how much do sway bars work
 

hi, i have just put sway bars on my buggy and they are only lifting the opposite wheel half a centimeter up. are they supposed to be like this or should they move the wheels up the same amount?

if youve ever driven a car that has none you will know why they work. sometimes for certain setups i have seen guys taking one of to aid certain handling characteristics, but for the most part...they are needed.

thanks

The swaybar is a spring itself which needs to fight against the springs on the shocks. With this you can set the influence of the swaybar by a thicker or thinner swaybar or shocksprings.

Lifting the inside tire up, is a side effect of a stiff sway bar setup.

If the sway bar is bent it's working with the amount of force that it takes to bend the sway bar. The inside suspension is fully down in a turn, while the outside suspension is compressed. The sway bar takes energy from the inside shock spring and transfers it to the other side of the car, stiffening the outside suspension by pushing the outside suspnsion down.

Pretty much, it takes spring energy from the inside and transfers it to the outside. The amount of energy it can move is based on it's thickness.

If the sway bar is very stiff, and the outside suspension compresses enough, it'll lift the inside tire up. But lifting the inside tire is not what it's supposed to do, just a side effect.

Actually, the swaybar is design to affect the car's roll center. The stiffer the sway bar the higher the roll center and vice versa. By using a thinner bar you are lowering the roll center and allowing the car to roll more while cornering because it's allowing more weight transfer which will result in more traction. However a stiffer bar will reduce weight transfer and rise the roll center thus reducing body roll while cornering. THE BAR IS SUPPOSE TO RISE THE OTHER SIDE DURING COMPRESSION, THATS HOW IT KEEPS THE CAR FLATTER WHILE CORNERING AND IT'S ALSO WHAT REDUCES THE ROLL OR THE CAR WANTING TO LEAN OVER WHILE CORNERING ALLOWING FOR FASTER CORNER SPEEDS.

Tuning aid
 

Sway bars can be a good tuning aid:

Example, track has lots of rough spots requiring a softer shock setup, however, track has many high traction or high speed corners which may require a harder shock setting to prevent traction roll. Instead, you could use a hard sway bar with a soft shock to get you the effect you want.

In off road, think shocks to handle track surface and jumps; tires, camber, sway bars, roll centres to provide the turning ability of your buggy.

-Alexander

Theory aside...

If you have INSTALLED BOTH YOUR SHOCKS, and COMPRESS EITHER ONE LOWER ARM FULLY (compressing the shock spring too as well), the other side should 'lift up' too, about 0.5~1.5" depending on your shock spring hardness AND sway bar thickness.

The harder (firm) the shock spring AND the thinner the sway bar diameter; the lesser 'lift-up' you see on the other lower arm.

Hope it helps.

Try a few thickness diameter sway bars on a track to see how your buggy behave in turning in, any excessive roll or 'loose rear' etc.

Change one at a time so you can tell the different.

Basically, anti-roll bars (sway bars) reduce traction at the end of the vehicle they are fitted to, it's a fine tuning aid

How many lock the sway bats down with the set screws or do u let the sway bar move from side to side freely

Never lock the sway bar down.

+1

The set screws are only there to take some of the slop out.

Ok I am fairly new to 1/8 buggy coming from a T-Maxx background. I recently purchased a Hot Bodies Lightning 2 Pro used, and it only came with a front sway bar. I noticed this lift you all are speaking of, but was wondering if a rear sway bar would make a noticable defference in the handling of the buggy and if I should pick one up?

Many times a sway bar has helped me make it home from the bar.Jack Daniels can lessen the effect of a sway bar thereby creating multiple roll centers, increasing the possibility of a D.U.I. Remember always rely on your sway bar to get you home safely.