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Lets talk swaybars


3.1cutlass

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Ok so now that my car is lowered the next upgrade is swaybars. To my knowledge the best rear upgrade is the 3.4 bar from the lumina/monte? Is the addco better? What is the best upgrade for the front? Poly bushing part #'s for both front and rear would be great.

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Ok.. here goes.

 

Im using the Gen 1.5 22mm bar. Its super cheap at the junkyard. Bolt in install. No rubbing issus. Bushings, use 22mm ES for the outer (autozone stocks them) and for the inner bracket bushings, get the Moog 21mm from Napa (nobody makes 22mm inners, I dunno why) which should be urathane.

 

As for the front 34mm bar. Once again, Autozone stocks the ES bushings out on the floor by the towing an crap. 34mm inners (33mm is too tight!! They squeeze out, trust me, I bough them 1st!!) and 22mm outers (the same ones you would get for the rear bar)

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As for the front 34mm bar. Once again, Autozone stocks the ES bushings out on the floor by the towing an crap. 34mm inners (33mm is too tight!! They squeeze out, trust me, I bough them 1st!!) and 22mm outers (the same ones you would get for the rear bar)

 

http://www.energysuspension.com/products/Sway-Bar-End-Link-Bushings.html

 

There is 22mm and no 34mm. If the 33mm one is too small, a file should make it work. dont take off too much though. the smaller bushing should also reduce compliance and act like a harder bushing. you should send me the 33mm ones. i'll send the OP my 35mm ones. :lol:

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funny, I was able to install off the counter sway bar bushings on my addco and 34mm front bars without any issues at all, inner and outer. piece of cake. Is the monte bar that much different?

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As for the front 34mm bar. Once again, Autozone stocks the ES bushings out on the floor by the towing an crap. 34mm inners (33mm is too tight!! They squeeze out, trust me, I bough them 1st!!) and 22mm outers (the same ones you would get for the rear bar)

 

http://www.energysuspension.com/products/Sway-Bar-End-Link-Bushings.html

 

There is 22mm and no 34mm. If the 33mm one is too small, a file should make it work. dont take off too much though. the smaller bushing should also reduce compliance and act like a harder bushing. you should send me the 33mm ones. i'll send the OP my 35mm ones. :lol:

 

Huh, they must have quit making them.. I have 34mm bushings! Wonder if I can find the part number, but the 33mm ones squished out like hell

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i got mine like 2 years ago or something. they definitely didnt have them then, and I was going off of adams thread and I think he said they only had 35 when he ordered them.

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i got mine like 2 years ago or something. they definitely didnt have them then, and I was going off of adams thread and I think he said they only had 35 when he ordered them.

 

Weird.... I remember his thread saying they didnt make 34mm but yet I bought a set that said 34mm straight on the package..

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actually i think the ones i got were labeled with their imperial measurement, not the metric (35mm). Maybe you got another manufacturer? I dunno, not like it matters

 

I just searched summit racing and autozone, 34mm is available. I will try to find my old box with the correct part number because ive been asked several times before and a few people saying they dont make 34mm bushinngs

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i believe the 95 3.4 gen 1.5 rear bar requires an altered track width. which is why it works perfectly on your CS, Bob. it is about 1 inch wider that the regular gen 1 bars, and wouild otherwise rub the struts...

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you guys are seriously over-complicating things. just get a 7/8" bushing pair for the rear and whatever 34mm is in inches for the front off the shelf at any chain auto store by energy suspension and call it a day. no need to sit there and try to find a specific metric bushing.

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you guys are seriously over-complicating things. just get a 7/8" bushing pair for the rear and whatever 34mm is in inches for the front off the shelf at any chain auto store by energy suspension and call it a day. no need to sit there and try to find a specific metric bushing.

 

this would be a good time to discuss how sway bar mounting is arguably more important than the size of your sway bar. no need to upgrade a sway bar just to have it move around in the mount. If the mount isnt the proper size or worn, the sawybar will be moving as a whole at first rather than twisting against itself. A sway bar that doesnt move against itself does not work. I think its going to be a way different driving experience when you have a properly mounted sway bar and one that is not. If you dont beleive me, loosen up the bolts to your inner mounts to where there is like 1/8 of play between the saddle and subframe and tell me how it rides. I think this would be a good thing for especially you, considering you definitely push your car harder than anyone else on here.

