How much does a Sway Bar actually help? - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

5150 · 02-13-2005, 11:38 AM

I just wanted to know I don't have a front sway bar or a rear sway bar I just wanted to no how much they help.

junkyardjohn · 02-13-2005, 12:23 PM

Makes All The Difference In The World. One Of The Best Upgrades You Can Do.

John

Rdrdave · 02-13-2005, 12:29 PM

would you like to stay in your seat on a hard turn? Without feels like you could touch the ground outside the window. With feels like you can take the turn at full speed! I have the ECE front upgrade but I believe a C20 front sway bar is actually an 1/8 bigger! I felt the difference with just a front one, but I'm soon to put a rear one but a different setup. Hope this helps.

boraxman · 02-13-2005, 01:57 PM

I was going to buy the one in this thread http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s....php3?t=139720 but got one off Ebay instead. The one TRUCKGUY is selling should be 1.25" being its off a 3/4 ton.

gonebad2 · 02-13-2005, 02:03 PM

Adding the front swaybar really helps eliminating understeer. I would guess adding a rear one in addition would be a huge difference.

68w/sbc406 · 02-13-2005, 02:05 PM

when i would take hard turns i would either end up in the door or sittin b!t#h if i didnt have my seat belt on, then i came acrossed a 3/4 ton 2wd that needed to be cut up and hauled off, so for doing that i got my V8 stands and front sway bar. sticks much better now

Longhorn Man · 02-13-2005, 02:11 PM

The old GMC felt like it was draggin the door handles on the pavement in corners, yet both of the Longhorns I've had (both much bigger/heaviey with a higher center of gravity) would go through the hardest of turns and remain flat.

gonebad2 · 02-13-2005, 02:18 PM

I bet the Longhorns came with a heavier spring rate as well. I've also heard to not install a rear sway bar without having a front bar installed. I would like to install a rear bar on my '67. It has an aluminum fuel cell so I wonder if it will fit? Not to hijack the thread but have any of you guys know if it will fit?

neonlarry · 02-13-2005, 06:28 PM

Try a Camero bar it will fit.

whitesswj · 02-13-2005, 07:30 PM

on the rear i thought the track bar was a sway bar, is it not? and what camero bar works?
also can some one explain how a track bar or sway bar works? sswj

69 Short Fleet · 02-13-2005, 07:42 PM

Huge difference with sway bars!!!

Bob Moore · 02-13-2005, 07:56 PM

The track bar on the trucks w/coil springs really only centers the rearend. As the rear end goes up and down the track bar keeps it centered. Without the track bar the coils would sway and the rear axle could move side to side.

The sway bar should really be called an anti-sway bar. By tying both sides together it works on a torsion-bar theory. Compressing one side(outside in a turn) the anti-sway bar wants to make the inside compress also instead of rebounding(going up). That's the theory and the bigger the bar - the stiffer the anti-sway reaction.

Member back is school - for every action there is an equal but opposite reaction.

I'm sure this is as clear as mud now but I don't know how to explain it better.

LONGHAIR · 02-13-2005, 08:01 PM

whitesswj,
The track bar and sway bar are two totally different things.
The track bar (panhard bar) keeps the axle housing from shifting from side to side on coils sprung trucks. The control arms that mount the housing to the truck only locate the axle from front to rear. Coil springs only hold the truck up, the don't do anything to "locate" the rearend. Unlike leaf springs which do both at the same time.

The sway bar (or anti-sway bar) tries to equalize the load of the truck's weight between both sides. So as you drive into a corner and the body tries to roll toward the outside of the turn, the sway bar is using the pulling power of the oppose side (as it tries to lift) to keep the outside from dropping. This works on leaf sping trucks as well as coils spring. It has some limitation to individual wheel travel but on a street driven vehicle you would never notice that. It's the off-roaders that would be concerned there.

A sway bar on the rear with out having one on the front would make for a very loose vehicle. The front would roll and plant the outside tire and the rear would essentually fight with itself trying to keep flat....thus not planting the outside tire and the rear end of the truck would spin out.

whitesswj · 02-13-2005, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Moore

Member back is school - for every action there is an equal but opposite reaction.

I'm sure this is as clear as mud now but I don't know how to explain it better.

actually physics was my game in high school. and newtons therories were too easy for me and i under stand that. what are the contact points on a sway bar, maybe someone with pictures can help to help clear things up even moreso.

thanks moore

sswj

LONGHAIR · 02-13-2005, 08:17 PM

The sway bar mounts parallel to the axle housing with 90 degree bends on each end (purpendicular to the axle) these ends run parallel to the frame rails. Then there are links that reach up to the frame itself. The sway bar is mounted in bushings, so it can rotate, which allows the ends to travel up and down with the suspension. It is when the load is twisting the body to one side that the bar works. When the body rolls to one side the frame gets closer to the axle on that side and farther on the opposite side. The sway bar is cancelling this action (or at least trying to). The link on the low side is pushing that side of the bar down with it but the opposite side wants to go up.......it can't because it is tied to the side that is going down. maening the upward travel of the high side is stopped. This keeps the whole truck level as it turns.

