Sway bars - are they different?
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Sway bars - are they different? On the Summit catalog I see:
Hotchkis
Eibach
Suspension Techniques
Addco
Hellwig
Are those brands really different?
Some have solid bars, other are hollow. What is the difference (other than the weight)?
Hotchkis
Eibach
Suspension Techniques
Addco
Hellwig
Are those brands really different?
Some have solid bars, other are hollow. What is the difference (other than the weight)?
If you aren't concerned about weight and you want new bars the best for the money in my opinion would be the ST front 35mm solid bar and 22mm rear Addco bar (which is on sale from summit). Both can be bought for $207 shipped.
If you do a search, the best bars are obviously the Strano Parts 35mm/22mm hollow bars. Both great for handling and light weight when compared to solid bars and cost $379 plus shipping.
Do not by the rear 25mm hotchkis, st, or eibach bars because they are too big.
I personally am not trying to spend a lot of money on bars and are probably gonna go with a ST 35mm front bar from BYUNSPEED.com (free shipping) and try to find a cheap 21mm rear 3rd gen bar.
If you do a search, the best bars are obviously the Strano Parts 35mm/22mm hollow bars. Both great for handling and light weight when compared to solid bars and cost $379 plus shipping.
Do not by the rear 25mm hotchkis, st, or eibach bars because they are too big.
I personally am not trying to spend a lot of money on bars and are probably gonna go with a ST 35mm front bar from BYUNSPEED.com (free shipping) and try to find a cheap 21mm rear 3rd gen bar.
A word of warning... bars are not all the same. Some are painted, some powdercoated, some zinc plated. Not that any of that effects the bar's stiffness. What is important are things like end-link sizes and so on. I speced a very different and bigger endlink than what Addco uses because they aren't strong enough.
As for price, I really don't know how anyone is still selling an ST bar for $125 to begin with and given the size of the box and the fact it ships oversize 2 (70 pound rate).... Jobber price on the bar alone is $161 and some change. I get a nice discount and I pay about the same for it.
The point is think about the details. Shipping costs on a large heavy bar can add up. And not everyone uses the same size boxes, I begged ST years ago to downsize the box for freight savings. And the ancillary stuff is not to be overlooked.
I'm not saying you need my bar and that's it. Addco sells a solid 35 too, and I can sell it for less than the ST. But I can't sell an ST for nothing like some others are. I sell Hotchkis stuff too.
As for price, I really don't know how anyone is still selling an ST bar for $125 to begin with and given the size of the box and the fact it ships oversize 2 (70 pound rate).... Jobber price on the bar alone is $161 and some change. I get a nice discount and I pay about the same for it.
The point is think about the details. Shipping costs on a large heavy bar can add up. And not everyone uses the same size boxes, I begged ST years ago to downsize the box for freight savings. And the ancillary stuff is not to be overlooked.
I'm not saying you need my bar and that's it. Addco sells a solid 35 too, and I can sell it for less than the ST. But I can't sell an ST for nothing like some others are. I sell Hotchkis stuff too.
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Results matter. Talk is cheap. We are miles beyond the success anyone else has had with the 4th gens, and C5, C6, C7 Corvettes,
10 SCCA Solo National Championships, 2008 Driver of they Year, 2012 Driver of Eminence
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www.stranoparts.com --814-849-3450
Results matter. Talk is cheap. We are miles beyond the success anyone else has had with the 4th gens, and C5, C6, C7 Corvettes,
10 SCCA Solo National Championships, 2008 Driver of they Year, 2012 Driver of Eminence
13 SCCA Pro Solo Nationals Championships
2023 UMI King of the Mountain Champion
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Originally Posted by Sam Strano
I'm not saying you need my bar and that's it. Addco sells a solid 35 too, and I can sell it for less than the ST. But I can't sell an ST for nothing like some others are. I sell Hotchkis stuff too.
As I wrote in my PM I'm looking for a set of shocks + swaybars. It's obvious that I look a little around and compare prices and qualities. That's why I started this thread.
Shocks will be Koni, swaybars... I still don't know, but it would be interesting to get all those parts from the same company.
Hollow bars are an advantage not only because of the car weight (oversea shipping).
This is the situation:
Koni shocks cost here $100 more than in the US (same price if from you or Summit or others).
"Performance" sway bars aren't avaible here and have to be ordered in the US.
Hollow bars are an advantage.
Apparently you have the most balanced set of swaybars available.
Apparently you can teach me how to set the Koni's depending on my driving needs = so far you are my choice # 1 !
The only thing I need is a quote for parts and shipping: if shipping is around $100 and parts are avaible that's OK for me.
PS: it may be an advantage to ship shocks and bars separately.
Oh, I knew I forgot something..... your PM. My bad, I'll jump on that tomorrow.
I can tell you that the bars and shocks would have to ship in separate boxes, the bars are just way too different (and big to go in the shock box, and the shocks can't go in the long, but thin bar boxes.
I can tell you that the bars and shocks would have to ship in separate boxes, the bars are just way too different (and big to go in the shock box, and the shocks can't go in the long, but thin bar boxes.
__________________
www.stranoparts.com --814-849-3450
Results matter. Talk is cheap. We are miles beyond the success anyone else has had with the 4th gens, and C5, C6, C7 Corvettes,
10 SCCA Solo National Championships, 2008 Driver of they Year, 2012 Driver of Eminence
13 SCCA Pro Solo Nationals Championships
2023 UMI King of the Mountain Champion
www.stranoparts.com --814-849-3450
Results matter. Talk is cheap. We are miles beyond the success anyone else has had with the 4th gens, and C5, C6, C7 Corvettes,
10 SCCA Solo National Championships, 2008 Driver of they Year, 2012 Driver of Eminence
13 SCCA Pro Solo Nationals Championships
2023 UMI King of the Mountain Champion
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You won't notice the stiffer swaybars in the snow or rain as much as in the dry as you don't generate the amount of cornering force need. That being said, you may break traction slightly sooner on slippery surfaces due to the added stiffness, but it's not that bad.
I alway felt the ls1 f-body's came from the factory tuned better for snow and rain than for the dry. When you stiffen it up a bit the tuning of the suspension moves towards better dry handling and a little worse snow, but like I said, it's not too bad.
greg
I alway felt the ls1 f-body's came from the factory tuned better for snow and rain than for the dry. When you stiffen it up a bit the tuning of the suspension moves towards better dry handling and a little worse snow, but like I said, it's not too bad.
greg
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Originally Posted by Greggy
I alway felt the ls1 f-body's came from the factory tuned better for snow and rain than for the dry. greg
Much better than other rear wheel drive cars like Mercedes or BMW
There is nothing I can add to this thread other than to say there is a difference between different sway bars. I have tried a number of front bars to find the handling I was looking for. Doesn't matter which one worked for me, and no reason one set of bars is more "balanced" than another. Driver, spring rate, shocks, tires, alignment and a million other little details alter that equation, and need to be considered.