Are Sway bars worth it??
Are Sway bars worth it?? I've been thinking about installing a sway bar kit from UMI on my camaro but have been thinking if it's worth it..My car's suspension which is stock right now excet for a BMR strut tower. I did puchase a few items a while back like LCA, LCA brackets, PHrod and a set of subframes all items still need to be installed..I am going to get an Adj. TA for sure but an still thinking about the sways..My car is not a race car..I just want a nice ride glue to the ground type suspension and every now an then a trip to the race track..What do you guys have on your rides?? Are the sway's worth it or am I better off getting something else??
Sway bars will make a substantial difference when it comes to handling. They will really tighten up the front and rear suspension of the car. From what you say it really sounds like sway bars should be pretty high on your priority list.
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Glenn ***
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Glenn ***
Sales Tech
www.bmrsuspension.com
813.986.9302
Find a Quality alignment shop near you!
Instant improvement, coupled with a good and spring/shock combo it can really transform the car to some things that an absolute blast to drive. I have had the BMR sway bars and I currently have the Hotchkis sway bars, I would use either again in a heart beat. Sway bars and a good spring shock combo are going to be your biggest improvement on these cars far as fun factor to drive. Adding more power is fun when you can romp on it, but suspension mods make the car fun every time you turn it.
If your looking to handle get a front bar. Looking to drag get a rear bar. If you get both it sorta cancels out the effect. My brother has the Umi 35mm solid and it made a huge difference.
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TECH Regular
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 492
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From: Rochester, NY
For best handling results, you'd probably want to replace the front AND rear. That's why companies like BMR or Hotchkis sell them in pairs.
Sway bars do more to improve handling feel than just about any other suspension component. Pair them with a good set of springs and shocks and your car will handle like its on rails.
Sway bars do more to improve handling feel than just about any other suspension component. Pair them with a good set of springs and shocks and your car will handle like its on rails.
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For best handling results, you'd probably want to replace the front AND rear. That's why companies like BMR or Hotchkis sell them in pairs.
Sway bars do more to improve handling feel than just about any other suspension component. Pair them with a good set of springs and shocks and your car will handle like its on rails.
Sway bars do more to improve handling feel than just about any other suspension component. Pair them with a good set of springs and shocks and your car will handle like its on rails.
I went from bone stock springs/shocks/swaybars to upgrading the springs and shocks first with Koni 4/4 shocks and Strano springs. The car was completely different to drive after the install and stability was greatly improved. I drove this way for about a year and got the shocks adjusted were I liked them and then upgraded the sway bars to Strano's hollow bars and it was a tremendous improvement over stock. I was blown away at how well the car did at high speeds and was extremely predictable and planted on the road. The parts were not cheap, but were the best mods for the money I've spent on the car to date.
Your suspension is like many other parts of your car, it needs to work as a complete system. I wouldn’t recommend upgrading the fronts and not the rear or vice versa. With the proper parts matched together it will make for an amazing transformation.
Your suspension is like many other parts of your car, it needs to work as a complete system. I wouldn’t recommend upgrading the fronts and not the rear or vice versa. With the proper parts matched together it will make for an amazing transformation.
TECH Regular
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 492
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From: Rochester, NY
Actually I hang with a few racing buddies. On the track and some autox we have a big front bar and we disconnect the rear bar. Helps the car rotate. When you do pairs we lose body roll but end up keeping the same amount of turn in and rotation. Had a buddy at Carolina Motorsports Park with the rear bar connected and did not realize it. Unhooked it and knocked 3 seconds of his lap time.
It makes sense though-- setting up cones to create a track in a parking lot versus going to an actual track like Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen, etc would call for two completely different suspension set-ups. Those real tracks are what I believe the big manufacturers like Hotchkis design their sway bars for because you'd need the extra control and stability at high speeds that the aftermarket rear sway bar provides, where as at a small auto-x course you might not need it.
Either way, I say buy sway bars in pairs.
I don't think body roll from the rear would be much of a problem when you spend most of the time in 2nd gear on a tight auto-x course. However, when you take a turn at 80 on a real track you'll need a car that corners as flat as possible.
Also, coming from driving a Z32 300ZX I can say that this car corners like a mattress in stock form. Get the sway bars.
Also, coming from driving a Z32 300ZX I can say that this car corners like a mattress in stock form. Get the sway bars.