Gary · 02-13-2005, 08:34 PM

I only put the front sway bars on my truck and it made a huge difference in cornering, I don't drive it all that hard and it is really noticable even at just normal driving, there is 2 90 (actuallymore like 85) degree curves you have to make to go to the gas station I normally use and before the sway it felt like you were riding a boat on the waves taking those corners now it really holds it steady, a really big difference. I would say without hesitation if I bought another old truck and it didn't have sway bars it'd be the first thing I'd do to it, assuming it was actually running already!

chevydrummer76 · 02-13-2005, 08:42 PM

so whats the cost of one of these, and is installion tough?

Gary · 02-13-2005, 08:45 PM

Well I looked for one for several weeks both here and ebay and finally got tired of waiting and ordered one from I believe it was ECE for like $140 or so plus shipping, then since then I've seen no less than a dozen for sale here and on ebay for less than that. As for installation I took my truck in for a buttload of stuff and just had them do that too, new front springs/rear leafs/sway bar/intake/headers/alternator and some other stuff in one big old labor bill at the mechanic.

71-longbed · 02-13-2005, 09:11 PM

i picked a bar and brackets from a boneyard for 30 bucks .. bought new bushings, nuts and bolts and thats it ... any chevy or gmc from 67-87 will fit i believe .. only difference in the bars are the thickness ... mines a small 1 1/16

5150 · 02-14-2005, 12:49 AM

Is that correct-any sway bar from 67-87 will fit?

68w/sbc406 · 02-14-2005, 01:00 AM

yep

gonebad2 · 02-14-2005, 01:02 AM

What year Camaro for the rear anti-sway bar? Anybody know??

68w/sbc406 · 02-14-2005, 01:10 AM

its like mid 80s and you have to fab some brackets. i will see if i can find the write up

68w/sbc406 · 02-14-2005, 01:11 AM

http://www.low69cst.freeservers.com/CamaroBar.htm

Americanrider · 02-14-2005, 01:56 AM

I am selling one on the parts board off a '71 C-20. I thought it would be thicker since the rear had helper (leaf) springs but it's only 1 incher. LESSON for today:
Don't Assume anything... measure it 'cuz bigger is better :mp:

02-13-2005, 11:38 AM	#1
5150 C10 Club Tennessee Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: White House, TN 37188 Posts: 8,281	How much does a Sway Bar actually help? I just wanted to know I don't have a front sway bar or a rear sway bar I just wanted to no how much they help. __________________ Bryan www.gmtruckshow.com Project "Andes"-Halen's First Truck Project: Patina Burb for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Romans 13:4

02-13-2005, 12:23 PM	#2
junkyardjohn Registered User Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: SOMERSET KY. Posts: 6,425	Makes All The Difference In The World. One Of The Best Upgrades You Can Do. John __________________ junkyardjohn 69 1 TON TOW TRUCK // 84 4WD CUCV BLAZER// 85 1 TON 4WD STAKE TRUCK// 86 M1031 5/4 TON 4WD CUCV// ALOT OF OLD TRUCKS FOR ONE OLD MAN TO DRIVE. THERES ROOM FOR ALL OF GODS CREATURES RIGHT NEXT TO MY MASHED POTATOES// LIFE MEMBER OF P.E.T.A (PEOPLE EATING TASTY ANIMALS) DON'T RENT U-HAUL ALWAYS TELL THE TRUTH IT WILL AMAZE PART OF THE PEOPLE & ASTONISH THE REST

02-13-2005, 01:57 PM	#4
boraxman Keepin an eye out Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: So.Cal Posts: 3,920	I was going to buy the one in this thread http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s....php3?t=139720 but got one off Ebay instead. The one TRUCKGUY is selling should be 1.25" being its off a 3/4 ton. __________________ 1970 Chevy C10 SWB 5.3 1996 Toyota Tacoma SR5 4x4 2007 Vespa GTS 250 Scooter ZIP 91351

02-13-2005, 02:03 PM	#5
gonebad2 Merciless Butcher Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: CC Nevada Posts: 1,447	Adding the front swaybar really helps eliminating understeer. I would guess adding a rear one in addition would be a huge difference. __________________ Your Bought And Sold....I Got Your Soul!

