Hellwig front sway bar installed

[Paul G]

I just finished the install of my Hellwig 1 1/8" front sway bar. Man what a difference! It feels more stable going in a straight line. Cornering has improved tremendously. Hardly leans over at all. I even took a right turn with a little speed, something I would not have done before, it handled very well. What surprised me most is how it is more stable even going in a straight line. This is a must do for anyone running stock suspension who doesnt have a sway bar. I found it on Craigslist new in the box for $90. Best $90 I have spent on this car. 

[myaerocars]

Man what a deal.. good score!  That size bar should really wake up the cars handling.

enjoy!

Godspeed,
JON

[red79]

hey paul, just curious, what is the rest of the suspension set up besides the new hellwig front bar? have you gone to larger t bars as well?

[Paul G]

It was originally a 318 car so I would assume they stayed with the stock original T bars when they built the 360 for it. It has a 360 in it now. I have the T bars adjusted pretty much to the limit which tells me they are probably the original bars and a little weak. It has 255/60-15's on the front which is a very close to the height of a 205/75-14, which I would imagine was the stock tire size converted to metric sizing.

The rear springs are very stiff and the rear sits higher than normal. I would not think a rear sway bar would do much for me back there.   

[HPP]

Adding a rear bar without stepping up the size on your torsion bars would tend to make your car very tail happy, meaning it would easily oversteer and the rear end would come around without a lot of effort.

[CDN72SE]

Hey Paul, could you post some pictures please (or link to where you have them) I'm thinking about installing one myself. Is it a straight swap? Thanks Alan.

[Paul G]

Here you go. The bar was built in 2006. It came with some flimsy clamp on brackets that clamp on to the lower control arms. I called Hellwig and asked about which way to mount them. They offered to send me the new style bolt on brackets which you can see in the pics. You have to drill a hole in the lower control arm and bolt the angle bracket to it. They worked great. 




I have a torque strap mounted on this side already. The Hellwig bracket looks like it is sitting crooked, and it is. Not sure what to do about that just yet.

[CDN72SE]

Excellent, thanks for taking the time to provide the pics. Your car is very nice and that 360 sounds great as well. Just started shopping around and so far shipping to Canada is $84 for the bar, ouch. Rgds.

[tan top]

looks good    you got a bar on rear ?

[Paul G]

looks good    you got a bar on rear ?

Not yet. SS springs are pretty darn stiff already.