chevelle splined sway bar rates

[Blown353]

Originally Posted by tom_a

Troy, Is your 15/16 front bar OEM or ?

Thanks,

Yep. I raided a friend's giant pile of old factory bars and grabbed a 1", 15/16", and 7/8". My old 1.25" bar was off the front of a 2nd gen T/A and my 1-1/8" bar came with my Global West arms years ago.

[The WidowMaker]

mark, any pics of your setup? my frame is right around 36" and speedway says to add 3" so i came up with 39". now if it was just 3" from the end of the pillow block, things would be slightly different.

I want the arms as close as possible to the frame, as they do get in the way of the tire at full lock.

im with you on this, but i wasnt sure how far below the frame the pillow blocks put the bar. if there is a gap i would assume that the bar ends could move freely. but i really dont want the arms hitting the frame at any point, even on jackstands. if it is necessary for tire clearance, i guess i could make a spacer....... anyone have any first hand knowledge????

The locating collars don't need to be on the outside of the frame, unless your pillow blocks are all the way to the outside. Mine are in the stock location, so my collars go inside the frame.

im really new to the idea of splined bars, so i assume the collars keep the bar from moving laterally. but you also talked about pillow blocks on the outside. is there any way to put the arms inside the blocks. i really need to do this for the rear bar, but i didnt think the pillow blocks would work on the splined portion.

thanks, Tim

[MarkM66]

Originally Posted by The WidowMaker

mark, any pics of your setup? my frame is right around 36" and speedway says to add 3" so i came up with 39". now if it was just 3" from the end of the pillow block, things would be slightly different.



im with you on this, but i wasnt sure how far below the frame the pillow blocks put the bar. if there is a gap i would assume that the bar ends could move freely. but i really dont want the arms hitting the frame at any point, even on jackstands. if it is necessary for tire clearance, i guess i could make a spacer....... anyone have any first hand knowledge????


im really new to the idea of splined bars, so i assume the collars keep the bar from moving laterally. but you also talked about pillow blocks on the outside. is there any way to put the arms inside the blocks. i really need to do this for the rear bar, but i didnt think the pillow blocks would work on the splined portion.

thanks, Tim

I don't have any pics as of now. I got sidetracked on another part of the car. Yeah, this gets hard to explain. I'm new to it too..

I actually ordered the wrong size bar, to short, so I was able to moch up where my pillow blocks and collars will go. 3" longer then the frame is to long IMO. You just need to ad the width of the arms, and whatever you want for clearance between the arm and the frame. Off hand, I believe the arms are about 1/2" thick.

I mounted my pillow blocks near the factory location, to the inside of the frame, which leaves room for the collars to fit under the frame. The pillow blocks mount the bar below the frame enough so the collars dont hit the frame, but they're close, and yes, to prevent lateral movement.

Hope that makes some sense.

[The WidowMaker]

yep, that makes sense, or so i think. if im understanding, you moved the pillow blocks slightly inboard, put a collar to the outside of those but still under the frame, and then put the arms on the outside of the frame, but just barely?

at first i thought you were placing the arms under the frame and i didnt see how that would fit. but if youre leaving about 1/4 - 1/2 on each outboard side for clearance and then putting on the arm, i dont see why i would need 3" for a 39" total either.

im going to give speedway a call and see if they can tell me some more "can" and "cannot" dos.

but until then, anybody know if i can put the pillow blocks on the furthest outboard side of the bar? id run a pillow, collar, arm, arm, collar, pillow and call it good????? the pillows would be on the splined portion, but i dont know if that would matter all that much.

thanks, Tim

[MarkM66]

Originally Posted by The WidowMaker

yep, that makes sense, or so i think. if im understanding, you moved the pillow blocks slightly inboard, put a collar to the outside of those but still under the frame, and then put the arms on the outside of the frame, but just barely?

at first i thought you were placing the arms under the frame and i didnt see how that would fit. but if youre leaving about 1/4 - 1/2 on each outboard side for clearance and then putting on the arm, i dont see why i would need 3" for a 39" total either.

im going to give speedway a call and see if they can tell me some more "can" and "cannot" dos.

but until then, anybody know if i can put the pillow blocks on the furthest outboard side of the bar? id run a pillow, collar, arm, arm, collar, pillow and call it good????? the pillows would be on the splined portion, but i dont know if that would matter all that much.

thanks, Tim

That's right.

My blocks are not on the splined part of the bar.

[The WidowMaker]

playing around with performance trends, it says ill have moderate oversteer with the 500 front and 300 rear. i can either go down on the rear or up on the front with bars, or drop the roll center a bunch more. i really dont want to much bar rate in the front since it will be a driver and there will be pot holes, driveways and the such, but i really dont want to hurt the handling by putting something too small on. the good news is that bars are only $130, so although it sucks, it aint "that" bad to do some testing.

Tim

[The WidowMaker]

just an update..... i installed the rear bar. i got an 1.25" bar thats turned down to 1.00" in the middle. i found out some interesting stuff along the way though.

first is that the 37.5" bar is actually 37.75".

second, the arms can ONLY be mounted in one place. there are two bolts that hold the arms on the bar, and the splines are cut down in only one area to allow the bolts to slide through. i thought that i would be able to position them slightly, but this position leaves about 3/16" to the outside of each arm.

third, with the arm, pillow block and collar all squeezed together as much as possible, the collar is resting on the area that steps down to the 1" portion. i think it will work, but im going to drill a slight hole for the set screw so theres no chance of it moving. im not sure though why there wouldnt be enough room and since the front bar steps up, i dont know how its going to work.

lastly, i dont believe a 37.5" bar will fit on the front. btwn the 3/16" per side, plus the arms, plus clearance to the frame, i think its going to be too tight. maybe a 38, but i think a 38.5 safely.

ill post pics of the rear bar in a few weeks.

Tim