Ta;lk to me about front swaybars - XR8

**Peuty** · 14-06-2015, 10:25 AM

What are you guys running in the way of aftermarket swaybars? I have seen a few of you running 30mm bars. How do they feel? Any merit in going a size down (28mm I think?).

Have completely redone the suspension and bushing in the XR8 recently and I think a bigger bar will be the icing on the cake, but I can't seem to find any reliable info regarding what the best size to go in the front.

Any real world advice would be helpful!

T MAN · 14-06-2015, 11:03 AM

I went with a whiteline 27mm on the front, reason I went with 27mm over 30mm is the swaybar mounting brackets are a little week and have seen a few with 30mm bars actually had bent swaybar mounting brackets due to the stiffness of the 30mm bar..

but for me going from the std 24mm to the 27mm swaybar the difference was huge..

**Peuty** · 14-06-2015, 11:11 AM

Thanks T MAN. Did you go with an adjustable version?

**Peuty** · 14-06-2015, 11:23 AM

This seems like the ticket to me?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/WHITELINE...item3cd9e44c76

bluestripes · 14-06-2015, 06:50 PM

I went 30mm whiteline though needed to reinforce the sway bar carriages as they started to tear. All honky dory now and the ute tracks like its on rails with the Pedders coil over suspension.

Tommie · 14-06-2015, 07:12 PM

I went for a 30mm Selby bar. At the time it really transformed handling and highly recommended. Later put in Bilsteins and these matched with sway bar very well. Car feels very sure footed. Have pics of old sway bar vs new one in an old thread in show n shine section if interested in seeing difference.

**Peuty** · 14-06-2015, 09:06 PM

Thanks gents for your input. I went with the 27mm version, will post up my thoughts once it's installed.

**FTE-063** · 14-06-2015, 09:21 PM

i fitted a 27mm whiteline adjustable on my AU3 XR8 but on the softest setting
the difference was night n day, i can go through a roundabout at 60kph
the XR8 steers flatter and tighter
also fitted is King springs & koni yellows all round

cheers Dean

bluestripes · 14-06-2015, 09:28 PM

Out of interest ... Does any one recall the thickness of the factory stabilizer bar ??

Is it 22mm ?? But I think I just made that number up .. Lol

Anyways ... The Windsor is not a too heavy of an engine ( heaps lighter then the boss ) so for everyday spirited driving I think the 27 will be fine.

I went the 30mm as I'm running a 347 and I wanted to push the car hard to see what it could do. And it does just fine

T MAN · 14-06-2015, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluestripes

Out of interest ... Does any one recall the thickness of the factory stabilizer bar ??

Is it 22mm ?? But I think I just made that number up .. Lol

Anyways ... The Windsor is not a too heavy of an engine ( heaps lighter then the boss ) so for everyday spirited driving I think the 27 will be fine.

I went the 30mm as I'm running a 347 and I wanted to push the car hard to see what it could do. And it does just fine

Mine was 24mm

**Peuty** · 15-06-2015, 09:04 AM

Yep 24mm for the stock bar.

I'm pretty keen to see the difference once installed. I briefly mentioned it above, but I put new superpro bushes all through the front end, new ball joints, new hubs, new shocks, new IRS upper mounts, new steering rack. It's basically a brand new car underneath now so the new swaybar will be the icing on the cake.

XF_Pilot · 15-06-2015, 09:31 AM

I am keen to hear your results. So is 27mm the biggest you can install without mods?

bluestripes · 15-06-2015, 10:41 AM

Mods I required for the 30mm sway was more reinforcement then mods. Basically the metal that the undercarriage brackets is quite thin and they start to tear if car is pushed hard. And I personally think they would also start to tear with the 27mm sway.

So the mod / reinforcement was pretty straight forward. It basically required a thicker gauge of metal welded to the outside of the factory undercarriage bracket. Guy charged me $60 and took a day.

I will try find a pic later tonight to post.

But basically it's performance and the basic rule of thumb applies. - if you mod one part you need to mod all associated parts to equal standard.

Whitey-AMG · 15-06-2015, 11:02 AM

Although mine is a B series - I guess the principles are the same.....
When I was dabbling with a suspension upgrade to my GT - I was talking to quite a few suspension places and they were all kind of aligned with this thought.
You dont really need to upsize your swaybar if the rest of your suspension is doing its job and needs it.
I spent a bit of time talking with Brett at Shockworks - and in the end purchased his coilover kit for the GT - but his direction on this was quite clear... Stick with the factory swaybar. The bigger bars may provide an initial turn in advantage but at speed they will actually work against the suspension and dont allow the spring and shock to work correctly. Brett mentioned they saw significat time loss around a track when the bigger bars were used ?? They had less grip with the bigger bars.
Just sayin that sometimes the bigger bars arent always an upgrade in lateral grip and compliance if the rest of the gear isnt matched correctly and needs to work with the additional torsional stiffness.
I was quite surprised , always thought a fatter bar was a good thing all the time.....

