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Which sway bar to get

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Old 01-18-2010, 04:25 PM
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Default Which sway bar to get

BMR has 2 different rear sway bars and I'm not sure which to get. They have the SB003 - Rear Bar(with bushings) 25mm - 1982-2002 F-Body for $189 or is it worth it to get the XTREME Rear Anti-Roll Bar. Im not into doing all kinds of crazy cornering moves or **** all though my complete rear end is out and I would like to replace it. I have to have new end links because they snapped on the way out.
Old 01-18-2010, 06:35 PM
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Hello,

The larger anti-roll bars are designed for track use and aren't recommended for the street due to there size. We use a 22mm bar on the rear of the F-Body which we have found to work the best.

Here is another option for you- www.umiperformance.com/2113

Hope that helps,
Ryan
Old 01-19-2010, 02:22 AM
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it all depends what ur goals for the car are. drag? autocross? cruiser that hadels good ect ect. the biggest i would go on the rear of its not setup for drag is a 22mm
Old 01-19-2010, 09:55 AM
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Originally Posted by 94BlueZ28
BMR has 2 different rear sway bars and I'm not sure which to get. They have the SB003 - Rear Bar(with bushings) 25mm - 1982-2002 F-Body for $189 or is it worth it to get the XTREME Rear Anti-Roll Bar. Im not into doing all kinds of crazy cornering moves or **** all though my complete rear end is out and I would like to replace it. I have to have new end links because they snapped on the way out.
The SB003 is a good handling sway bar. It also works ok for drag racing. The XSB001 xtreme sway bar is designed to stop body roll. It links the rearend to the frame and stops body seperation. It is not a handling sway bar by any means. We have several customers that have the xtreme bar on their cars and drive on the street but the ride is rougher than with a factory style bar. Your driving style and goals for your car will dictate which bar is best for you. If you have any questions please give me a call.
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Old 01-19-2010, 11:20 AM
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A 25mm bar is good handling bar? Ok. Well, not ok--I don't think that's the case at all. It's massively stiff. Of course, I turn corners and developed a 22mm rear bar for that purpose.

When someone is looking for a compromise... a bar that will handle well, but also be stiff for launching, then I recommend one of the two adjustable rear bars we have. I have a 22mm hollow, and we has a 24mm Hotchkis bar as well (it too is hollow). Both bars are softer than any 25mm bar, but being adjustable can be stiffened to a rate very much the same as a solid 25.

What's not to like? You save weight, you get flexibility to best tune the car for what you are doing, and aren't saddled with a rear bar that is too big for the street, or allows to much roll on a hard leave.
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Old 01-19-2010, 11:59 AM
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Let me rephrase that. Compared to a stock sway bar or our XSB001 Xtreme bar it is a good handling sway bar. When matched with our 35mm front bar it is a very good combination.
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Old 01-19-2010, 12:05 PM
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Well, ok..... I run a 35mm bar and have for years, much longer than anyone else here who has 35mm bars for sale now, but I run it with a 22mm rear. I personally feel that 25mm is just too stiff. There is no camber curve to control on a solid rear axle. I don't believe a rear bar that is some 67% stiffer that stock is necessary, or even wise for handling *unless* your rear roll center is slammed to the ground and you need that roll stiffness to balance the car (and there are very few cars like that).
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Old 01-19-2010, 05:12 PM
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Originally Posted by Sam Strano
A 25mm bar is good handling bar? Ok. Well, not ok--I don't think that's the case at all. It's massively stiff. Of course, I turn corners and developed a 22mm rear bar for that purpose.

When someone is looking for a compromise... a bar that will handle well, but also be stiff for launching, then I recommend one of the two adjustable rear bars we have. I have a 22mm hollow, and we has a 24mm Hotchkis bar as well (it too is hollow). Both bars are softer than any 25mm bar, but being adjustable can be stiffened to a rate very much the same as a solid 25.

What's not to like? You save weight, you get flexibility to best tune the car for what you are doing, and aren't saddled with a rear bar that is too big for the street, or allows to much roll on a hard leave.
So it does come with the bushings and end links correct like in the picture? Do you happen to offer a military dicount by chance? How much shipped to whiteman afb, mo 65305?
Old 01-19-2010, 05:20 PM
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Both bars come with everything need to install, bushings, links, etc. The discount thing is always a sticky matter for me. See, since I'm a small company (pretty much just me and one part time person), I'm already working on the small end of the discount structures (don't buy as much as huge companies, they get the bigger pricing breaks, and make more at the same price). Consequently I don't have as much room to offer discounts. If anyone deserves them it's you guys serving the country, but in the end I have to look at the bottom line and get my bills paid so I can be here to offer advice....

