sway bars- yes, no, maybe so?

[Lootchiano]

Please shed some light on this rc newbie! What are the pros and cons of having sway bars on your rc? Should I get both front and back?

 

[newnitrofan]

Sway bars in general do help out. Now it would really help to know your application and environment. I have a set for my RS4 and will probably get a set for my savage. Not sure about my Nitro MT at all. If this is for a stadium truck I would have my doubts though.

 

[Lootchiano]

its for a nitro 4 tec, just parking lot bashing nothing serious yet

 

[Krusty]

Here's a rule of thumb. Hard smooth surfaces; sway bars will work wonders. Soft dirt bumpy surfaces; sway bars won't work very well. Sway bars tend to limit suspension travel. By doing so, they reduce roll. Off-road bumpy surfaces, including jumps need full suspension movement to negotiate rough surfaces. If you have an on-road car you should have sway bars. If adjusted properly, you will see an improvement in handling.

 

[spanko123]

anyone wanna ttell me what a sway bar is??

 

[jon2]

its a small piece of metal tubing bent is a specific design that helps reduce flex. I found this mostly for on-road applications.

~Jon

 

[Krusty]

The proper name for "sway" bar is really "anti-sway" bar, because that is what they do. They prevent "sway" or lean of the chassis. It is usually a thin length of "springy" music or piano wire that is bent to connect the left side suspension with the right side suspension. They are made for the front and rear suspension of the vehicle. When the chassis starts to lean the sway bar will tend to raise the opposite suspension components, thus reducing lean. Based on the discription, it tends to tie opposite suspensions together. They are great for on-road applications, but their limited movement to the suspension tends to prevent full independent suspension movement. Not good for off-road applications.

 

[30%NitroBoy]

Originally posted by Krusty
The proper name for "sway" bar is really "anti-sway" bar, because that is what they do. They prevent "sway" or lean of the chassis. It is usually a thin length of "springy" music or piano wire that is bent to connect the left side suspension with the right side suspension. They are made for the front and rear suspension of the vehicle. When the chassis starts to lean the sway bar will tend to raise the opposite suspension components, thus reducing lean. Based on the discription, it tends to tie opposite suspensions together. They are great for on-road applications, but their limited movement to the suspension tends to prevent full independent suspension movement. Not good for off-road applications.

Thanks for actually explaining what sway bars do so they can be better understood, that's a pretty explination. Yes, the main purpose of sway bars on real and nitro cars is to keep your suspension "level" during cornering.

Loot - Like others have said here, it's application specific. I run Sway bars on my real on road cars and my rc "touring" cars. The sway bars definitely improve the handling some on Toruing cars and especially during high speed cornering. I definitely wouldn't run them on a Monster truck or any off-road car where you need good "articulation/suspension travel" like the above poster pointed out. If your doing hardcore Monster Truck on-road racing then Sway Bars would definitley be worth considering.

Peace

 

[skyline1999gtr]

Originally posted by Krusty
Here's a rule of thumb. Hard smooth surfaces; sway bars will work wonders. Soft dirt bumpy surfaces; sway bars won't work very well. Sway bars tend to limit suspension travel. By doing so, they reduce roll. Off-road bumpy surfaces, including jumps need full suspension movement to negotiate rough surfaces. If you have an on-road car you should have sway bars. If adjusted properly, you will see an improvement in handling.

:tank: you actualy need them for off road so that the truck or buggy does not roll. all cars should have a sway bar. if you hit a jump it have you land and not flip.

 

[newnitrofan]

The only time I could really see needing them offroad is maybe if you are racing on a track with other racers otherwise I really couldn't see adding them at all.

 

[skyline1999gtr]

you would still need them. it is just like a real off road truck.trust me you do.

 

[Error401]

Don't knock it till ya try it. I made a set for my Savage, and yes, it makes hit handle alot better on both dirt ovals, and twisty tracks. The Savage has alot of roll in it to begin with (unless you soften the spring rate and lower it). I found that adding sway bars nearly eliminated roll overs. It still does it, but that's usually at WOT hard turns on pavement. Unfortunately, GPM is the only manufacturer that makes sway bars for the savage.

The Lightning on the other hand would really benifit from some. I got the RTR version and for some reason mine didn't have any, whereas the book said it should have had the rear one. Anyway, it has handling problems at times.