Spohn sway bars

[HottestZ28]

Will swaybars in general (but i am looking at SPOHN 32mm f and 25mm r bar)
slow my car down?

[Z Ya Later]

No. In fact, a bigger sway bar in the rear will help with traction (torque distribution). I'm seriously looking at them as well, so let me know what you think if you get them. Btw, love the hood

[wolfdogs]

Steve is the ticket guys..known him a long time... he fiixed up my CompTA bad @$$. and Fred will tell you even more...............

[Injuneer]

Spohn offers two different types of sway bars.

The first is the type that is intended to improve cornering capabilities by reducing body roll. That is what HottestZ28 is looking at. They will not "slow the car down" except for the fact that they add a little weight. The only possible negative affect would be on a drag car launch, where a stiffer front sway bar will limit weight transfer, as the torque reaction to the forces on the rear axle try to lift the left front fender. The sway bar links the front and left sides and prevents the left side from lifting, and that keeps the weight from transferring to the rear wheels. Many 1/4-mile racers disconnect the front sway bar end link, or remove it completely for racing.

The second type is the "rear drag sway bar". This is a massive (1-5/16"/33.3mm solid chrome moly) bar that is intended to control the same torque reaction forces that try and lift the left front fender on launch. A little lift on the front is good, but in a really high HP setup, the left front will lift excessively, the body will start to roll and you will get major distortion of the chassis and power loss, and the car will not want to launch straight, reacting to the uneven loading between the left and right side tires. There's some pictures floating around of cars that launch this way, and they are downright scary. This is one from the "carputing" (LT1_Edit) website:



The way to solve this is the massive rear sway bar that eliminates the possibility of body roll originating at the rear of the car. The bar is actually "preloaded" by setting one side of the car slightly higher than the other, until the car launches perfectly straight under full power. A bar like that is generally used on a car with no front sway bar at all, so it is not going to do much for handling in terms of cornering power. I believe that a car with a front bar only will tend to understeer. As you add a rear bar, and then increase its size, the car willl understeer less, until eventually it reaches oversteer. I think this is what you would see running one of these bars on the street. I have one, but my car only goes in a straight line. I have no idea what would happen if I tired to take a corner fast, and I don't even want to try and find out with 4.5" wide tires on the front.



Another way to control rear body roll is an airbag in the right rear spring. In the picture above, taken when the sway bar was being installed, the airbag is still in the spring. It was removed after this picture was taken.