Sway Bar choice

[Dusty-NZ]

I have a 25mm rear sway bar that has helped the truck stability LOTS over no bar .
However , there is still too much movement for my comfort while driving .

My question is how much bigger to go.

Will 3mm increase be significant ? is there a formula I could apply ?

Thoughts and experiences appreciated thanks.

 

[Dusty-NZ]

It turns out , google is my friend (again ) I found this simple formula , great for directly comparing different sizes , just what I wanted .

I hope it might be of help to someone else .

http://www.gtsparkplugs.com/Sway-Bar-Calculator.html

 

[Regcabguy]

The Hellwig Big Wig works well for my friend with a 9.5' Six Pac camper. Shock valving makes all the difference in the world.

 

[Dusty-NZ]

Thanks for your reply , I've seen the Hellwig products and I understand they are good. However , cost plus exchange rate plus tax here makes their product very expensive. I can get a custom made bar here for 1/3 the money , I just need to decide what size to choose. The above formula has helped me there.

I like your comment on the shocks , I can get Rancho or bilstien here , still very pricey , but again , need some proper info on what model to choose.

 

[Regcabguy]

On my '98.5 Ram I used Rancho 9000's. Pretty decent for the price and fully adjustable.
I've got Thuren King 2.5's on mine. They were $1800 w/towers here. I can't imagine what they'd be down under.
https://www.thurenfabrication.com/products/thuren-king-shock-packages.html

They've gone up heaps.
Your avatar looks like a '50 Dodge I had. It had a 4sp crashbox trans with no synchros. You had to learn rev matching and double clutching quickly if you wanted to keep your wrists intact.:sombrero:

 

[Dusty-NZ]

Thanks for your replies, I have just got a 31mm bar from a wrecked Landcruiser , I have made a new chassis mount and new links to suit , road test tomorrow .........

Regcabguy , yep my truck is a '40 Chev , 4spd non-syncro . Works good .

 

[Regcabguy]

Thanks for your replies, I have just got a 31mm bar from a wrecked Landcruiser , I have made a new chassis mount and new links to suit , road test tomorrow .........

Regcabguy , yep my truck is a '40 Chev , 4spd non-syncro . Works good .

Nice pics. I had a '73 Landcruiser for a year. Same body style. Drum brakes and manual steering wore me out especially with 10 x 15 tires.
In 1979 I spent 4 months in NSW and Queensland. My friend's wife had a sheep station out to the west. They had a new Landcruiser with the tray flatbed. Pretty cool. Petrol was $1.69 Imperial gallon then and we thought that was high. Caravan parks,however,were dirt cheap. I spent a whopping 1.5 hrs in Auckland on a layover something I regret to this day. Really pretty country from the air.

 

[incognito]

sway bar are not good off road that's why I 've made quick disconnect for my front sway bar. now my front wheels can move independently and have more traction on potholes. on highway I reconnect the sway bay. look for sway bar quick disconnect from jeeps.
incognito

 

[Dusty-NZ]

So I made the new chassis mount and links , and was dismayed at the small improvement when I rocked the truck by hand, VERY small !

I thought I had wasted my time . However , I needed to go out , so I took the truck.

It seems that the 31mm bar has a little give , then goes really hard , I think with a small length adjustment in the arm , it will be good for my purpose.

On a technical note , the 25mm bar , with its' length and arm length has a strength (tech term LOL) of 283
The 31mm bar , is shorter with longer arms , strength 297 , barely any difference I thought , on paper , interesting in real life though. And there I was thinking I would have to double the numbers to get good effect .

Part of my test drive was down a corrugated shingle road , The difference in stability (including axle tramp control) is significant to the point where I was able to travel nearly twice as fast . Kinda interesting eh.

 

[Retired Tanker]

It seems that the 31mm bar has a little give , then goes really hard , I think with a small length adjustment in the arm , it will be good for my purpose.

As a former autocrosser, I'm a little surprised at a sway bar discussion with no mention of bushing material. If you're still using rubber, that's your "a little give" followed by "really hard."

If you're looking to eliminate that, you've got to go with urethane, or even more extreme, solid metal (lubricated bushings or bearings).

 

[Dusty-NZ]

Thanks for your reply Retired Tanker , I have been looking at that and wondering how much difference urethane would make.

 

[incognito]

I have a 25mm rear sway bar that has helped the truck stability LOTS over no bar .
However , there is still too much movement for my comfort while driving .

My question is how much bigger to go.

Will 3mm increase be significant ? is there a formula I could apply ?

Thoughts and experiences appreciated thanks.

Again sway bar keeps the left and right suspension linked and limit the free movemennt of each side. so off road is far from ideal. IN my reserch I 've found a video on youtube about watts linkage and I was impressed how horizontal the truck stayed. very little or no sway at all. that's why is very popular for racing .also popular with air suspension modified cars for the ability to keep the chassis level. since I have a heavy truck camper I was thinking is a good thing to fabricate for my rear truck suspension. but didn't have time. one day maybe. it's also very popular on racing cars and IMO is a better design than the sway bar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhaJYMAxrtI

watts linkage
incognito

 

[Dusty-NZ]

I've changed the soft rubber bushes for urethane , the difference is small but noticeable , it's getting better .

However ........

I have now noticed an interesting handling effect . The truck is definitely twitchier, that is , more sensitive in a general driving condition , and wants to oversteer a little .

I think I have 2 options here ,
1/ increase the front factory bar a bit .

2/ somewhat more complicated ... change the location of the chassis mount from in front of the diff , to somewhere rear of the diff . Theory being that the chassis will flex different when loaded further aft.

?? eh.

 

[Dusty-NZ]

I decided to change the rear bar mount . It has taken a while to get into this as winter is intruding and I am over laying under the truck in the frost (too old) .

This weekend I have moved the sway bar mounts on my cross member aft by 40mm , then made new links to suit. Effectively shortening the sway bar arms by 50mm.

The difference is noticeable , I think I like it , I have only been for a short run down the road , so proper testing during the week is going to happen , but it is looking promising .

Still have to make proper link joints (firm yet flexible) still grinding the gears in my head

 

[Retired Tanker]

I decided to change the rear bar mount . It has taken a while to get into this as winter is intruding and I am over laying under the truck in the frost (too old) .

This weekend I have moved the sway bar mounts on my cross member aft by 40mm , then made new links to suit. Effectively shortening the sway bar arms by 50mm.

The difference is noticeable , I think I like it , I have only been for a short run down the road , so proper testing during the week is going to happen , but it is looking promising .

Still have to make proper link joints (firm yet flexible) still grinding the gears in my head

Some responses have centered around the off-road aspects of roll / sway bars. Remember that some on the forum are not "rock crawlers" and just want to manage their loads with a little more control.

Here's a good example:

http://www.hellwigproducts.com/products/sway-control/sway-bar-education/