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View Full Version : Addco sway bars, tubular vs solid, handling balance



lifespeed
11-02-2012, 10:33 AM
I am in the parts gathering phase of a suspension rebuild/upgrade. One question that comes to mind is Addco sway bars: tubular vs solid. One esteemed member of this forum suggests the solid bars would be more appropriate for our heavy cars.

Has anybody tried these bars? I suppose it is pretty unlikely any of us has used both, for a direct comparison.

It would seem the engineers at Addco would design tubular bars with the appropriate stiffness for our application. But sometimes actual experience is the best indicator of what works well. It was always my understanding that tubular bars were preferred because they not only are lighter, but provide a more-responsive spring action than twisting a solid steel bar.

I would be very interested to hear others sway bar experiences, including front/rear balance, neutral vs under/oversteer accomplished by pairings of different front and rear size combinations (not sure we have any options for diameter?)

MOTOWN
11-02-2012, 03:19 PM
I have the solid bars front and rear, transformed the way the car handled! i wouldnt consider tubular sway bar for this tug boat!

Do your self a favor and get whats proven to work and hold up on these cars, you wont regret it.

lifespeed
11-02-2012, 03:34 PM
Do your self a favor and get whats proven to work and hold up on these cars, you wont regret it.

While I agree with that thought, do we have any examples of the tubular bars snapping? According to Addco, they are the same spring rate but 5 lbs lighter per bar. They seemed to think the only differences were weight and price, not performance. But they probably don't have any Marauders in the company fleet. ;)

While not a huge difference, a few pounds here and there combined with trunking the battery can add up.

gdsqdcr
11-02-2012, 03:54 PM
I have addco solid front and rear, solid rear control arms and my front sprigs have been cut by 1 coil. The car is fairly neutral in turns and is still a comfortable ride on the bay area roads.

lifespeed
11-02-2012, 03:58 PM
on the bay area roads.

Thanks for the info. Are you going to Alice's in Woodside with the rest of the Nor-Cal Marauders next Saturday (http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=82405)?

gdsqdcr
11-02-2012, 05:37 PM
Thanks for the info. Are you going to Alice's in Woodside with the rest of the Nor-Cal Marauders next Saturday (http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=82405)?

I'll be there!