Wow, I didn't realize it was that thin. Chalk that one off the list. Well, it was off my list anyway because of price.

While we're on this discussion, do you know the wall thickness of the 1LE 32mm bar? I'd rather not saw mine apart to find out.

 

IIRC, wall thickness for the 1LE is roughly 4.5mm or .177".

 

I noticed that smebody mentioned the G2 swaybars (32.5/21.5).

How do those stack up compared to the ST 35 and the 1LE bars?

What makes them any different than the 1LE bars?

 

That'd be me!

The front 32.5mm bar is hollow. Not really any better than the 1LE bar. I still use the 21.5mm (solid) bar on my car. I do like that one.

The ST 35mm is going to be the stiffest you're going to find right now and what I use with the LG Motorsports 21.5mm rear bar.

 

Okay, my turn to opinionate. Sorry for being so late. I haven't been here in a while.

I encounter slaloms all the time on the street. There usually aren't any cones set up on the interstate (Not ones I would slalom through anyway). But there always seems to be something laying in the road to avoid. This involves a quick steer to one side, a corrective and usuually immediate steer back to the opposite direction (to avoid hitting other cars or running off the road) and a 3rd steering action in the same direction as the first to point the car in the originally desired direction to continue down the road.

That's a slalom. If you have have a ton of body roll the car will feel like it all over the place even if it actually isn't. It also takes time for all that weight to transfer left and right. Stiffer springs might help there too, but a big fat sway bar is the cheapest, most simple, easiest and quickest way to "fix" the problem on a street car. Even if the post originator puts on a set of aftermarket springs and shocks, the bar will still be effective and not overkill for daily commutes. Can you achieve better results from swapping between 5 different sets of springs, 4 different sway bars and an infinitely adjustable choice of shock valving? Of course. But I doubt the guy wants to do this more than once.

I say to just swap the bar and see if it makes you happy. You might not even want to do the springs and shocks after that. It does make a huge difference on an otherwise stock car.

 

I figured someone would come up with that example earlier. Anyway, a car with Prokits and decent shocks does not still have "a ton of body roll". I'm glad to hear your opinion, but I'll have to disagree.

 

We're gonna convince you SOMEHOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Hey guys, I can sense a tag team building. It's no big deal really. I understand a lot of your points, but I just want to emphasize that each person out there wants their car to feel just a little differently to suit their style. Too many times people just say a 35mm bar is the way to go without really making sure the guy who's asking the questions understands the other options. After a thread this long I think anyone who has actually read it all understands his or her options and can make a good decision based on it.

That's what counts, right?

 

We're all having fun aren't we???

I think what you're hearing is a general consesus among F-Body owners that reinforces what we've been saying all along. I think that most of us feel that the 35mm bar is one of the first and most important changes you can make to a F-Body suspension. Is it right for everyone, maybe not. But most of us that have made the change agree that the benefits far outweigh any of the negative aspects (weight, ride etc).

These discussions are good though. It does help everyone better understand all of the issues and opinions regarding the science and the art of good handling. And that's what this forum is for!

 

And the fact that we have kept a thread going for 5 pages without resorting to name calling and bickering deserves note as well. That doesn't happen very often on the internet don't ya know. Even though 94bird is absolutely wrong and is too much of a stubborn mule to figure it out. Just kidding. I couldn't resist. Everybody has a little different setup on their cars. A lot of times we see people who blindly stand behind their own setup no matter how bad it is. That wasn't directed at you BTW 94'. It's all in good fun I hope.

 

i deal with this all the time at work. people call wanting to know what they can do for exhaust/intakes on their vettes. we tell them corsa exhaust and blackwing intake. why? because nine out of ten people like our suggestions. a lot of these people dont know a whole lot about their cars. so we point them in a good median direction that will most likely give them what they want.

same thing here only its suspension parts. a lot of the people that ask may not be interested in getting the most out of their cars. they just want a little more so the 32mm 1LE bar will prolly suit a lot of people. but then you get the person that wants even more and they may autox for fun like me. well then the 35mm will most likely suit them fine. most people will not want to deal with coil overs or calculating spring rates. so you point them in a good median direction and they will more than likely be happy with the results.

i dont think pointing them in the 32 or 35 mm bar direction is bad idea. neither set up should make the car unpredictable or unstable. however i think playing with the rear bar can be a little tricky and should be promoted with caution. over steer is not fun if your not expecting it. Trey

 

Ah, but I hope you at least talk to the owner for a few minutes to better judge what they want before you recommend those parts. If you don't, you might be surprised by what you would hear through the phone. I used to work on the Comp Cams tech line during college and learned a lot in those years. I still carry those lessons with me today and sometimes because of that debates like this tend to follow me around.

When I hear too many people following one path it absolutely makes me want to try another approach. Especially when the logic behind that path seems to be too widely distributed to other applications that aren't similar to the person's who is vowing it's the best. Besides, if I didn't choose another path than some of you other F body owners out there how am I going to be faster than you? I certainly can't just rely on my driving.

 

Jon, do you know the wall thickness on the hotchkis front sway bar? I'd love to get a hollow bar to replace my ST35. Maybe we could get them to do a gp for the front bar only.

 

If you get one it will not be nearly as stiff as the 35 solid.... just keep that in mind. Personally, I don't think that saving 17 lbs (unless you're Mike) is worth the trade-off.

 

Steve, please see exchange between Jon and myself to contradict your statement. It depends on the wall thickness of the swaybar. If the swaybar is properly designed torsional stiffness can be very minorly affected and you can still get some good mass savings.