POL front and rear sway bar kit?

[Snake72]

Thinking about ordering this combo for my 72 leaf spring truck, stock height. It did not originally come with a front sway bar but I will at least put one on front, is it worth adding the rear bar? Wont be autocrossing by any means but I would like the truck to handle as nice as possible. Anyone buy these? Quality? Thanks!

https://www.performanceonline.com/19...ront-and-Rear/

[Richard2112]

I put a 1.25 inch sway bar (or anti-sway bar) on the front of my 70 one ton. It made a big difference. Ultimately I think I may put one on the rear but I have reservations about using a smaller diameter on the dually.

My biggest problem was axle wrap at my leaf springs so I built a kit to control it. Handling again improved significantly.

[68 P.O.S.]

I say yes, it's not a bad idea IMO. My 72 didn't come with either one as well and I put both on about 3 years ago. I used the ECE 1 1/4" bar for the front and the CPP 1 1/8" bar for the rear. It made a huge difference; the truck stays really flat and overall performance is much better. I no longer feel like I'm scraping doors while making turns lol. I've seen people say a front bar is all you need as a rear bar is overkill and it creates a harsher ride. This has not been my experience at all; its a joy to drive and freeway exits are much more exciting now. Auto manufacturers think it's a good idea to put them on new trucks at the factory, so why not ours? Same thing for steering dampers. So why not add it if you want it? For me, it was one of the best upgrades I've done. I say go for it and enjoy!

[Richard2112]

The rear bar they're offering is 7/8 diameter. It has to be an improvement over not having one at all. Ultimately I think your load and tow capacity may play a role in determining the size options best suited. Certainly couldn't hurt.

[Snake72]

Holy spring pack Richard, that's some beef right there. Great idea on the axle wrap kit, I have concerns about that too with my 383. Did you just make the axle bracket and attach spherical rod ends to the crossmember? Kinda like a trailing arm setup?

68 POS, that's what I wanted to hear. I'll order the kit, its only 300 bucks and hopefully get this truck handling well. I have a 2010 2500HD with rear sway bar, handles fantastic for a big truck.

Thanks for the responses

[Richard2112]

Originally Posted by Snake72

Holy spring pack Richard, that's some beef right there. Great idea on the axle wrap kit, I have concerns about that too with my 383. Did you just make the axle bracket and attach spherical rod ends to the crossmember? Kinda like a trailing arm setup?

68 POS, that's what I wanted to hear. I'll order the kit, its only 300 bucks and hopefully get this truck handling well. I have a 2010 2500HD with rear sway bar, handles fantastic for a big truck.

Thanks for the responses

I made the kit so I can use all four shocks the same. Those shocks on the rear are front shocks. It's also bump stopped for soft application and can be adjusted for zero wrap if desired.

[RPOZ11]

Originally Posted by Snake72

Did you just make the axle bracket and attach spherical rod ends to the crossmember?

That bracket on the U-Bolt thread looks like a shock bracket.
It "appears" you just drilled a hole in it and mounted it?
It doesn't appear to be welded on....

Can you share your share your approach here

[68 P.O.S.]

Good deal Snake, you'll definitely like the improvement in handling it makes.

Richard: Wow, impressive work. I like it, a lot

[Snake72]

Richard, excellent engineering sir...probably going to steal that idea if that's ok

[RPOZ11]

X...

[Richard2112]

Originally Posted by Snake72

Richard, excellent engineering sir...probably going to steal that idea if that's ok

Thank you. You're welcome to it. I have photos of the entire process, step by step should you like to give it a go. Taming axle wrap helps keep your pinion angle within acceptable limits especially under acceleration or tow conditions.

There is still some suspension tuning to do on that setup (for my purposes) but if you have any questions, I'd be glad to share the info.

[Richard2112]

Originally Posted by RPOZ11

That bracket on the U-Bolt thread looks like a shock bracket.
It "appears" you just drilled a hole in it and mounted it?
It doesn't appear to be welded on....

Can you share your share your approach here

If you're referring to the axle wrap/traction kit, yes it is bolted. Not welded. I do not mean to hijack the thread so I may do a separate thread on the kit if people would like. It works great.

Edit: the square bars are welded to the end connection points.

[Snake72]

Richard, I bet a lot of us leaf spring members would like to see this process and pictures of your set up. Feel free to post here or start a new thread, very cool idea.

[Rich69shortfleet]

My truck is all coils and had a smaller front bar stock but I was happy with the kit I put on with IIRC a 1-1/4" bar up front and a 7/8" bar in the back. I also lowered my truck at the same time so together they helped handling. You'll never forget that it is a truck, but it handles better than stock by a long ways.

[weq92f]

Something that hasn't been mentioned yet:

Having the bars front and rear not only keeps the truck more level during turns but it also helps it "settle" down quicker after going through uneven road surfaces at speed. Think freeway speed where the roadway has undulations which cause your suspension to cycle through travel. Add a slight left or right hand turn to that and the bars really make a difference in the road feel of the truck. Without them, some of these road conditions at speed can be downright scary!

Hth,

-klb

[Rich69shortfleet]

Originally Posted by weq92f

Something that hasn't been mentioned yet:

Having the bars front and rear not only keeps the truck more level during turns but it also helps it "settle" down quicker after going through uneven road surfaces at speed. Think freeway speed where the roadway has undulations which cause your suspension to cycle through travel. Add a slight left or right hand turn to that and the bars really make a difference in the road feel of the truck. Without them, some of these road conditions at speed can be downright scary!

Hth,

-klb

That's a really good point.

Even with lowering, superior springs, sway bars, wide tires and shocks, it is still a load to throw around. But I absolutely shudder to think of driving the truck even mildly spiritedly without the sway bars.