O.k. Just some quick questions.
How many people in the club use rear sway bars? Do you think they make a big difference in the dirt?
Did you make, buy new, or wreck for it?

I don't know whether I should bother with a rear sway bar.

Your comments, thoughts and suggestions are greatly appreciated...

Thanks.

I don't think it will make a big difference on the dirt.
It may make it a little more predictable, as the handling at different speeds will be more proportional. Whereas with no sway bar, the bodyroll can induce a whipping kind of effect where it will hang on then let go. Having a larger front sway bar will also help control this.

I think it will be a hit and miss affair. I've heard of people putting sway bars on the rear of their 1200s but nobody ever raved about the improved performance in any situation. Most only kept them on because they'd already paid for it to be made and installed.
With my cutdown Commodore diff, I'll be running a small rear sway bar, mainly to put the brackets on the diff housing to good use.

I won't know until I drive it, as to what diameter will be required front or back. I'll be running a stock front sway bay for starters, but will get a matched set when the time comes. With all the mods, the cars weight distribution changes, therefore I can't use any "tried and tested' combos for stock 1200s.

I'll probably find an old-timer owned suspension shop to figure out what's needed.

Chris.

You don't want to use any sway bar on the rear for dirt. All that tends to happen is that the inside rear wheel tries to lift off the ground resulting in that wheel wanting to spin, the result being loss of traction.

as Niscoupe said it would make the rear end stiffer and and it would tend to float not bite in for traction on dirt /gravel

I add myself to that idea, rear swaybar for dirt is a ticket to a landing on a tree. The tail will oversteer and it would become too much tail happy. On the road , for cornering, it is another story, cornering at speed , on roads, asks for simetry and stiffness, good rubber,and always less diameter bar than the front, but on dirt, you need the body to sink onto the axles somewhat to allow tire grip.On roads(paved), there is nothing between the tire and the pavement,so simetry makes the car grip equally and avoid sway,which allows the car faster speeds at cornering, while on dirt, little rocks, rubble, debri is in between the tire and the road,which happens to be made of lots of dirt and debri,so the rear sway bar arangement would allow this debri to rool in between the tire and road, same way the "romans" moved big rocks, giant rocks moved around on wood chucks , is the same thing, the car becomes the rock, the debri is the wood chucks,and tail happy it goes. Without the sway bar, the outer tire is allowed to feel more weight on it due to the body sinking more onto that side, crushing down on the debri and allowing that extra grip you need on that wheel which is holding the power and moving the car, you might have somewhat less grip on the inner tire, but that one is not that important at that time, if it was pavement, again, the story changes back to needing a sway bar.

Hope not to bore anybody, I am just kind off to the point in my explanation

Jaime

Jaime

no such thing as too much sideways!

nah i agree too, went to toolangi forest the other night for a little practice, had a lot of fun, the lsd (sprung load locker) makes it soooo awesome

sliding into corners with precision, requiring oposite lock to avoid spinning car on a lot of corners, but allowing much higher cornering speed and much better launch out of corners, it was so good

spun once though, just before a bridge, probably a good thing considering the size of the bridge (thin) and how tail happy i would have been if i made the corner

how much are new sincros? for the box, i had to keep changing it back into second to lock up the back and the box didnt like doing it at that speed at all, would double clutching help this much maybe?

i think i might be the queen bunny, i just sent another topic oddway