02-13-2005, 02:05 PM	#6
68w/sbc406 Got Light Emitting Diode? Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Newberg, OR Posts: 2,485	when i would take hard turns i would either end up in the door or sittin b!t#h if i didnt have my seat belt on, then i came acrossed a 3/4 ton 2wd that needed to be cut up and hauled off, so for doing that i got my V8 stands and front sway bar. sticks much better now __________________ 1968 1/2 ton 2wd lwb 6 lug disc and bags up front. Next c notch and rear bags '02 Chevy Silverado LT ext cab short bed 2WD 5/7 drop on 22's(the family car) 1993 Cherokee work ride/weekend wheeler

02-13-2005, 12:29 PM	#3
Rdrdave Broke and still trying Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Alameda, CA Posts: 562	would you like to stay in your seat on a hard turn? Without feels like you could touch the ground outside the window. With feels like you can take the turn at full speed! I have the ECE front upgrade but I believe a C20 front sway bar is actually an 1/8 bigger! I felt the difference with just a front one, but I'm soon to put a rear one but a different setup. Hope this helps.

02-13-2005, 02:11 PM	#7
Longhorn Man its all about the +6 inches Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Hilliard Ohio Posts: 2,690	The old GMC felt like it was draggin the door handles on the pavement in corners, yet both of the Longhorns I've had (both much bigger/heaviey with a higher center of gravity) would go through the hardest of turns and remain flat.

02-13-2005, 02:18 PM	#8
gonebad2 Merciless Butcher Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: CC Nevada Posts: 1,447	I bet the Longhorns came with a heavier spring rate as well. I've also heard to not install a rear sway bar without having a front bar installed. I would like to install a rear bar on my '67. It has an aluminum fuel cell so I wonder if it will fit? Not to hijack the thread but have any of you guys know if it will fit? __________________ Your Bought And Sold....I Got Your Soul!

02-13-2005, 06:28 PM	#9
neonlarry Registered User Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Vacaville, CA Posts: 2,745	Try a Camero bar it will fit. Attached Images __________________ 70 C/10 Light Red 350/TH350, HEI, Duals w/40 series Flows, 91 seat, LED taillights 99 Pontiac S/C GTP, SLP Ram Air hood, GMPP Konis & springs 95 Neon ACR, MP PCM, AFX UDP, 3.0 CAI

02-13-2005, 07:30 PM	#10
whitesswj Embrace the Redneck Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Cabot, AR Posts: 1,334	on the rear i thought the track bar was a sway bar, is it not? and what camero bar works? also can some one explain how a track bar or sway bar works? sswj __________________ '01 Camaro *Son, you just can't get there from here...*

02-13-2005, 07:42 PM	#11
69 Short Fleet Registered User Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Kelowna B.C. Canada Posts: 1,086	Huge difference with sway bars!!!

02-13-2005, 07:56 PM	#12
Bob Moore Registered User Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Tacoma WA Posts: 1,365	Track Bar The track bar on the trucks w/coil springs really only centers the rearend. As the rear end goes up and down the track bar keeps it centered. Without the track bar the coils would sway and the rear axle could move side to side. The sway bar should really be called an anti-sway bar. By tying both sides together it works on a torsion-bar theory. Compressing one side(outside in a turn) the anti-sway bar wants to make the inside compress also instead of rebounding(going up). That's the theory and the bigger the bar - the stiffer the anti-sway reaction. Member back is school - for every action there is an equal but opposite reaction. I'm sure this is as clear as mud now but I don't know how to explain it better. __________________ 67 C-20 LWB, tilt, speed alert, vac, 454, T400 67 C-10 SWB, factory air with more to follow

02-13-2005, 08:01 PM	#13
LONGHAIR just can't cover up my redneck Join Date: May 2004 Location: Columbus OH Posts: 11,414	whitesswj, The track bar and sway bar are two totally different things. The track bar (panhard bar) keeps the axle housing from shifting from side to side on coils sprung trucks. The control arms that mount the housing to the truck only locate the axle from front to rear. Coil springs only hold the truck up, the don't do anything to "locate" the rearend. Unlike leaf springs which do both at the same time. The sway bar (or anti-sway bar) tries to equalize the load of the truck's weight between both sides. So as you drive into a corner and the body tries to roll toward the outside of the turn, the sway bar is using the pulling power of the oppose side (as it tries to lift) to keep the outside from dropping. This works on leaf sping trucks as well as coils spring. It has some limitation to individual wheel travel but on a street driven vehicle you would never notice that. It's the off-roaders that would be concerned there. A sway bar on the rear with out having one on the front would make for a very loose vehicle. The front would roll and plant the outside tire and the rear would essentually fight with itself trying to keep flat....thus not planting the outside tire and the rear end of the truck would spin out. Last edited by LONGHAIR; 02-13-2005 at 08:05 PM.

