89maroRS

I just installed a new spohn 1 5/16" front sway bar, and when I got it back on the ground I noticed that the front end is sitting a little higher then it did. I also noticed after I took it for a test drive, I could feel every little bump I went over and it was really bouncy. The old sway bar was only connected to the car by the bushing brackets. So my question, Is it normal for the front end to be rasied by installing a bigger sway bar, or could there be something else that needs replaced? Any advice would be helpful. Thanx

speed fiend

Sway bars do not affect ride height nor should it make the ride "bouncy". Under normal driving conditions, you should not notice any change in ride quality. If you go over a bump at an angle or on one side(i.e. suspension compresses on one side only) which causes the bar to twist, then the bar will react. Sorry but can't help you with your ride height issue. Maybe your suspension just needs to resettle?

stereomandan

You did install the endlinks, right?

If the ride is bouncy, your shocks probably need replacing.

The sway bar will make the ride slightly rougher, but not much.

Dan

89maroRS

Yes I installed the end links. A friend of the family who I trust very much said the bar was too big for the car, and thats why its sitting up higher. Could using the old bushing mounting brackets, since they were made for the stock bar? We had a hell of a time bolting those on with the new bushings. It just a thought, I would really like to make this bar work.

stereomandan

Yes, you need the correct bushings for that bar. Energy Suspension should have some polyurethane bushing with the correct inner diameter.

Again, the swaybar has NO affect on ride height, unless you have the bar SOOOO tight on the bushings that the whole front suspesion can't move, but I doubt that is possible. Make sure you grease the bushings well when you install them.

My front swaybar is bigger than yours, and there was no effect on ride height.

Your front sway bar is made for the correct year Fbody, right?

1 5/16" = 33.3 mm, so find bushings that are closest to that diameter, which is probably 32mm.

Dan

Injuneer

One other way the sway bar can affect ride height is for the end links to be unequal length. That will "pre-load" the bar and start to raise one side and lower the other. That's how the "drag" style rear sway bars control body rotation in response to driveshaft torque.

Shempy

1. the sway bar is not too big for the car, but you do need to get the right sized bushings.

2. If the endlinks weren't connected before, the car should right quite differently, though not as you describe. I don't believe there is any way it could make the car bouncier, it should just control the roll of the car in turns better. Bouncy sounds like a shock issue to me.