Anybody street driving aftermarket Daytona swaybars?

[desertsnake1991]

I need some "I bought it, I love it" testemonials...I have some money coming in, and want to flatten out the body roll in the rear-critical at 140+mph sustained speeds. Johnny Spiva (Poly bushings guru) lists what looks like a VERY substantial, and well thought out sway bar kits for our Daytonas...if anyone is running them, and can get with me and tell me what they think about it, I would appreciate it! (Johnny, you writing me doesnt count!!hahah!!)I am doing all bushings on all three cars, so may as well knock it all out at one time.

write me direct please: desertsnake1991@yahoo.com

[B.A.P.]

Have you thought about boxing the rear twist axle? Easy to do, just take a strip of steel and place it across the bottom of the u-channel of the axle. Can try it out by clamping it in place by a few big u-bolts or muffler clamps. If you like it and want a little more roll stiffness, you can stitch weld it in place.

I have never done this, but have seen cars with this done and heard that it works good.

[desertsnake1991]

Ya know...even when I was selling Chryslers and Dodges for a living "way back when" when these cars were new...this was always an area where I had to bite me tongue, and soldier on...the rear end on our cars are SO incredibly cheesy and cheap, its a miracle that they function at a-l-l! When even the bottom of the line Mazda's and Toyotas have active multi link rear suspensions, ours look like something under an old Snapper riding lawn mower. Hmm....the thing is, if I start clmping scrap metal under my car (and anyone that owns a car in Europe can verify this for you...) I will have to play "20 questions" with the tech inspectors when it comes time TuV inspections. Thats why Spivas bars look factory...or factory enough to pass an "eyewash" test.

The search goes on...

[Reaper1]

Do NOT box the rear axle. Been there. Done that. The results were as follows: it did what it was supposed to do, but too well. It made the rear end VERY twitchy...not a good thing at higher speeds.

I am running a Quickor 1.25" front bar on my Daytona...LOVE it! This is the same as Johnny's IIRC. The instructions were VERY good and so far it's worked flawlessly(though the car has been out of commision for a year now).

I plan to buy a 1" rear bar from Johnny also in the future and return to the stock rear axle(glad I kept it!).

Other mods are Konis and Eibachs all around, converted to cast control arms(going back to the origional stamped ones with PB's bushings in those due to the "issues" this has caused). I will also have my Grant Racing strut bar on by the time it is running again too.

As far as the rear suspension...I like it. KISS works! We don't have to worry about camber arcs, toe changes ext. as the suspension works. The tire stays nearly at the angle it normally is while cornering. Very much like a live rear axle. There is NOTHING wrong with that. Just because we don't have a bajillion links, arms, struts, and thingamabobs to connect the rear wheels to the body doesn't mean we are at any deficit. OK, so it's a bit harder to change the camber angle back there, but once it's set you shouldn't have to mess with it!

[desertsnake1991]

Thanks for the answer...its just that our rear ends look like something out from under a Mobile home or a trailer or something...just looks cheesy!Hell, If Johnny took paypal, I would have had two bars ordered by now!!

[B.A.P.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by desertsnake1991 Thanks for the answer...its just that our rear ends look like something out from undera Mobiel home or a trailer or something...

... like a SAAB. They used em too.

a twist beam can be as much or more functional than a solid axle in a rwd sports car like a Mustang or GM F-body.

bet you'd rather have SLA in front instead of the MacPhereson struts too.

[Reaper1]

No problem! You'll like his stuff! VERY good quality and excellent instructions! You'll think you have a different car with the rear bar on if you go with it! It's one of those, "why didn't they do this to begin with" things

Quote:

Thanks for the answer...its just that our rear ends look like something out from under a Mobile home or a trailer or something...just looks cheesy!Hell, If Johnny took paypal, I would have had two bars ordered by now!!

[Frank]

I dont like the rear sway bars that are bolted on. They dont span far enough across. The absolute best method is to cut out the old swaybar, and weld in a solid one. Hands down, the most predictable and low maintance. I dont like the ubolt clamps as they deform and the threads get damaged from rocks and what not.

I used an inch bar for just street driving. My other car is getting 1 1/8" bar. This is a track car, and wont be driven in the rain.


Frank

[eef mcglikn]

why do the new supercharged chevy cobalts have the old "mobile home"suspension....?

even the ....tiny ...scions...... have a better.. rear end...

then again my sc corners like a go cart..

eef

[looneytuner]

Hey my 96 Olds Cutlass Supreme has a buggy spring in the rear. One leaf spring mounted cross wise. Kind of like an anti-anti sway bar. I bought it to rust in the winter salt.

[Reaper1]

It's a transverse leaf spring. Corvettes have been using those for decades! Hmmm, old school tech in a "world class" car...seems to work fine.

Just because something is more complex doesn't mean it's any better.

The signature I stole goes like this:
Common sense says if it isn't broke, don't fix it. Engineers say if it isn't broke we didn't make it complex enough!

[desertsnake1991]

And Audi says (factory motto) "Innovation durch Technic"

[Moparmonster]

This has been covered before. Replace the old crappy tracking bar with a threaded bar connected to the frame and axle with heim joints. That'll tighten up the rear end and not look too far from stock. You can do the same with the strut tower connectors up front.