| Re: Swaybars: Size matters? |
Subject: Re: Swaybars: Size matters? by CentralCoaster on 2008/11/10 4:54:36 Sway bar stiffness is determined by two things, torsional moment of inertia, and length of the torque arm at the end of the sway bar. Most cars don't have adjustable or different length torque arms at the ends of the sway bar, so the differences between Z51, Z06, base, etc, are due to torsional inertia. It's proportional to the difference between the 4th power of the OD and ID. The OD has a huge effect, and the material in the middle of the tube adds more weight than stiffness, so some bars are hollow. The hollow bar would have to be a bit larger than the solid bar to be equally stiff. (Or it could have shorter torque arms on either end.) I can't speak on why it's needed. My guess would be that springs alone could be made stiff enough to be equivalent to the bar, but the car would ride like shit everywhere else. I don't think wheelbase has much to do with it. |