If you tell me which bar you are looking at I can work up a delivered price.
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Old 01-19-2010, 05:28 PM
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I understand,
Lightweight Tubular Rear Sway Bar: 7/8 in. (22mm)
Part #: Hollow 22mm
Brand: Stranoparts
Price: $189.99

I really don't know how benificial it would be for me to invest in the front bar or not. I drive my car on the street, and I'm going to start taking it to the track when it gets warm out. Honestly I've never had my car on the track and I've owned it for 10 years. I'm really not into seeing how fast I can take a corner either. More or less just street racing from 3 honks, lol! Any advice would be great though! Thanks Steve
Old 01-19-2010, 05:55 PM
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That bar is the standard, non-adjustable bar. The adjustable 22mm is this one: https://www.stranoparts.com/partdeta...=126&ModelID=7
and this is the Hotchkis version: https://www.stranoparts.com/partdeta...=126&ModelID=7

The front bar is a handling mod. Putting a bigger rear bar on and leaving a stock front will make for oversteer, and the more rear bar (or stiffer the rear bar is set) the more and more oversteer you will have. Even with a front bar of 35mm it's my feeling that a 25mm rear bar is itself too large for anyone who drives at all spiritedly.
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Old 01-19-2010, 06:58 PM
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You said your complete rear is out, what are you replacing it with?
FWIW Ive run Strano bars on 2 cars now and I love them. I have no experience with BMR bars, so nothing against them. Ive just got the bars when I got my spring / shock sets from Sam.
Old 01-19-2010, 08:24 PM
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[QUOTE=Adam1982;12772951]You said your complete rear is out, what are you replacing it with?
FWIW Ive run Strano bars on 2 cars now and I love them. I have no experience with BMR bars, so no

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Old 01-20-2010, 10:39 PM
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I need them like stat and I don't know what to get, I'm ready to put my **** back together and I have yet to make up my mind. Sam Strano you have opened my eys and make me reconsider my options now. Not sure what to do because I didn't think of the front like I did the rear considering I'm working on the rear now. More advice from this point would be great, thanks steve
Old 01-20-2010, 10:39 PM
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I want the bitch to plant, although I don't want to have to worry about oversteer what ever that may feel like, just not sure from this point now! How is one to know what they exactly are looking for. I drive my car on the strret and look to drag race the beast as much as I can.
Old 01-20-2010, 10:53 PM
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The thicker the bar you get, you get more roll resistance but your tires break lateral traction earlier. Oversteer is one thing, but snap oversteer is another and typically snap oversteer is a lot harder to control.

Get the 25mm bar if your drag racing and having trouble leaving straight. If your car axle isn't twisting, I'd go with a 22 or 21mm. If you want a good balance between front and rear then get a 35mm front with 21/22 mm rear bar. Or go with a 32mm front and 19mm stock rear bar.

FWIW, I'm currently trying a 35mm front with 19mm rear bar for spectator drag short oval track racing. I felt my rear end had been breaking free too much, though I think that mostly had to do with old tires. Still it feels pretty good that I can throw the car into the corner and my rear will allow to roll a little more before breaking free.
Old 01-21-2010, 11:15 AM
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z28bryan, as usual... offers good advice.

A bar won't "plant" the car, it doesn't effect the way the anti-squat geometry works. What a mongo rear bar does for launching is help the car leave straight as it can't rock over to the right as much. Does your car leave crooked? Way crooked?

And drag racing is completely different in terms of what you want for suspension than driving/cornering/handling. That's why drag cars look so much different than any other race cars. They are only mean to go straight, by whatever means necessary. Street cars aren't just drag cars, which means you have to consider they consequences of the parts used.
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Old 01-21-2010, 12:46 PM
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Ok so I can take her out pretty much any where from a stop or a decent roll and mash the gas and of course my *** end kicks out towrda the left making my car feel like it's turning right! Is this what you all are talking about then and for oversteer, is that where it snaps you back really quick????? I think I better go with an in between. I want to take it to the strip and run the trees but also will drive on the street more most likely. You know when a buddy comes over and your like trying to show your **** off and your like let me take your for a ride in this beast. One of those things, go ******* light'em up anywhere and everywhere and run from the police! Some of that ****! I know I'm crazy, I like to turn heads with this bitch, loL! I do know that I need to get on one of these and pick the **** up so I can move on to my next problem, leaking tranny lines! Have those new braided lines just working the rear at the minute!
Old 01-22-2010, 10:59 AM
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Originally Posted by 94BlueZ28
Ok so I can take her out pretty much any where from a stop or a decent roll and mash the gas and of course my *** end kicks out towrda the left making my car feel like it's turning right! Is this what you all are talking about then and for oversteer, is that where it snaps you back really quick?????
No, not really.

Oversteer simply put is when you go through a turn your rear end wants to swing around. The sport of drifting is driving the car while oversteering everywhere.
Snap over steer is when the rear end comes around really quickly, and often unpredictably, like the rear of the car "snaps" over.
Old 01-22-2010, 11:47 AM
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That video is an excellent find, and something I've been harping on for years. So many people only car "how many G will it pull" when that's not really indicative of how the car actually behaves. Handling is a mix of lots of things, and the term for me is very broad. How a car handles incorporates not only grip, but also stability, predictability and balance as well.

The presenter of the video (who is a world-class Sports car racer in things like Porsche 962's) is dead on when he describes "handling" and how it can be subjective.

Also some other notes from the video. You'll notice in the slalom test (which is something us autocrossers are always doing) the car that gets all sorts of stupid is just flopping about like a dying fish. The cars that do better are much better damped and the roll rate is very much controlled. That's one reason I'm always going on and on about shocks being so important. A stock f-body will look a lot more like that blue Ford than anyone would care to admit.
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