Went to the junk yard today and found a 90 firebird that had a performance suspension (as indicated on a plaque in the interior) the front and rear sway bars are visually bigger then what is on my RS. Can anyone tell me what size they could be?

Also would it be better to upgrade my sway bars from another 3rd gen or buy aftermarket? Thanks

 

My "guess" is that the 'bird has a hollow 36 mm front (you should see a hole beneath the bar on each side by the end links) and a solid 24 rear.

The above combo is the largest OE bars that our cars came equipped with.

JamesC

 

Thanks for the reply, so in your opinion are the hollow stock sway bars equal to/better then the solid aftermarket sway bars? Or am i better off getting solid after market?

 

Aside from saying that I'm satisfied with my 36/24 combo and mentioning that many members "up-grade" to them, I don't have serious opinion. BTW, your car is likely to have a solid front bar, a 32 or 34.

JamesC

 

Roger that, i think ill nab them from the car clean them and powder coat em. Thanks!

 

Are there other hollow sway bars, 34/35/36mm?

 

Welcome to TGO. There are no OE 35 mm bars. There are hollow 36 and 34 bars.

JamesC

 

Sorry to bring this old thread back, but would my 90 formula have a 24 mm rear? I need to get new bushings ASAP.

 

your best bet is to get a micrometer from auto zone or any other parts store and get an absolute measurement for your self. It's what i did and i found the exact sway bars I wanted. I took those swaybars (36mm 24mm) cleaned them up and got them powder coated and hadn't looked back since. Good luck!

 

I feel dumb for asking this but what do I measure?

 

I'd measure along the bar in several places. Of course, you could use a monkey wrench, then measure across the jaws (less exact but doable).

JamesC

 

Oh okay thanks. I was thinking it was the diameter of the holes on each end of the sway bar for some reason.

 

I don't think there is a dumb question, thats actually a good one. I don't know if there is a correct part of the sway bar to take measurements from however i used my micrometer and took measurements from the very center of the sway bar.

 

i would measure the bar in the center area, where its not bend. The bar distorts in the bends and you cant get a accurate reading.

 

The bar should be the same size all the way across right? I measured a couple areas near the tire and got 24 mm so went ahead and bought bushings for the 24 mm bar.

 

on the straight parts yes, but around bends the tube can shrink/grow