Sway bars front and rear thicknes questions - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

chewychevy67 · 11-25-2016, 02:01 AM

I am building a stock height and leaf spring suspension 67 swb c10. It has a stock 7/8" front sway bar. I am contemplating a rear sway bar purchase.the rear bar is 1 1/16". Should the rear sway bar be thicker? Also will this really help the ride of my truck?

LongBox · 11-25-2016, 02:20 AM

The rear sway bar wil tend to increase oversteer. This means that the rear end of the truck will tend to break away on corners sooner than if it did not have the sway bar. In general, front sway bars are usually thicker than those at the rear, but there are many variables in suspension design, so, as they say, your results may vary.

I am going only by memory, but it seems that the front bar on my 69 is bigger than 7/8ths, but I could be wrong there. My ruck is a coil rear, so that could be a factor as well.

But, the main question here is what are you trying to achieve here? You mention the ride, but the sway bar will have only a minimal effect on the ride of the truck. It will tend to keep the truck from leaning over in hard turns, which could make the ride more comfortable. It does this by tending to lift the inside rear wheel up, which is why the rear will tend to break away on hard turns.

chewychevy67 · 11-25-2016, 02:25 AM

Ok. I won't be towing anything bigger than a boat and I'm not looking to make a racer out of it. I am just asking what a rear bar is meant to improve. 67 had a smaller front bar than 68 up. I am building a cruiser. Not sure if it will benifit me at all but I like optional stuff like this around my shop just incase I need it someday.

coreyjhen · 11-25-2016, 11:23 AM

A rear sway bar is meant to reduce understeer (what the NASCAR folks call "pushing") in corners by tying together the individual sides of the rear suspension. Generally, the rear bar should be slightly smaller than the front bar, typically by 1/8-1/4". Too large a rear sway bar will stiffen up the rear too much and result in a case of terminal oversteer, where you end up going backwards into the woods on a fast corner.

Eastonspeedworks · 11-26-2016, 02:03 AM

The sway bar won't offer any ride quality advantages. In fact it will add harshness to bumps that only one side hits it also won't add any towing capacity so unless you're tuning for the track that money could buy you something else for the truck

11-25-2016, 02:01 AM	#1
chewychevy67 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Here Posts: 5,413	Sway bars front and rear thicknes questions I am building a stock height and leaf spring suspension 67 swb c10. It has a stock 7/8" front sway bar. I am contemplating a rear sway bar purchase.the rear bar is 1 1/16". Should the rear sway bar be thicker? Also will this really help the ride of my truck?

11-25-2016, 02:20 AM	#2
LongBox Registered User Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: Vancouver BC Posts: 784	Re: Sway bars front and rear thicknes questions The rear sway bar wil tend to increase oversteer. This means that the rear end of the truck will tend to break away on corners sooner than if it did not have the sway bar. In general, front sway bars are usually thicker than those at the rear, but there are many variables in suspension design, so, as they say, your results may vary. I am going only by memory, but it seems that the front bar on my 69 is bigger than 7/8ths, but I could be wrong there. My ruck is a coil rear, so that could be a factor as well. But, the main question here is what are you trying to achieve here? You mention the ride, but the sway bar will have only a minimal effect on the ride of the truck. It will tend to keep the truck from leaning over in hard turns, which could make the ride more comfortable. It does this by tending to lift the inside rear wheel up, which is why the rear will tend to break away on hard turns. __________________ Rick -69 GMC 910 Long Box, 350 -98 Chev Silverado 1500, 350 Vortec 4L60e -08 Mustang GT Convertible

11-25-2016, 02:25 AM	#3
chewychevy67 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Here Posts: 5,413	Re: Sway bars front and rear thicknes questions Ok. I won't be towing anything bigger than a boat and I'm not looking to make a racer out of it. I am just asking what a rear bar is meant to improve. 67 had a smaller front bar than 68 up. I am building a cruiser. Not sure if it will benifit me at all but I like optional stuff like this around my shop just incase I need it someday.

11-25-2016, 11:23 AM	#4
coreyjhen Registered User Join Date: Nov 2016 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 110	Re: Sway bars front and rear thicknes questions A rear sway bar is meant to reduce understeer (what the NASCAR folks call "pushing") in corners by tying together the individual sides of the rear suspension. Generally, the rear bar should be slightly smaller than the front bar, typically by 1/8-1/4". Too large a rear sway bar will stiffen up the rear too much and result in a case of terminal oversteer, where you end up going backwards into the woods on a fast corner.

11-26-2016, 02:03 AM	#5
Eastonspeedworks Registered User Join Date: Nov 2016 Location: Evanston Posts: 192	Re: Sway bars front and rear thicknes questions The sway bar won't offer any ride quality advantages. In fact it will add harshness to bumps that only one side hits it also won't add any towing capacity so unless you're tuning for the track that money could buy you something else for the truck



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