Over The Hill Gang , Old Farts with Young Cars

[Norm Peterson]

Originally Posted by RubyCamaro

Okay, but in reality in a V6 am I ever going to feel a difference??????????

If your car came with softer OE bars than the SS models did - which I suspect is the case given that most cars in sixxer trims have slightly softer suspension tuning than the same basic model in V8 trims - it will make more of a difference than SS owners could expect from installing that same bar in their cars.

Even if the OE V6 and V8 bars are the same but your sixxer springs are a little softer than SS springs, this bar upgrade would still make for a slightly larger change.

I wonder what difference there is in weight of the BMR versus Pedder's??? For me I'm not sure there is a couple hundred $ worth of difference?

Quick and dirty, a 29mm hollow bar bent into the same shape as a 27mm solid bar with both bars set to the same arm length will be about equal in terms of stiffness. The hollow bar will be 5 to maybe 8 lbs lighter. I am assuming wall thickness = 15% of outside diameter, which if anything is on the "light" side and will result in the greatest weight difference here.

While this might be important to a racer looking to lose as much weight off the car as possible, or to the bar's installer having to hold it in position until a couple of bolts are 'caught', I wouldn't let a half dozen lbs in a 3700 lb car or about half a lb more unsprung weight added to each side of the front suspension (each side is around 100 lbs unsprung) bother me in the least.

(Anybody who could reliably notice and identify these small weight differences from the driver seat is either getting paid to be an OE mfr test driver or might want to consider a career change.)


Norm

[Blue-J]

Originally Posted by RubyCamaro

It is only 17 degrees here this morning & high of only 41. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Come on spring! HAGD all.

Sorry you are cold this morning. When I checked our temperature it was -13 with a wind chill of -31. We now have so many pot holes from melting and freezing I really wonder when our cars will be coming out of hibernation. Stay warm everyone.

[RubyCamaro]

Yeah, I know it is worse elsewhere. Sorry about that. Potholes, however, are probably just as bad here.

[RubyCamaro]

Originally Posted by Norm Peterson

If your car came with softer OE bars than the SS models did - which I suspect is the case given that most cars in sixxer trims have slightly softer suspension tuning than the same basic model in V8 trims - it will make more of a difference than SS owners could expect from installing that same bar in their cars.

Even if the OE V6 and V8 bars are the same but your sixxer springs are a little softer than SS springs, this bar upgrade would still make for a slightly larger change.



Quick and dirty, a 29mm hollow bar bent into the same shape as a 27mm solid bar with both bars set to the same arm length will be about equal in terms of stiffness. The hollow bar will be 5 to maybe 8 lbs lighter. I am assuming wall thickness = 15% of outside diameter, which if anything is on the "light" side and will result in the greatest weight difference here.

While this might be important to a racer looking to lose as much weight off the car as possible, or to the bar's installer having to hold it in position until a couple of bolts are 'caught', I wouldn't let a half dozen lbs in a 3700 lb car or about half a lb more unsprung weight added to each side of the front suspension (each side is around 100 lbs unsprung) bother me in the least.

(Anybody who could reliably notice and identify these small weight differences from the driver seat is either getting paid to be an OE mfr test driver or might want to consider a career change.)


Norm

Thanks. Pretty much what I expected to hear. I meant would I ever feel the difference between the 2 brands of sway bars which I suspect, no.

[Mr Twisty]

Originally Posted by RubyCamaro

Okay, but in reality in a V6 am I ever going to feel a difference??????????

I wonder what difference there is in weight of the BMR versus Pedder's??? For me I'm not sure there is a couple hundred $ worth of difference? I can still get some Pedder's but not sure for how long. I was also heard that Pedder is not a manufacturer. They private label their parts from other manufacturers and then put their logo on it. Pedder sway bars are over priced Whiteline sway bars. BMR actually makes their products.

I am asking guys. Educate me. (My other thread got moved by moderators & taken over by V8 guys)

Do you know which rear bar you have? Personally I would use a balanced and tested set from one manufacturer.

Part of the price difference looks like Pedders has included end links, and BMR doesn't.

Ignore the 'who makes what and where' chatter. It's just sales rhetoric. The stuff is either good or it isn't.

[69supersport396]

Sunny and 79* yesterday, will be much the same here today. However, we have a big storm rolling in here Friday afternoon through Sunday morning. This will be our first rainy weekend of the year, so no Pavilions Cruise for me.

I swapped out my FE2 front and rear sway bars with FE4 front and rear bars from a '12 SS I bought from these classifieds. Bought the springs too, but it appears I cannot use them as the strut travel on a 6 cylinder car is longer than the SS strut assemblies.

Other than buying new rear end links, this was a direct swap for my car! Noticed a HUGE difference in cornering, but since my V6 weights less than a V8, I think I need to step up to a 1LE or ZL1 front bar. The rear bar is a HUGE improvement and is staying on the car. Feels like the front end now plows and the rear now feels planted when cornering hard whereas the rear felt like it wanted to swing around during hard cornering with the FE2 stuff.

Not sure if you will feel a difference between aftermarket brands, but you will feel a difference upgrading from the V6 hardware. Hope at least some of this was helpful.

[69supersport396]

More OT tonight.

BTW, I forgot to post up some Pavilions photos from last weekend.



Black '69 is my buddy John's car. He was the high bidder at the recent Barrett Jackson Scottsdale auction. Safe to say it was the bargain of the auction.
Black '70 is my buddy Fred's car. It is all original; no repaint, no restoration.
Silver '69 is my junk. :p

And here are the rest....
http://onewaystreet.smugmug.com/Cars...2014/i-9wcg25R

[RubyCamaro]

Yep, all info is helpful. I too felt a good difference similar to what you describe when I got my bushings, rear sway bar & end links. I also now really feel the need for the front bar to be replaced. Do I for sure need to also replace the front end links? Does that make a big difference on the V6?

It's almost FRIDAY!!!!!!! I'm tired so turning in early.

[Norm Peterson]

A better reason for upgrading the endlinks would be to get an increase in strength. A stiffer bar works by providing greater forces to resist roll, and some of these forces are applied to the endlinks. The other forces show up at the chassis-side brackets.

Sometimes, aftermarket endlinks are provided with an adjustment, which you can make use of at installation to take any preload out of the bar that may exist. Or add preload, though I can't offhand think of any good reason for doing so at the front end of a car that has IRS.


"IT'S FRIDAY !!!" So screams the WMGK morning DJ 's little audio clip at 6 AM every Friday morning. Sounds kind of a quitting time whistle.


Norm

[RubyCamaro]

Thanks. I'll order them too.

Yep! Good Friday Morning and last day of winter. Take note of that Mother Nature! Running late so HAGD all.

[dianeokie]

Happy Friday....................old picture Friday. In honor of my mom and grandma. This was my mom's wedding when she married her second husband.

[Mr Twisty]

Nice family photo, Diane... only reason I would want to go back in time, to spend more time with those that already left :(

My dad and his mom ~1990

[Flightwolf]

Mom's 68' SS 396 around 1972

[skipinminn]

KEWL The good OLE days <<<