Putting either a 9 or 8.8" and parallel leaves under the rear of my 42 Tudor and getting ready to cut all the original brackets and hangers off. Do I need a sway bar? Cheers Bob
With parallel leaf springs you do not have to have an anti-sway bar. The springs locate the axle side to side. That being said an anti-sway bar will reduce body roll and in my opinion the car will handle better.
The balance of the car (understeer or oversteer) depends on the balance of front and rear "roll stiffness". If the car understeers, adding a rear anti-roll bar make the car more neutral. If the car oversteers it will make it worse. You need to drive the car in a large circel in a parking lot, to check the balance. Hoop
I drove a 40 sedan for several years and it had parallel leaves,,,after I added a big sway bar I got from Chassis Engineering I was amazed at the lack of body roll,,big improvement. HRP
If you want to eliminate any sort of panhard or watts linkage just toe the springs in [ no longer parallel ] If you want a really soft ride [ as in soft springs ] you might need an anti-roll bar. If your springs are quite stiff you need less bar or none at all. Understeer, oversteer is controlled by "Roll Couple" which is the relationship between front and rear roll stiffness. When at the limit of adhesion the stiffest end always slides out first Personally on a street car I would not run a RARB [rear anti roll bar] until I have spent more time selecting the correct stiffness springs.
Using a TCI bolt in kit specific to the car so Im guessing springs are pre tested and ready to drive on. Ok another way maybe,anyone know of a bolt on sway bar set up so I can install 'After the fact' in need be?
I have sway bars on two rods and planning the third wouldnt build a car without them greatly improves handling and stability
,,,,,,,,,,,,,for those who don't have the 'deep pockets.' A factory, REAR, sway bar assembly, from any full sized Ford Bronco ('80-'96) or the F-150, or F-250 PU's, is almost a direct bolt in, on ANY parallel spring, frame or unibody vehicle! (Bronco bars are a little wider than the F-Series bars. Same shape, and mounting) The OM Bronco/F-Series sway bar link bolts will need to be shortened when on a lowered car. Same way, the OM Bronco/F-Series sway bar, rear end housing mounting plate. One can 'trim' them down to look a little neater. On unibody frames, a steel bushing will need to be welded inside, so the OM link bolt frame mounting bolt will not collapse the unibody frame. ANY parts store has either a replacement urethane, or poly-urethane bushing kit. (the replacement busing kits will probably cost more than what a junk yard or a U-Pullit will charge for the entire swaybar assembly!) A upgraded front, AND rear swaybar, will make a 'night/day' handling improvement!
Ditto here as far as body roll BUT made the ride rougher, especially on one wheel bumps. Extra stiffness caused the body to jump up, badly.
i have run my car with and without a rear sway bar---no difference ,but my springs are pretty stiff and the car is light---easy to add if you are not happy...
I'll always remember that if you go off the curve forward, that's under steer and if you go off backwards that's oversteer
Or if you hit the wall with the front it's pushing, with the rear it's loose. This should make it easier to understand... "That's a joke, I say, that's a joke, son."
Question, why would I add a rear sway bar after converting from transverse leaf to parallel leaf. Answer, you have substantially lowered the rear roll center making the rear much softer in roll. Unless you lower the front roll center or raise rear roll stiffness this will unbalance the car.
Sway bar? For a second there I thought you said gay bar, Bob. Gotta go.... Coronation Street is on the telly. Pip pip.
Worth the effort installing F&R sway bars IMHO. Used them on all my cars. Better road manners and a pleasure to drive over No sway bars.
I have a rear sway bar with leaf springs in my 41, and front bar as well. All Chassis Engineering stuff. Rides and handles well. If you have leaf springs in the back you don't need a panhard bar.
Can't say I have EVER heard anyone call a panhard bar a sway bar - they don't come close to doing the same function. Now panhard bars are called track bars (NASCAR Term for them), Locator bars, or even lateral locator. The idea of these is to keep the rear end (or in some cases front axle) center (more or less) in the chassis Sway bars are more correctly called Anti Sway Bars and have also been called Roll Bars/Anti Roll Bars and maybe even stabilizer bars. These are designed to remove body roll and to help balance the roll stiffness between the front and rear of the car.
I ordered the biggest front and rear anti roll bars from Hellwig for my 56 wagon. Should have them on within a few weeks. . I had a 57 wagon about 5 years ago with them and it handled waaay better than my current 9 passenger wagon.
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