02-13-2005, 08:17 PM	#15
LONGHAIR just can't cover up my redneck Join Date: May 2004 Location: Columbus OH Posts: 11,414	The sway bar mounts parallel to the axle housing with 90 degree bends on each end (purpendicular to the axle) these ends run parallel to the frame rails. Then there are links that reach up to the frame itself. The sway bar is mounted in bushings, so it can rotate, which allows the ends to travel up and down with the suspension. It is when the load is twisting the body to one side that the bar works. When the body rolls to one side the frame gets closer to the axle on that side and farther on the opposite side. The sway bar is cancelling this action (or at least trying to). The link on the low side is pushing that side of the bar down with it but the opposite side wants to go up.......it can't because it is tied to the side that is going down. maening the upward travel of the high side is stopped. This keeps the whole truck level as it turns.

02-13-2005, 08:34 PM	#16
Gary Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Harvest, AL Posts: 544	I only put the front sway bars on my truck and it made a huge difference in cornering, I don't drive it all that hard and it is really noticable even at just normal driving, there is 2 90 (actuallymore like 85) degree curves you have to make to go to the gas station I normally use and before the sway it felt like you were riding a boat on the waves taking those corners now it really holds it steady, a really big difference. I would say without hesitation if I bought another old truck and it didn't have sway bars it'd be the first thing I'd do to it, assuming it was actually running already! __________________ Gary Harris 85 Silverado - 87 Grand National 2007 Ardmore Car Show



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02-13-2005, 08:42 PM	#17
chevydrummer76 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 25	so whats the cost of one of these, and is installion tough?

02-13-2005, 08:45 PM	#18
Gary Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Harvest, AL Posts: 544	Well I looked for one for several weeks both here and ebay and finally got tired of waiting and ordered one from I believe it was ECE for like $140 or so plus shipping, then since then I've seen no less than a dozen for sale here and on ebay for less than that. As for installation I took my truck in for a buttload of stuff and just had them do that too, new front springs/rear leafs/sway bar/intake/headers/alternator and some other stuff in one big old labor bill at the mechanic. __________________ Gary Harris 85 Silverado - 87 Grand National 2007 Ardmore Car Show

02-13-2005, 09:11 PM	#19
71-longbed Its Magically Delicious Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: oregon Posts: 2,398	i picked a bar and brackets from a boneyard for 30 bucks .. bought new bushings, nuts and bolts and thats it ... any chevy or gmc from 67-87 will fit i believe .. only difference in the bars are the thickness ... mines a small 1 1/16 __________________ 71 C10 LWB 350sbc -TH350 12 bolt 3.42 Posi Of all my favorite things to do, The utmost is to have a brew. My love grows for my foamy friend, with each thirst-quenching elbow bend. Beer so frosty, smooth, and cold it's paradise pure liquid gold. Yes beer means many things to me that's all for now cus I gotta pee.

02-14-2005, 12:49 AM	#20
5150 C10 Club Tennessee Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: White House, TN 37188 Posts: 8,281	Is that correct-any sway bar from 67-87 will fit? __________________ Bryan www.gmtruckshow.com Project "Andes"-Halen's First Truck Project: Patina Burb for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Romans 13:4

02-14-2005, 01:00 AM	#21
68w/sbc406 Got Light Emitting Diode? Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Newberg, OR Posts: 2,485	yep __________________ 1968 1/2 ton 2wd lwb 6 lug disc and bags up front. Next c notch and rear bags '02 Chevy Silverado LT ext cab short bed 2WD 5/7 drop on 22's(the family car) 1993 Cherokee work ride/weekend wheeler

02-14-2005, 01:02 AM	#22
gonebad2 Merciless Butcher Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: CC Nevada Posts: 1,447	What year Camaro for the rear anti-sway bar? Anybody know?? __________________ Your Bought And Sold....I Got Your Soul!

02-14-2005, 01:10 AM	#23
68w/sbc406 Got Light Emitting Diode? Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Newberg, OR Posts: 2,485	its like mid 80s and you have to fab some brackets. i will see if i can find the write up __________________ 1968 1/2 ton 2wd lwb 6 lug disc and bags up front. Next c notch and rear bags '02 Chevy Silverado LT ext cab short bed 2WD 5/7 drop on 22's(the family car) 1993 Cherokee work ride/weekend wheeler

02-14-2005, 01:11 AM	#24
68w/sbc406 Got Light Emitting Diode? Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Newberg, OR Posts: 2,485	http://www.low69cst.freeservers.com/CamaroBar.htm __________________ 1968 1/2 ton 2wd lwb 6 lug disc and bags up front. Next c notch and rear bags '02 Chevy Silverado LT ext cab short bed 2WD 5/7 drop on 22's(the family car) 1993 Cherokee work ride/weekend wheeler

02-14-2005, 01:56 AM	#25
Americanrider Registered User Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NW, WA. Posts: 1,421	I am selling one on the parts board off a '71 C-20. I thought it would be thicker since the rear had helper (leaf) springs but it's only 1 incher. LESSON for today: Don't Assume anything... measure it 'cuz bigger is better :mp:

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