5LXHR8 · 15-06-2015, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peuty

Yep 24mm for the stock bar.

I'm pretty keen to see the difference once installed. I briefly mentioned it above, but I put new superpro bushes all through the front end, new ball joints, new hubs, new shocks, new IRS upper mounts, new steering rack. It's basically a brand new car underneath now so the new swaybar will be the icing on the cake.

Curious would this also apply to the XR8 for the 24mm sway bar from EL-AU?

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5LXHR8 · 15-06-2015, 12:30 PM

Lol just re read the title. Let me re phrase. Would the 24mm sway bar apply to the earlier models ie EL, XH

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**Peuty** · 15-06-2015, 12:43 PM

Unsure mate, sorry.

BlueyGT, thanks for that and I suppose that would make sense. Regardless, it's on it's way, so I'll see how it goes!

Whitey-AMG · 15-06-2015, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peuty

Unsure mate, sorry.

BlueyGT, thanks for that and I suppose that would make sense. Regardless, it's on it's way, so I'll see how it goes!

I too have a whiteline adjustable 27mm swaybar. Was purchased before I installed the shockworks gear and spoke to Brett.
When we were fitting the Coilovers , Brett saw the adjustble bar and then gave me a whole tech talk on why I should stick with the standard bar. Who was i to argue ?? This guy helped to design and test all the FPV suspension when he was working at FPV - so I just shut my mouth and listened. Made sense really.

Grippy · 15-06-2015, 12:49 PM

I've heard the same thing about sway bars as Bluey-GT, the saloon car series also run standard sway bars too which has led me to stick with the standard ones myself for track work. I would like to experiment one day to see exactly what happens on the track though.

**Peuty** · 20-06-2015, 09:46 PM

Ok so they sent me the 30mm blade adjustable bar instead of the 27mm I ordered. If I keep the 30mm bar, will I have issues with understeer if I don't upgrade the rear?

Bluestripes, did you get a chance to take some pics of the chassis mods that were done on your car?

bluestripes · 20-06-2015, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peuty

Ok so they sent me the 30mm blade adjustable bar instead of the 27mm I ordered. If I keep the 30mm bar, will I have issues with understeer if I don't upgrade the rear?

Bluestripes, did you get a chance to take some pics of the chassis mods that were done on your car?

My rides a ute with Pedders Extreme coil over suspension and Ive had no problems with rear under steer.

Re chassis modifications, I had a welder,,, re weld thicker plate to the outside to the under carriages as well as a central plate to stop any movement / sway. Since then ive pushed my ute really hard and no issues, but prior to the mod i had one of the sides of the undercarriage start to tear as the metal is fairly thin.

Please refer to images attached

bluestripes · 20-06-2015, 10:05 PM

this is a pic of the tear in the side of the undercarrige bracket ... and as you can see its pretty flimsy material and i would suggest this upgrade for even a 27mm swaybar... if your intention is to push your ride hard.

bluestripes · 20-06-2015, 10:13 PM

I just need to add... maybe you don't need to do this straight off. Just keep and eye on it.

**Peuty** · 20-06-2015, 11:20 PM

Thanks for posting the pics mate - will see how I go with it, but that tear is something I'd like to avoid.

I'd still be interested to hear from someone with a 30mm bar in an IRS car though.

**Peuty** · 22-06-2015, 10:38 AM

well look slike I'll be keeping the 30mm item - apprently Whiteline can no longer supply the 27mm bar. Will be doing the reinforcing to the under brackets like you suggested bluestripes. Thanks again for your insight.

mcfly94 · 22-06-2015, 10:42 AM

Ive got the 30mm bar in my ltd, but my car has a bit more weight on yours, corners much better when i put it in and reduced a bit of understeer, but ive still got 225/60's on the front so theres only so much i can do in terms of handling!

**Peuty** · 22-06-2015, 11:02 AM

Cool. I'm glad you saw no negative effects on under steer. Stock rear bar?

mcfly94 · 22-06-2015, 11:15 AM

Still stock rear bar atm, i dont think whiteline make a rear bar for irs anymore have to go custom!

**Peuty** · 22-06-2015, 12:27 PM

Yeah that's what I am finding out - looks like I am a few years too late to the upgraded swaybar game!

superroo · 25-06-2015, 10:52 PM

Running a 30mm on mine and have bent the brackets out of shape.
New ones got modded the same as the V8 racing utes, except without the notch at the bottom for bolt access. Mine just take longer to do up. The plate has been stich welded in, so cracks can't propagate.

Personally not a fan of the handling (gotten use to it though). It initially gave a lot of turn in oversteer which wasn't there before. However I'm now thinking that this is amplifying a roll center location/issue between the front and rear axle rather than a sway bar issue. Not having a rear bar doesn't help either.