ttypewhite
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 1, 2001
I want to get my sled driving like a car again without the washy frontend in turns. Who carries this piece and how much is it? I would like to pick this up in Bowling Green if the price is right.
Which vendor carries the Hotchkis front sway bar?
- Thread starter ttypewhite
- Start date
Look for a 1LE 34 or 36mm front swaybar. Much better than the Hotchkis bar and cheaper. I believe "TSpool" may have some. He has new end links and bushings as well. What rear bar do you have? Remember you want to match the front bar with the rear bar. BIG Rear Bar = BIG Front bar, little rear bar = little front bar. ------Jeremy
ttypewhite
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 1, 2001
My rear sway bar is gone, the Wolfe bar is whats in the back. What is wrong with the Hotchkis sway bar? Do you have any links for the ones you reccomended?
OK, yeah the wolf swaybar is a good one for sure! The 1LE swaybar is from a 1LE camaro. They will bolt right up and come in 32, 34, and 36mm sizes and they are hollow so their not heavy. Do a search in the for sale section. TSpool usually has them. This will cost you much less than the Hotchkis bar and I believe they are superior in quality/weight. -----Jeremy
ttypewhite
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 1, 2001
Thanks Jeremy, I appreciate the help.
Gary Wells
White turbo Buick trailer park trash
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2002
The front sway bar from the factory is a pretty stout unit. I have heard that the hollow sway bars save weight, but compromises strength somewhat with the front factory unit, but I have no personal experience with this as I am still running the front factory unit. Verify the dia before buying a front sway bar as most of the front aftermarket units are smaller in dia than the stocker and therefore less stout. A lot of manufacturers & resellers of the front sway bar for these cars make thinner units than the factory and therefore do not advertise the dia or thickness on the ad or description. Just my personal experience here. Most turbobrick owners that have set up their car for all-around handling (scary thought there) have found out that best handling characteristics have come from increasing the dia of the rear sway bar and leaving the front alone. HTH & good luck.
Sorry Wells but I have to disagree with this statement. Most "DragRacers" find that they get the best results by increasing the size of the rear bar. If you want your car to handle, you want your front and rear bars to match. As far the hollow swaybars compromising strength, where did you get this info? Anybody who has serious Corner Carvers want to run hollow bars. I have never heard of a hollow bar flexing and couldnt see how it could flex? This is the reason GM put them on their performance option "1LE" Camaros versus using the solid bars.
I run the Hotchkis and am very happy with it along with the HR rear bar. IMO the HR bar made a bigger difference than the Hotchkis for handling and so did the QA1 shocks, but the Hotchkis is far better than stock. Not familiar with the 1le. Bought the Hotchkis from Aggressive.
Hollow bars are usually made out of better material like a chro-moly steel so their lighter and stronger. I've used Hotchkis and Steeda bars on my Lightning and Mustang's with very good results and if you can get a factory 36mm hollow bar vs. Hotchkis or whatever I'd do it. 36mm is almost a 1 1/2" bar and that's pretty hefty.
Jeremy is also correct in that you have to match the bars so you don't overwhelm the springs and preload the suspension.
Jeremy is also correct in that you have to match the bars so you don't overwhelm the springs and preload the suspension.
I just wanted to correct this statement. The only hollow 3rd gen F body bars are 34mm and 36mm. There is no hollow 32mm bar. The factory Turbo Regal front sway bars are 32mm and solid for comparison. I recommend the 34mm hollow bar for street/strip cars and 36mm hollow for all out corner carving or for those who have to have the biggest and baddest. I've tried them all......BTW, I don't have any for sale at this time so this is not a sales pitch :biggrin: I do have bushings and links though....
Gary Wells
White turbo Buick trailer park trash
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2002
I am neither canyon carver nor drag racer, but from my experimenting with various components other than stock so far from what I am aware of that is currently available, that is what has worked best for me for spirited handling such as freeway on & off ramps & sweepers. And I am not saying that a hollow bar flexes, I am merely stating from what I have read here and elsewhere that the hollow bars do save weight, but can compromise handling. As far as matching, I think that everybody has different opinions as to what constitutes front & rear sway bar matching. Even the companies that manufacture, distribute, resell, and / or install do not all agree what 1 size fits all on the G body. Front or rear. I think that tuning the various components of front & rear suspension will benefit more that simply matching. Considering that every company has a different version of sizes recommended for front & rear sway bars. Sorry for any typos or inconsistencies, I am at work at lunch. But love to hear more on this.
Ok, which car handles better from the factory - a WS6 Trans Am GTA with 36mm hollow front bar or a Turbo Brick with a 32mm solid front bar? Please explain how a 1LE or WS6 (they're the same) hollow sway bar compromises strength or handling in a Turbo Brick????????
Now, if you're strictly talking about some no name eBay specials made in China that may or may not be a different story. I would certainly trust the factory hollow F body bars in not compromising handling, strength or safety in our Turbo Buicks. And the 8 to 10 pound weight savings over the stock bar is an added bonus.
Now, if you're strictly talking about some no name eBay specials made in China that may or may not be a different story. I would certainly trust the factory hollow F body bars in not compromising handling, strength or safety in our Turbo Buicks. And the 8 to 10 pound weight savings over the stock bar is an added bonus.
The point of a swaybvar in the front and rear is to prevent "SWAY". This is why you need to match "SWAY" bars. You need to match roll centers on the front and rear. If the rear is too tight, and the front end is loose, the rear of the car has a higher chance of spinning out around corners. If the front of the car is tighter than the rear of the car, you will lift one wheel on the rear during cornering or "SWAY" of the body. I do agree that is is all part of suspension tuning to dial in the spring rates and the swaybars. But, the whole point is to MATCH and keep the car even all the way around as best as possible.
Sorry TSpool, I typed 32 without even thinking.
Another point to make here is how tight you torque down your swaybars on the bushings and the end links. This is also part of the TUNING process. The bushings SHOULD NOT be tighten all the swaybar onto the frame. You need to leave these somewhat open for movement. The same goes for the endlinks.
Sorry TSpool, I typed 32 without even thinking.
Another point to make here is how tight you torque down your swaybars on the bushings and the end links. This is also part of the TUNING process. The bushings SHOULD NOT be tighten all the swaybar onto the frame. You need to leave these somewhat open for movement. The same goes for the endlinks.
ttypewhite
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 1, 2001
Good info in this thread, thanks a bunch guys. Believe it or not I actually learned a lot.:redface: I am taking the car away from the 1/4 mile stuff at the end of this year. I am going with a set of 18" wheels for next year along with lowering it a bit to keep the tires level with the wheel wells. I have already gotten the sound system and DVD player for my kids. Time to start really enjoying this car.
Another tid bit that is often overlooked is the sway bar end links. Generally you should shorten the end link by the amount you lower the car (when possible). 1" drop = 1" shorter end link, etc. This helps to keep the sway bar from preloading the suspension.
Similar threads
