#21  
Old 02-20-2022, 08:21 PM
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Formulabruce Formulabruce is offline
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If your Anti Sway bar can't move, or your suspension, you have no suspension. The bar mounts should allow bar to swing freely, and the link mounts just past snug. Have seen plenty not lubed and way over tightened.
Slow it down being too tight, you feel way more bumps, and really over work your tires.

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  #22  
Old 02-21-2022, 11:27 AM
rohrt rohrt is offline
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Years ago I read that you tune your suspension with either your springs or with a sway bar. As in Big sway bar and softer springs or stiffer springs and smaller sway bar. I always found it interesting that the 2nd gen WS6 T/As to me had a nice ride and cornered great. Seems like they had a softer spring with a huge sway bar. I put Hotchkiss springs on my 68 with a 1 1/4 solid bar and hated it.

I'm now changing to a RideTech springs and their hallow sway bar. Hope to test it out in the summer.

Here was some sway bar info I collected you might find interesting. Sorry the numbers don't format very well.

Diameter #at bar #at wheel calculated weight of bar - lbs
11/16 stock 144 109 5.6
7/8 377 285 9.2
1" solid 643 487 12
1.125 900 681 6.2 (hollow)

  #23  
Old 02-21-2022, 11:38 AM
JLMounce JLMounce is offline
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In a racing sense, sway bars are always used as tuning tools. They add wheel rate when a spring package, or other packaging limitations prevent the ability to create enough wheel rate on it's own.

You see large bars on street cars for the same reason, nobody wants to drive around with 800 lbs springs in the back, even heavier up front. So you make up for it with a sway bar.

All that said, more is not always better. Too much wheel rate can over power the tires and create chatter and loss of grip. If you're driving around on stock type tires, adding a stiff sway bar, and stiffer springs may actually hinder performance.

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  #24  
Old 06-12-2022, 12:33 PM
ScumOne ScumOne is offline
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My 69 FB 400 was upgraded to the full Trans Am suspension package by the previous owner. It's a big difference over the stock 69 setup. I'd strongly recommend you do the upgrade.

  #25  
Old 06-12-2022, 10:52 PM
mikebaronehouston mikebaronehouston is offline
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Almost sacrilege that no one has mentioned Herb Adams' work and why a WS6 handled so much better than your buddy's Z. Look at what he did in Trans Am racing with the Gray Ghost and the Junk Yard Firebird.

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/herb-adams

His book will help you understand why. And gives baselines.

https://www.amazon.com/Chassis-Engin.../dp/1557880557

  #26  
Old 06-25-2022, 10:20 PM
ScumOne ScumOne is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RocktimusPryme View Post
I’m in the process of rebuilding my A arms. Last thing in the front suspension that is still probably original.
My more learned friends in So Cal (tom s, etc) told me to not screw around and get the Global West upper control arms while I'm doing upgrades. These have some more adjustment to them to make the Bird corner better, but you have to realign the front end after swapping them in. The lowers didn't really add much to the handling, except being a few pounds lighter.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/GLS-CTA-79A

So I'm doing that since they come ready to bolt in. I'll report back on how they work with the TA suspension & sway bars I already have.

  #27  
Old 06-25-2022, 10:58 PM
tom s tom s is offline
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To me,shocks and sub frame connectors made a big diff.Tom

  #28  
Old 06-26-2022, 12:32 AM
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Formulabruce Formulabruce is offline
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A suspension that actually MOVEs will make a huge difference. The Global west Arms have their Del A Lum "Bearings" in them which are a MUST if you want a great ride and handling with 17 inch wheels/tires. You can sneak inside an adjustable coil over and you basically have Struts, which are Fast to react and take up the harshness that a 15 tire sidewall would have taken, but now cant.

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