Ye smarter than me - sway bar too short?

[SnikPlosskin]

Gents,

The shop that did the alignment said that my rear anti sway bar is "not wide enough" and it's creating a binding condition with the rear suspension.

The bar is from Vette Brakes and Products purchased decades ago.

As you can see, there is a slight angle (same on both sides) that appears to be pulling the trailing arms inward. Apparently it should be straight up and down in relation to the trailing arm.

Red line is the angle. Green is how it should be.

It's always been this way. I don't notice any weirdness in the suspension.

Has anyone ever heard of an anti sway bar that is not wide enough?

[Big bob]

Upside down?

[LATB]

Originally Posted by Big bob

Upside down?

YouTube (Short URL)

[mrvette]

Axel is a tad long for the install, making the sway bar very close to the rim.....closer than mine was.....what size rims you have on the car??

as for the angles shown....meaningless......

[markids77]

Originally Posted by SnikPlosskin

Gents,

The shop that did the alignment said that my rear anti sway bar is "not wide enough" and it's creating a binding condition with the rear suspension.

The bar is from Vette Brakes and Products purchased decades ago.

As you can see, there is a slight angle (same on both sides) that appears to be pulling the trailing arms inward. Apparently it should be straight up and down in relation to the trailing arm.

Red line is the angle. Green is how it should be.

It's always been this way. I don't notice any weirdness in the suspension.

Has anyone ever heard of an anti sway bar that is not wide enough?

I might be high, but think of this....as the suspension compresses in a corner, the angle of the control arm in relation to the sway bar will change as the spring compresses, and I see that the red and green lines will intersect at a point where suspension load is quite high... meaning the bar works best just when you might need it most.

[SnikPlosskin]

Originally Posted by Big bob

Upside down?

I'm not sure! My first thought was "it won't fit upside down" but that's the front. I didn't remove the rear during the suspension rebuild. I'll get under there this weekend and see if there is any difference if I flip it over.

Thanks. Hockey Puck.

[SnikPlosskin]

Originally Posted by markids77

I might be high, but think of this....as the suspension compresses in a corner, the angle of the control arm in relation to the sway bar will change as the spring compresses, and I see that the red and green lines will intersect at a point where suspension load is quite high... meaning the bar works best just when you might need it most.

How would I check for binding? I think you are saying that it shouldn't bind - that as the suspension travels upward, it straightens out.

[MadInNc]

If not rubbing or making noise…… Drive it like ya stole it. It’s a ‘64, probably never came out of St. Louis square to begin with.

That’s the beauty of these C2’s. Not enough time to tell about f ups in my 65 from St. Louis

[markids77]

Originally Posted by SnikPlosskin

How would I check for binding? I think you are saying that it shouldn't bind - that as the suspension travels upward, it straightens out.

Yes I say it works better the harder you drive, but if you feel no deleterious effect who cares? You are happy with the car as is so why stress about this when you still have real (wiper) issues to address?

[TheHammer]

Who cares, just be happy you didn't build a new deck.

[SnikPlosskin]

Originally Posted by markids77

Yes I say it works better the harder you drive, but if you feel no deleterious effect who cares? You are happy with the car as is so why stress about this when you still have real (wiper) issues to address?

I know, right?

The guy that told me clearly knows his shit. The shop was spotless, full of insanely nice cars, Corvettes, a chopped Lead Sled with turbo diesel running about 1000hp with copper plated chrome, I’m going to bet he is right.

I asked “what would I feel if it was binding?” He said that it would feel like it’s slipping when cornering and ride harshly. It does ride harshly but that’s how it’s set up (Stiff springs, adjustable shocks set to half, anti sway front and back, etc.)

It could auto cross if I wanted to. I would do it differently if I redesigned it.

I need to check my bolt in crossmember for looseness. The car tracks well and handles really well but feels like it’s lacking stiffness in the frame. It’s a convertible so some of that is inevitable but I need to go over the fasteners again.

I may need to do some thread repair on the crossmember. Which BTW, is awesome. It’s so easy to drop the transmission with the bolt in crossmember.

[ZipZap]

Why do you have a fire extinguisher under there?

[Yadkin]

Originally Posted by SnikPlosskin

The guy that told me clearly knows his shit. The shop was spotless, full of insanely nice cars, Corvettes, a chopped Lead Sled with turbo diesel running about 1000hp with copper plated chrome, I’m going to bet he is right.

I asked “what would I feel if it was binding?” He said that it would feel like it’s slipping when cornering and ride harshly. It does ride harshly but that’s how it’s set up (Stiff springs, adjustable shocks set to half, anti sway front and back, etc.)

I would measure the width difference then cold bend it. It doesn't look too far off for that.

[ptindall]

Is the picture taken with the car sitting on the ground?

[ptindall]

Originally Posted by markids77

I might be high, but think of this....as the suspension compresses in a corner, the angle of the control arm in relation to the sway bar will change as the spring compresses, and I see that the red and green lines will intersect at a point where suspension load is quite high... meaning the bar works best just when you might need it most.

You've got it backwards. As the spring compresses, the control arm will become more parallel with the ground, meaning it will push the spindle outboard, thereby making the end link angle worse than is shown in the picture. I think the alignment guy has a point although I would expect to see significant bushing wear pretty quickly if it was bad enough to cause binding.

[GTOguy]

I would leave it alone and drive as is. I would not attempt to 'cold bend' the bar.

[Kevin68]

It almost looks like you have positive camber. More negative might rotate the control arm so they line up....and would get that spring further from the tire.

If the car is not on the ground, take a picture with it on the ground. As Paul said, it'll exaggerate the misalignment when the spring compresses. And while you're at it, take a picture of the right side.

When it is on the ground, what does the ride height look like?

[Don Rickles]

What year, and stock driveline is this car?

[GTOguy]

Originally Posted by mrvette

Axel is a tad long for the install, making the sway bar very close to the rim.....closer than mine was.....what size rims you have on the car??

as for the angles shown....meaningless......

*Axel is a German guy or a portly, balding front-man to a hair metal band from the 90's.

*Axle is what we are looking at here in the above pics.

[GTOguy]

Originally Posted by Don Rickles

What year, and stock driveline is this car?

Never mind. Go back and check on Zeek. I think he needs to be turned over and basted.