Front sway bar

[Gary Wells]

I am only going by what I have read and my personal experiences with the front bar, but I think that you will find that the front bar is plenty big. The rear bar, especially for handling, is way too small. Problem with the rear bar is that there are not a lot of choices if you want to run a standard configuration rear bar. 1" and then 1 3/8", with nothing in between that I know of. Those of you into handling might want to do a search on this section, as we have had several good threads going on recently. "How to make a G Body handle" is one of them. Lots of good info on Pro-Touring.com, & lots of interesting ideas & parts on Savitske Classic & Custom. HTH

http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/brakes-suspensions-tires-wheels/268785-how-make-gbody-handle.html

 

[d0n_3d]

I have to admit I have all the rear suspension upgrades including HR lowers, coil spring air bags, ATR rear bar, Moser 28 spline axles, stock uppers. My car handles fine on the street and I like the extra weight gone. My car has always launched straight as an arrow at the track too and hooks up very quickly if it does get squirley. I've since also upgraded the front suspension such as TRZ upper and lowers, Comp Eng adj shocks, 11" Baer brake kit, and 16" GTA wheels.

 

[T-CHRGD]

I am only going by what I have read and my personal experiences with the front bar, but I think that you will find that the front bar is plenty big. The rear bar, especially for handling, is way too small. Problem with the rear bar is that there are not a lot of choices if you want to run a standard configuration rear bar. 1" and then 1 3/8", with nothing in between that I know of. Those of you into handling might want to do a search on this section, as we have had several good threads going on recently. "How to make a G Body handle" is one of them. Lots of good info on Pro-Touring.com, & lots of interesting ideas & parts on Savitske Classic & Custom. HTH

http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/brakes-suspensions-tires-wheels/268785-how-make-gbody-handle.html

For what it's worth, not Everyone agrees. I always "knew" From MY Experience that for Handling, the Heavier Front bar the better, and the Rear
bar mattered less. I ran a 1 3/8" front with a stock rear bar and thought it was perfectly balanced and smooth. I always remembered the magazine article on making a G-body (Cutlass) pull 1-G. They ran a 1 1/2" front bar with a 5/8" rear bar. That always stuck with me. I always thought heavier front for handling, and heavier rear for drags.

That being said, with all the new Adjustable parts (front And rear arms) and add-ons like a Watts Link (SC&C) things are now completely different.You can now completely change the stock Geometry. For Handling, Balance is the main goal. But I will still have a heavier bar on the front. Spohn 1 5/16" front with their 7/8" adjustable pro-touring rear bar (Mark PROMISES I will have it in a week) and a watts link. :biggrin:

 

[Gary Wells]

T-CHRGD:
You have reached a level of after-market suspension components that most people don't reach. My set-up is similar, but lacking the Watts. For most or almost all G Bodies, especially the turbo bricks, the front bar, imho, is almost too big but not worth changing, until a level of handling / suspension capabilities is reached similar to ours. The factory rear bar, nearest equivalent of 7/8" dia, I believe, just plain sucks, and I have found this out from personal experience from having the bad luck of buying a ATR replica 1 3/8" dia rear bar that the mounting holes were slight off, pushing up the rear of the car on the driver's side, and lowering the car down slightly on the shotgun side. The handling was noticeably improved from the factory rear bar with no other changes made. I spent a year on and off chasing the culprit that was leaning the car. One day at the suspension shop the mech unbolted the rear sway bar on the driver's side and there was a loud pop. The car shot up to being level all of the way around. I had the mech install a 1" Global West rear bar in it's place, and the handling is no where the same. just plain sucks, I'm back to the rear sway bar allowing the car to not stay level in even moderate cornering. I have a brand new replacement 1 3/8" dia ATR replica rear sway tucked away, just haven't had a chance to go by the suspension shop. With all of the suspension & handling improvements that you have made to your car, I would bet that you could never notice the difference between a 1/8" change in dia on the front sway bar either way until you skid padded the car. No dis to you or your car intended. Spohn has not had that bar out for very long, either, as I remember that I was going to go with Spohn both front & rear a few years back, but they pulled their sway bars back and did not release them for at least several more years. HTH

 

[T-CHRGD]

T-CHRGD:
You have reached a level of after-market suspension components that most people don't reach.

Yes it may be true Now, as I have been re-working my suspension completely over the last year.
But before that, for over 20 years, all I had was a Suspension Techniques kit (lowering springs, 1 3/8" front bar, and 1" rear bar) and Bilstein shocks. When I broke the rear bar autocrossing (years ago), I put the stock bar back on, and the car felt Much better (to Me), smoother in and out of corners, more balanced. I still have the replacement Susp. Tech. bar new in the box.

As Always, different people have different experiences, and different preferences. That is what makes working on our cars so much FUN (And sometimes Frustrating too) :biggrin:

 

[mousemobile]

Bushing too tall?

The Moog K5248 bushings were$12.48 at the local parts store, tax included...
But, after getting them home, they do seem too tall, and the bar diameter seems too big.
Any ideas?

I bought 36mm swaybar bushings from Kirban. They are also too tall. It says so in the instructions. Kirban says to cut off a little until they fit.

I had the same problem with my '96 ImpalaSS. I tried installing a 32mm swaybar and the bushings were too tall. I gave up.

It must a 32mm bushing thing.

 

[gnX405]

I thought the bushings I had were too tall too, , , but

I had a hard time finding what I thought were the right bushings. It seemed all that I tried looked too tall in the bracket. That was until I located my original bushing and compared it to what I could buy at the local parts store.
The attached photo shows the original bushing and bracket on the right and a new bushing part number HB1590 which can be purchased from AdvanceAuto or NAPA under that same number. This is for a 1-1/4" stock bar.

Just looking at the bracket and bushing together, the bushing appears to be too tall, however when installed and torqued to the proper torque of 24 ft-lbs, the bushing deforms as shown in the attached photo. For some reason, the factory service manual states that the split in the bushing should be toward the front of the car. There was no mention of lubricating the bushing, in fact the MOOG paper that comes with the bushing suggest that lubricant should not be added.

MOOG also makes a bushing that fits our cars with 1-1/4" bars which can be purchased through AdvancedAuto. Be advised that the MOOG is made of a blue material, and also the MOOG p/n referenced in an earlier post is for a 1-3/16" bar and not a stock 1-1/4".

Hope this help someone out there avoid the confusion that I had.

-john

 

[gnX405]

Quote from 03FatBoy:

The Moog K5248 bushings were$12.48 at the local parts store, tax included...
But, after getting them home, they do seem too tall, and the bar diameter seems too big.
Any ideas?

The Moog K5248 is for an 1-3/16" bar. A stock bar is 1-1/4". The Moog K6455 is the right p/n for the 1-1/4" bar.

-john