 

like i said, i think its silly to do an upgrade of a swaybar and fuck up the mounts. I'm not happy with the 35mm ones, so I offered some advice that I would have liked when i was in the same position.

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no need to explain the concepts of sway bars and bushings, as anyone who's upgraded from rubber to poly understands them perfectly well. Once again you're overcomplicating things. Doing a crapload of work when the work has already been one.

 

Do the calculations. what does 22mm and 34mm come out to in inches? You'll find the conversions come stupidly close to off-the-shelf available sizes

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i believe the 95 3.4 gen 1.5 rear bar requires an altered track width. which is why it works perfectly on your CS, Bob. it is about 1 inch wider that the regular gen 1 bars, and wouild otherwise rub the struts...

 

Oh yeah, duh :lol:

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I went ahead and did them for you. The rears convert to .866 inches. the 7/8" available size is .875, which is marginally smaller.

 

The fronts convert to 1.33", in which case a 1.25" bushing will do perfectly well. we're talking about a difference of .08" smaller than the bar. Consider next the fact that they're greasable and your search for a precise 33 or 34mm bushing comes to an end.

 

The off the shelf energy suspension bushings in 1.25" and 7/8" will fit and function perfectly well.

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FWIW

If you order the rear 7/8" sway bar from p-s-t.com it comes with polygraphite bushings (better than normal Poly)

http://www.p-s-t.com/Polygraphite.aspx

 

http://www.p-s-t.com/pc-4032-46-chevrolet-lumina-1989-00.aspx

 

$189 with free shipping

 

Jamie

 

Damn, when did those become available? I paid $220 for my ADDCO bar.

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At least 2 years ago... thats what I used in my suspension upgrade

 

http://www.w-body.com/forum/index.php/topic,61157.0.html

 

- 7/8" G-max rear sway bar w/ poly bushings (arrived today, ordered last week)

CIMG2241.jpg

Jamie

 

Also pictured is the "original performance front end kit" from PST, which when you order that you get a discount on the sway bar. Unfortunately they have yet to make Polygraphite control arm bushings. Everything else in the kit was comparable in quality to the Moog inner tie rods I bought.

 

Jamie

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Polygraphite is no harder than regular poly. It is impregnated with Graphite, which is a natural lubricant.

 

From the website

The Problem: Stock Rubber Bushings “deflect†under load, affecting suspension geometry and handling characteristics.

 

The Solution:

After years of development, PST introduced POLYGRAPHITE®, a graphite-impregnated polyurethane high performance bushing designed for street, strip or track driven cars. Now all cars can have the road handling characteristics of polyurethane bushings with virtually no deflection and the lubricating qualities of graphite.

 

It says "virtually no deflection" but when it comes to the flexibility of the part, Regular poly and Polygraphite feel the same.

 

Jamie

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Polygraphite is no harder than regular poly. It is impregnated with Graphite, which is a natural lubricant.

 

From the website

The Problem: Stock Rubber Bushings “deflect†under load, affecting suspension geometry and handling characteristics.

 

The Solution:

After years of development, PST introduced POLYGRAPHITE®, a graphite-impregnated polyurethane high performance bushing designed for street, strip or track driven cars. Now all cars can have the road handling characteristics of polyurethane bushings with virtually no deflection and the lubricating qualities of graphite.

 

It says "virtually no deflection" but when it comes to the flexibility of the part, Regular poly and Polygraphite feel the same.

 

Jamie

 

Good stuff. I will admit it is annoying having to remember to grease the poly bushings.

 

What do they run cost wise in comparison?

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I dunno, I haven't bought any polygraphite bushings on their own...

 

My dads 71 Nova has ALL polygraphite under it, but he bought the stuff so long ago that he probably doesn't remember what he paid, and if he did prices would of changed by now

 

Jamie

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