You know, Frank Ball's anti-sway bar FAQ is not directly available
through the DML Web page (maintenance & upgrade section, presumably).
I'll attach it to the end of this message for everyone's reference
purposes.
Now that I'm considering exhaust modifications, I figure I really
should add a rear sway bar first in order to prevent clearance
problems in the event I get a custom welded system. Out of the
three suggestions in the FAQ, I'm leaning towards the Addco for
my '95 for a couple of reasons. First, I have had good luck with
Addco in the past. Second, I think that a drilled and bolted bar
will do a better job than the clamped design of the Hellwig. But
that $120 vs. $180? (can't find a catalog with the Addco) might
affect my opinion.
So, those of you with rear bars on your pre-'97 Dakotas and
aftermarket catback exhausts, have you had any clearance problems?
If so, how did you deal with it?
Ron
Frank Ball's Pre-'97 Dakota Rear Anti-Sway Bar FAQ
Dodge puts a good anti-sway bar on the front of most Dakotas (it depends
on what options you get), but there is no rear anti-sway bar available
from Dodge.
There are three manufacturers for front and rear anti-sway bars for the
Dakota: Hellwig (SportTech), Addco, and Suspension Techniques.
The stiffness of the anti-sway bar depends on two things: the diameter
of
the bar (bigger is stiffer) and the length of the arms going from the
pivot points to the axle (shorter is stiffer). I don't have data for
the
length of the arms on the different sway bars, but I think they are
close
enought that the difference in diameters dominates in determining the
overall stiffness.
The stiffness of the bar is proportional to the diameter of the bar
raised
to the 4th power, so a small increase in diameter yields a large
increase
in stiffness. The Hellwig bar is 3/4", the Addco bar is 7/8", and the
Suspension Techniques bar is 15/16". If we use the Hellwig bar as a
starting point we can calculate that the Addco bar is 85% stiffer and
the
Suspension Techniques bar is 144% stiffer (32% stiffer than the Addco
bar).
How stiff is good? Is more better? Anti-sway bars do several things.
They reduce body roll in turns. This is good, so more is better if this
is all we consider. The ratio of the stiffness of the front bar to the
stiffness of the rear bar will have a huge effect on understeer or
oversteer. As the stiffness of the rear sway bar is increased
understeer
will decrease, eventually leading to oversteer. So don't go sticking a
massive rear anti-sway bar on a Dakota with no front anti-sway bar (or a
small diameter front anti-sway bar), the result could be dangerous
handling (Oversteer is tricky, if you don't correct for it you spin out.
Understeer is safer, you just run wide in a turn and you can easily turn
in tighter to compensate. Almost all new vehicles are designed to
understeer).
The last effect of anti-sway bars concerns only offroad driving. They
reduce the ability of the suspension to track over very rough terrain,
which can cause the truck to get stuck because a drive wheel gets
airborn.
Imagine terrain where the left front and right rear suspension is
compressed. The opposite two wheels will need to extend fully to reach
the ground. The anti-sway bars resist this kind of twisting force and
can
keep a wheel from reaching the ground. Serious 4WD owners often have
sway
bar disconnects or just don't use them at all.
On my '95 SLT club cab the front bar is 1 3/32" diameter. Stock the
handling understeered very hard. With the Addco rear anti-sway bar
added
it still understeers, but not near as much (and it will oversteer under
certain conditions like bumpy turns or hard acceleration).
Most Dakota front anti-sway bars are 1 1/8" and come with rubber
bushings.
Urethane bushing kits are available. Urethane is stiffer and lasts
longer,
but squeaks.
The Shelby Dakotas came with both front and rear anti-sway bars, but
they
are both rather small in diameter.
Here are some testimonials from the mailing list:
>From: DFuller288@aol.com
Date: Thu, 4 Jan 1996 21:06:24 -0500
Subject: Dakota Anti-Sway Bar
Just installed a Hellwig SportTech rear anti sway bar on 93' 4x4 club
cab
with 5.2L. Unit fit perfectly out of box. Simple bolt on operation
took
less than 1 hour. Bar makes a noticeable difference in reduced roll in
hard
cornering. Got unit from Summit Racing Equip. for about $100 including
shipping. Well worth the money for in handling improvement.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I installed a Addco rear anti-sway bar shortly after buying my truck.
It
is 7/8" diameter. It goes across the frame in front of the spare, with
a
dogleg to clear the spare tire, and the arms attach to the lower shock
mounts. It required drilling four 1/2" holes in the frame.
Polyurethane
bushings. About $180. Body roll is greatly reduced, and so is
understeer. Highly recommended. The truck still understeers on a
smooth
road, but it is tolerable. Of course the back end will bounce out when
it
hits a bump. I'm wondering if better rear shocks would help, but I'm
know
that the solid rear axle suspension has its limitations. There is no
loss
of ground clearance with the Addco bar. I think that the Hellwig bar
mounts under the rear axle with the arms going back to attach to the
frame
(the opposite of the Addco bar), and so the Hellwig bar might reduce
ground clearance under the rear axle.
Frank Ball frankb@sr.hp.com (707) 794-4168 work
Rohnert Park CA '95 Dakota SLT Club Cab V8 5-Speed 2WD
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 8 Jan 1996 21:21:42 -0500
From: MagnumMrk@aol.com
Subject: Re: rear sway bars
Hey!
I did some calling today and found Suspension Techniques has a 1 1/8"
front
and a 15/16" rear sway bar kit for sale.The cheapest place I found to
buy it
is A.S.A.P.The 2 bars come complete with urethane bushings for
$229.00.If you
don't already have a front sway bar they will sell you an installation
kit.
Mark
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corrections and additions are welcome.
Frank Ball 1UR-M frankb@sr.hp.com (707) 794-4168 work
Hewlett Packard (707) 794-3038 fax (707) 538-3693 home
1212 Valley House Drive Kawi KDX200, Yamaha XT350 YZF600R Seca 750
Rohnert Park CA 94928-4999 '95 Dakota SLT Club Cab V8 5-Speed 2WD
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