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Sway bar questions

Red

Red

Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2024
Location
South Eastern texas
I have an 89' 245 with the 5 speed and blown out shocks. I wanna put new sway bars on it so the Lady doesn't have to climb back into the window after a roundabout or quick turn, but I also daily it about 80-100 miles a day and want it to still feel like 'not-a-race-car'.

IPD has been good to me so far, and Im stuck between their 25 front/23 rear kit, or 25/25 kit. I don't wanna just slide out on accident everywhere when it rains, but they have very little info on wagons and their bars as do the forums from my cursory searching. I still like pissing (75-80) it through the bends on the flyover near me and don't wanna kiss the wall or the Altima next to me.

I do also plan on getting BNE's Koni sport/race coilovers in the near-ish future, but in the mean time I'm gonna drop some Bilstein B4's on it and I don't want to replace these ~$500 bars when I do either one.
Any input is appreciated,
Thanks guys.
 
25/23 is not race car at all. These cars have a pretty good amount of body roll before they take a set and go around a corner. Not much you can do about that other than beefcake springs and bigger than 25mm sway bars.
 
Jack said:
25/23 is what most people like as the 25/25 tends to be too stiff

Fix your bushings too
Click to expand...
I have IPD's poly endlonk bushings in the cart too.
HiSPL said:
25/23 is not race car at all. These cars have a pretty good amount of body roll before they take a set and go around a corner. Not much you can do about that other than beefcake springs and bigger than 25mm sway bars.
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Im fine with some roll myself, I'm braces up in the driver's seat anyway. She's just used to her Lexus that drives likes it's on a freaking rail.

Thanks guys, saved me $20
 
If you're going to want to do BNE coilovers in the future, I'd buy and install Konis now and leave the sway bars alone. I don't like B4s, and the Konis are just that good.
 
VB242 said:
Stiffer sway bars only affect ride when both sides of the car cross a bump at the same time. It's probably not enough for you to notice much.
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Correct me if I'm wrong here, but wouldn't it be the other way?

If one wheel hits a bump it has to compress that wheel spring as well as a portion of the opposite side via the swaybar. If both sides hit, they just compress their own springs same as if the bar weren't there.
 
pinguin said:
Correct me if I'm wrong here, but wouldn't it be the other way?

If one wheel hits a bump it has to compress that wheel spring as well as a portion of the opposite side via the swaybar. If both sides hit, they just compress their own springs same as if the bar weren't there.
Click to expand...
You're right, the sway bar is increasing the effective spring rate of a wheel when there's an uneven force on the wheels from the same axle.

It's because of this that I believe that just increasing the spring rate and leaving the standard sway bars is a better stage 1 suspension mod. IPD bars are bandaids, not a performance solution. I've heard too many first hand stories from people who have looped their 240 off the road with IPD bars.
 
pinguin said:
Correct me if I'm wrong here, but wouldn't it be the other way?

If one wheel hits a bump it has to compress that wheel spring as well as a portion of the opposite side via the swaybar. If both sides hit, they just compress their own springs same as if the bar weren't there.
Click to expand...
Maybe I got that backwards, regardless I run the IPD bars on my 245 and with the stock springs and tires it rides and handles pretty nicely, I've never had the back end step out. On my lowered full titties 242 I run the IPD bar up front and a 16mm wagon rear bar and have also run no bar in the rear before.
 
OVERDRIVE said:
You're right, the sway bar is increasing the effective spring rate of a wheel when there's an uneven force on the wheels from the same axle.

It's because of this that I believe that just increasing the spring rate and leaving the standard sway bars is a better stage 1 suspension mod. IPD bars are bandaids, not a performance solution. I've heard too many first hand stories from people who have looped their 240 off the road with IPD bars.
Click to expand...
I turned an '89 into and oversteering deathtrap with a 25mm rear bar, poly rear TABs, and sedan overloads.
 
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spock345 said:
I turned an '89 into and oversteering deathtrap with a 25mm rear bar, poly rear TABs, and sedan overloads.
Click to expand...
I currently have stock everything that functions like it should, except for the sway bays. I’m on 25/25 because I bought them seperately on the used market. I’m even on 14” steelies with 185/70 tires. Stock ride height too.

My car handles great for what it is, and does not oversteer unless I really, really force it to.

When I go to the full BNE coilovers with stiffer springs a GAZ dampers with a lower ride height, I bet I’ll have to revisit my rear sway bar again. Go back to stock, or maybe find a wagon bar, idk.
 
HiSPL said:
I currently have stock everything that functions like it should, except for the sway bays. I’m on 25/25 because I bought them seperately on the used market. I’m even on 14” steelies with 185/70 tires. Stock ride height too.

My car handles great for what it is, and does not oversteer unless I really, really force it to.

When I go to the full BNE coilovers with stiffer springs a GAZ dampers with a lower ride height, I bet I’ll have to revisit my rear sway bar again. Go back to stock, or maybe find a wagon bar, idk.
Click to expand...
The thing that put it over the edge for me is that I stacked parts that all limit rear axle movement. Now I just go for stiffer springs and rubber bushings instead of a stiffer rear bar.
 
If you do the math out, a 240 has too much rear roll stiffness in pretty much any kind of front and rear stock component combination IF BALANCE IS YOUR TARGET. Some people prefer or require a looser characteristic, but you can't really tighten them up enough on stock components. Personally, in either a road car or race car, I prefer it just a hair tight. I'm no Baby Driver and I know it.

I remember a LeMons race at NJMP in 2015 where I overheard a conversation. Guy was asking a judge "How much slip angle do you allow?" This was on a Thursday night, before Friday practice.

Next day I got a front row seat to watch that car go nose in to the pit wall in the rain.

I guess they allow more slip than you can handle.
 
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