? about removing front swaybar

[JST A 6]

Just curious about how these cars ride with the front swaybar removed? A friend of mine gave me a Mark Jackson 17-row stretched intercooler to use until I get my own aftermarket intercooler, but it requires the removal of the swaybar. My car needs new shocks (and possibly springs) anyway, but I was wondering if it would bounce much worse with the swaybar off? Thanks in advance...

 

[UNGN]

on the highway, the ride is much better and quieter with the front sway bar removed.

Your intercooler scoop will actually scrape less and in a straight line it will bounce less with the bar removed.


going around corners feels like you are driving a motorboat, however. A large rear swaybar will help handing, but it will still handle like a motor boat (maybe a speed boat)

 

[GNBRETT]

on the highway, the ride is much better and quieter with the front sway bar removed.

Your intercooler scoop will actually scrape less and in a straight line it will bounce less with the bar removed.


going around corners feels like you are driving a motorboat, however. A large rear swaybar will help handing, but it will still handle like a motor boat (maybe a speed boat)

Well that sounds like a loose loose situation. The removal definately makes the turning sloppy. I trying to put a spohn front SB on to make the ride tighter. I'm thinking that a stock sway bar might be better tho.

 

[Boost231]

if u have a HR parts rear bar you wont notice a difference with the front bar off.

 

[turbo6mike]

I ran that intercooler for years without front swaybar.It will loosen up the front end but if you get atr bar I heard you cant even tell you took it off.

 

[ttypewhite]

It is a noticeable difference when you remove the swaybar. i took mine off in the mid 90's and ran the big ATR bar. Driving in a straight line is no problem. As soon as you get into ruts, lane changing or cornering its a bag of sh it. Car feels loose/sloppy. I had both a ATR bar on the back without a front sway bar and then went to a Wolfe bar. Both rode like crap in the city. I now have a 36mm F-Body front swaybar on the car and it drives and handles amazing. I will not take this off again as long as I own the car. IMO, leave the swaybar on and wait for your intercooler to come in. Loosing 20-25 pounds off the front of the car is not worth the scarifice of drivibility.

 

[jdpolzin]

I personally will never run my car without a front bar but I suppose it's a personal preference. I dont like the loose feel.

 

[UNGN]

If you "don't know its not there" when removed, no matter what rear swaybar you have, you must be used to driving "buicks" and not performance cars.

With the front bar removed, when you take a corner hard, the inside front tire lifts way up.

The rear swaybar helps to turn the car so it doesn't plow off the road, but it doesn't do much to lower the inside front tire lift.

When driving a car around town with a low intercooler scoop, I much preferred no front swaybar, even though it handled like crap.

Over bumpy roads, the front tires acted independently and a big hit on one side wouldn't lower the car.

With the bar connected, hitting a bump with one side, lowered the other side, causing the scoop to rub more.

 

[salvageV6]

I have the ATR rear bar on salvageV6, took the front end links off for a week once, for a track rental to see if it would help my 60 fts.

It totally sucked for daily driving not to mention the 2 hour drive back and forth to the track. I put it back to normal as quick as I could.

Then again I'd had the bar on for 18 years at the time.

I would never do it again.

Just my .02 in case you intend to street drive a lot.

 

[JST A 6]

Well, FWIW I took the bar off yesterday and took the car for a drive for the first time since then today, and I don't mind it too much. I take corners pretty easy since I put the Welds on the car with skinny tires up front anyway. As a matter of fact, I got rid of some horrendous creaking noises by losing the bar and the car does seem a little less bouncy over the bumps on the horrible side streets in my town. Maybe it's just a difference of opinion between drivers, or maybe different cars respond to removing the front swaybar different ways. My bushings were all shot anyway, plus whoever had the bar off before had cobbled it back in with a crazy assortment of hardware--it seemed that no 2 bolts were the same. I think I'm going to go ahead with putting the Mark Jackson intercooler in, and when I get my own SLIC someday if I decide I miss having the swaybar on the car I'll put it back in with new urethane bushings and new matched hardware.

 

[CS99]

If you take the front sway bar off you need to get an HR rear sway bar.

 

[buttonfly]

I run around with mine off, and big and skinnies. Once you get use to it you hardly notice its gone. I will admit I do like the analogy of it driving like a boat, because it really does! I would like to get another set of wheels something 17x8 ish up front and 17x9 ish in the rear. Convert to disc all the way around and see what it drives like. Good luck to you. I have the atr bar in the back and it really is not bad at all.

 

[nightrain]

I have the ATR rear bar on salvageV6, took the front end links off for a week once, for a track rental to see if it would help my 60 fts.

It totally sucked for daily driving not to mention the 2 hour drive back and forth to the track. I put it back to normal as quick as I could.

Then again I'd had the bar on for 18 years at the time.

I would never do it again.

Just my .02 in case you intend to street drive a lot.

So, did it help your 60's?

 

[turbo nasty]

I have the HR bar and removed the front and it was too floaty for me and handled like crap.
I put it back on but didnt tighten teh end links so much

 

[KILL4PEACEUSMC]

More boost will help your 60ft times

 

[TKGN1]

if u have a HR parts rear bar you wont notice a difference with the front bar off.

If you take the front sway bar off you need to get an HR rear sway bar.

I'm another with HR bar and no front. Drive mainly on the street and really did not notice a difference when I removed the front bar. I did pull the front bar off when I had the stock rear bar on and it was pretty bad on the street.

 

[nightrain]

I'm another with HR bar and no front. Drive mainly on the street and really did not notice a difference when I removed the front bar. I did pull the front bar off when I had the stock rear bar on and it was pretty bad on the street.

So did anybody on this thread do a comparison with bar on and bar off, or at least links disconnected? I used to pull my links as part of track setup, but now have the HR bar. I have some very twisty roads by me and was surprised how well it handled (for a brick) w/o the front bar connected. With the bar connected, it's flat as a pancake on the turns, but I'd like to know if I'm leaving anything on the table by leaving the front bar on while using an HR rear bar. I don't get to the track often enough these days to evaluate to that degree. In other words, I only get 4-5 passes maybe 2x a summer and don't have a chance to just try bar connected/bar disconnected to see if it works.

 

[TKGN1]

So did anybody on this thread do a comparison with bar on and bar off, or at least links disconnected? I used to pull my links as part of track setup, but now have the HR bar. I have some very twisty roads by me and was surprised how well it handled (for a brick) w/o the front bar connected. With the bar connected, it's flat as a pancake on the turns, but I'd like to know if I'm leaving anything on the table by leaving the front bar on while using an HR rear bar. I don't get to the track often enough these days to evaluate to that degree. In other words, I only get 4-5 passes maybe 2x a summer and don't have a chance to just try bar connected/bar disconnected to see if it works.

I'm in the same boat, haven't hit the track often enough to do a comparison. I will be going in two weekends and will find out how the car 60 fts compared to what it was at with the front bar on. Got a 1.66 with front bar on last time out.

 

[V6POWER]

I can get easy upper 1.5s-low 1.6s with my front bar on.

 

[8UWITH6]

HR bar and no front bar here on the GN w/ 17s and 18s. HR bar seems to keep the car pretty level/stiff/straight. Its a little bouncy up front on the highway w/ the 90/10's when hitting dips but, its tolerable. Is this car a daily?