bind. It probably binds up at the front mount, but not a whole lot. THe end links are where most of the binding takes place probably. Rubber donut type end links are ****. If you replaced them with a real heim joint setup i bet the difference between swaybar and no swaybar would be much smaller. Both arms would move at the same rate, all geometry changes between the a-arm, end links, and ant-sway bars would happen with very little resistance and bind, and it would be a beautiful thing.

This is mainly speculation, anyone care to test for me?

Aaron 4.6 · Feb 6, 2004

MustangLife said:
Man, If there wasn't so much tech in here, they would have closed this post. Great info guys. Alot of education just on sway bars.

Josh

I'll take a little bit of flaming for some tech. There's more tech in this thread than I've seen in the past week. I'd rather have some angry learning than have the entire forums hold hands and sing Kumbaya and not learn anything!

BMan5150 · Feb 6, 2004

What do aftermarket sway bars weigh? We've established that the stock one weighs about 17 lbs.

just some guy · Feb 6, 2004

TheShagg said:
Um, either your thinking about it completely wrong, or in a strange way completely right, but not really.

The swaybar DOES move, and it DOES pivot. Generally the less it moves, the more effective it is (at its purpose, but definately not the overall picture). Now.. the center point of it does not move at all, and the left side and the right side move the same amount but in opposite rotational directions.

Now... it does move, in a rotational manner, but not in a translational manner (except at the A) arms.[/QUOTE=TheShagg]
its the way you look at it. rotationally or vertically, the swaybar, would rotate up and down using the parts that are connected to the frame as the rotational center. or you can just explain it easier and say that it allows vertical movement, and the bar moves up and down,(in a rotational manner)

The only fore-aft movement those would allow, would either be from the bushing or from the bar not being able to handle X amount of load put on it.

TARZAN · Feb 7, 2004

Wow, I didn't realize how much there was to go into a sway bar removal

-Will

01LaserRedCobra · Mar 12, 2004

I think the bottom line that people want to know.... Is it good or bad to remove the sway bar???

Daily driving... good or bad

Track racing... good or bad

Drag racing... good or bad

forpit2000gt · Mar 12, 2004

Daily driving- OK but car will not handle as well. I don't care to drive without one
Track driving- you want it for auto-x
Drag strip- removing it can help you in a straight line

Highroller · Mar 12, 2004

so how hard is it to get off, and can you just use a jack to jack up the front of the car and take it on and off??

I would like to take it off for the track this coming weekend, and I will evaluate if I want to put it back on.. I already go slow around corners because of my skinny's up front.. my concern is if I want to put it back on I wont be able to do so because of what DC-GT said in his post

stylin99 · Mar 12, 2004

The swaybar does NOT 40 lbs. Jeepers. I weighed mine once and it was no more than 14 lbs if I remember correctly (I'm actually remembering 12 for some reason). I was actually shocked because internet posters had exaggerated it at more.

Aftermarket swaybars (I.e. Steeda) still don't drop much weight. You can't drop much off 14 lbs for a metal bar.

dkshadow · Mar 12, 2004

stylin99 said:
The swaybar does NOT 40 lbs. Jeepers. I weighed mine once and it was no more than 14 lbs if I remember correctly (I'm actually remembering 12 for some reason). I was actually shocked because internet posters had exaggerated it at more.

Aftermarket swaybars (I.e. Steeda) still don't drop much weight. You can't drop much off 14 lbs for a metal bar.

It weighs 17lbs!

For daily driving, I got fox body springs and no sway bar and I still drive my car crazy at times. Its not as drastic as people make it seem to be. Need to watch out for potholes though cause my car will bottom out

GinoGT · Mar 12, 2004

Highroller said:
so how hard is it to get off, and can you just use a jack to jack up the front of the car and take it on and off??

I would like to take it off for the track this coming weekend, and I will evaluate if I want to put it back on.. I already go slow around corners because of my skinny's up front.. my concern is if I want to put it back on I wont be able to do so because of what DC-GT said in his post

I would expect a car with skinnies to be have a drag oriented setup. With those little tires you pretty much drop a nuke on corner carving, so why not ditch the swaybar while you're at it?

Daily driver - Personal preference, I'd never do it. (I like to have fun sometimes when I'm out )
Auto-X/Road course - KEEP IT. Maybe even go bigger, but you'll have to ask a suspension guru on that one.
Drag - Rip that sucker off.

Welp... Took off my Front Sway Bar!

MustangLife

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TARZAN

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01LaserRedCobra

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Highroller

stylin99

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dkshadow

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