'81 Corvette Sway Bar - What size?

[Don&Kelly]

I'm looking for a Heavy Duty Front Sway Bar for my '81 Corvette - I do not know what sizes they come in , but I understand that they come in 3 different sizes.

What are the sizes & where is best to get them?

Do I need new end links ?

Thanks

 

[cwerve74]

Torque resistance of an anti-sway bar changes with the square of the cross sectional area. Therefore, even a small increase in diameter provides a major increase in anti-sway bar effectiveness. The chart below shows the effectiveness of replacement bars as a percentage of resistance of a stock bar of a given diameter, keeping in mind that the relationship applies only to two bars of identical shape.
Chart

1 1/4".. 1601%....779% ...418% ....224%.... 152%

1 1/8".. 1051%....511%... 274% ....160%
.
1" ......... 655% ...319% ...171%

7/8"....... 381%....186%

3/4"....... 205%

............. 5/8"....... 3/4"...... 7/8"........1" ......1 1/8"



So If you now have a 3/4" bar now and go to a 1 1/4" bar the change will be 779% more torque. So you could go from a mild oversteer to a major understeer by making that change. There is a balance between the front sway bar, rear sway bar , springs, tire, and shocks. I am putting in a link to add to the confusion http://www.corvettefaq.com/c3/suspen.jpg

You may need to experiment with different parts till you get the ride you like. There is no "what is the best size" answer. It is fun to play around and you can resell the stuff you don't want on e-Bay. I would measure what you have and get the next size larger if you think you need a change. I assume you are trying to reduce oversteer or make the car push in a turn.

 

[Mac]

My 73 doesn't have a rear swaybar and I've been considering getting one.

Has anyone else added one like this? Was it a worthwhile modification? Did ride quality (aside from performance driving) improve or ???

 

[Robin7TFour]

DON, I saw one on ebay last night. if i come across the bar tonight i'll send you the link..

ROBIN

 

[Bob Chadwick]

Mac,

I was thinking of adding a rear bar until I started looking into it. My car oversteers. In order to correct this problem I need either a bigger front bar or a smaller rear bar. Since I have no rear bar, I only had one choice.

I decided against it, at least for the time being.

Bob

 

[Don&Kelly]

Wow, great reply's ...
cwerve74: - thanks, I'll spend alittle time figuring out what I've got & what I need.

Mac & bobchad: go look at this about rear sway bars

http://www.digitalcorvettes.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=103346#post103346



Robin74 - thanks

 

[Bob Chadwick]

I think I have the 7/8". 1" would probably correct the slight oversteer problem. No rear bar for me.

 

[Robin7TFour]

DON, just went thru ebay corvette parts all 31 pages. couldn't find the gymkana bar i saw. i usually look every night. i will keep you in the loop if i find one..

ROBIN

 

[Mac]

Thanks for the link, Don.

Good to see our old friend c5d is still kickin' around, albeit on a different forum. Sorry you got your knickers knotted up, Dann, and I wish you well.

 

[billagroom]

Wow, great reply's ...
cwerve74: - thanks, I'll spend alittle time figuring out what I've got & what I need.

Mac & bobchad: go look at this about rear sway bars

http://www.digitalcorvettes.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=103346#post103346



Robin74 - thanks

Wow what a terrible Font color and backround color combination! I am still in pain from squinting to read it. The same info and more is available here without the squinting. Just search sway bar at the top of the page. There are 3 pages of threads on this subject.
Bill A Groom

 

[Mac]

Wow what a terrible Font color and backround color combination! I am still in pain from squinting to read it. The same info and more is available here without the squinting. Just search sway bar at the top of the page. There are 3 pages of threads on this subject.
Bill A Groom

I agree, Bill! The colours & font were difficult to handle. As far as searching the topic, mea culpa- I didn't think to look it up in our own database. D-oh! :duh

 

[KenSny]

I don't know why people think that modifying the suspension of these cars is something to guess at.

Sway bars work with each other. If the front bar is too big then the car will plow through a corner, this is understeer. If the rear bar is too big then the back end will come around too fast, this is oversteer. Lots of fun on freeway ramps if you want to experiment.....

All the suspension parts - Front springs, Rear Spring, Shocks, AND Sway bars need to be chosen to complete the package. If you do not do this you will not like the handling of your car and you will blame it on the sway bar.

If you have a non-FE7 suspension and you add a "HEAVY DUTY" front sway bar, say 1-1/2" and do not change anything else..... you will be in for a big surprise the next time you take a corner a little fast.

For example in 75 the FE7 suspension came with heavy duty front springs, 7-leaf rear spring rated at about 330 lbs, 1-1/8 front bar, and 7/16 rear bar. This package made the car handle NEUTRAL. If you increase either sway bar then you undid the NEUTRAL setup. All things need to be equalized for your car to handle BETTER.