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I was wrong about sway bars adding to unspung weight Posted by sam96CS [Email] (#852) [Profile/Gallery] (more from sam96CS) on Mon, 22 Dec 2008 20:07:49 In Reply to: Roll stiffness, Noel, Mon, 22 Dec 2008 15:09:06 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
I hate it when I get my facts wrong. Sure enough, the bar at the rear is supported by hangers attached to the unibody, which is supported by the springs. That makes it sprung weight. The front bar is supproted by the subframe, which is supported by the springs. That makes it sprung weight also. Apologies to any readers I led astray.
Perhaps it was I who was "less articulate(d)" than I should have been. What I attempted to say was that a sway bar doesn't identify the source of energy that is applied to it. Was the force caused by a bump in the road or by the car body's motion in a fast corner? The sway bar doesn't know.
The sway bar's helpful action in the event of body roll is not helpful in the event of a bump. With too much sway bar, when one wheel hits a bump the sway bar transfers some of that energy to suspension parts on the opposite side of the car. The result is that suspension parts on opposite sides of the car are less able to handle bumps independently of each other. The full range of suspension travel (articulation) is resisted by the sway bar.
The sweet spot is a sway bar setup that reduces body roll without compromising excessively the independence of the suspension members as they cope with bumps. I hope this makes more sense, and I realize that the range of suspension travel is of greater interest to offroaders than it is to drivers on paved roads.
Having read many positive first hand reports about SAS bars, I think the the SAS bars are closer to the sweet spot than the stock sway bars. And that appears to be case whether the road is smooth or bumpy or slippery or sticky or some combination of the above.
posted by 71.75.23...
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