Hotchkis Sway Bars - Worth the money?
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Re: Hotchkis Sway Bars - Worth the money?
Several people are just using stock bars. Much cheaper. Size wise hotchkis is biggest(36.1mm) but stock 1le is 36. I have not seen a test that shows spohn,umi,etc are stiffer.
Also how do you know you need these? Bigger is not always better. Stock is nice so you can tune to tour style and spend very little
Also how do you know you need these? Bigger is not always better. Stock is nice so you can tune to tour style and spend very little
#3
Re: Hotchkis Sway Bars - Worth the money?
Several people are just using stock bars. Much cheaper. Size wise hotchkis is biggest(36.1mm) but stock 1le is 36. I have not seen a test that shows spohn,umi,etc are stiffer.
Also how do you know you need these? Bigger is not always better. Stock is nice so you can tune to tour style and spend very little
Also how do you know you need these? Bigger is not always better. Stock is nice so you can tune to tour style and spend very little
What about WS6?
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Car: 02wrx/88 rs
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Transmission: 4eat/waiting on a t56
Axle/Gears: 3.73
Re: Hotchkis Sway Bars - Worth the money?
Some ws6 had them if I'm not mistaken. Hard to tell exactly without measuring. Buy some digital calipers(you will use them more than once trust me) and measure. There are several different sizes. There is lots of information on bar size and tying out there I'm sure someone will chime in. I don't want to misquote. Will you lower your car? Posi? Different bars will do different things to different cars. Like right now, if you had understeer you could get a slightly bigger rear bar to balance it out. Too big and you have oversteer. Several things come in to play but I would get bars last and use as a tying tool unless you are pretty sure what you want.if you don't want to do much to your car I would just put stock ws6 on and consider it done for now
#5
Re: Hotchkis Sway Bars - Worth the money?
Some ws6 had them if I'm not mistaken. Hard to tell exactly without measuring. Buy some digital calipers(you will use them more than once trust me) and measure. There are several different sizes. There is lots of information on bar size and tying out there I'm sure someone will chime in. I don't want to misquote. Will you lower your car? Posi? Different bars will do different things to different cars. Like right now, if you had understeer you could get a slightly bigger rear bar to balance it out. Too big and you have oversteer. Several things come in to play but I would get bars last and use as a tying tool unless you are pretty sure what you want.if you don't want to do much to your car I would just put stock ws6 on and consider it done for now
yeah thats what i think im going to do. Obviously the bushings need to be changed in doing so. Do the brackets the bushings sit in need to be changed as well? What about the end links
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Re: Hotchkis Sway Bars - Worth the money?
Brackets and end links are the same no matter the size of the bar.
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Car: 1984 LG4 Camaro
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Re: Hotchkis Sway Bars - Worth the money?
1) F-Bodies came with a wide assortment of bar sizes, front and rear - making for a lot of OEM choices
2) Sway bars don't wear out and can be used for decades
3) Higher quality materials (metal in the bar itself) in an aftermarket sway bar have very little effect on performance of said bar
4) If you like the look of the aftermarket bars, you can have oem ones powder coated too
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#8
Re: Hotchkis Sway Bars - Worth the money?
I say no - aftermarket sway bars are not worth the money for a few reasons:
1) F-Bodies came with a wide assortment of bar sizes, front and rear - making for a lot of OEM choices
2) Sway bars don't wear out and can be used for decades
3) Higher quality materials (metal in the bar itself) in an aftermarket sway bar have very little effect on performance of said bar
4) If you like the look of the aftermarket bars, you can have oem ones powder coated too
1) F-Bodies came with a wide assortment of bar sizes, front and rear - making for a lot of OEM choices
2) Sway bars don't wear out and can be used for decades
3) Higher quality materials (metal in the bar itself) in an aftermarket sway bar have very little effect on performance of said bar
4) If you like the look of the aftermarket bars, you can have oem ones powder coated too
So WS6 bars are 36mm in the front and 24mm in the rear?
Thanks to everyone for saving me a sh*t ton of money from buying the hotchkis for 700 bucks. I can prob get ws6 from a junk yard for 100
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Car: 02wrx/88 rs
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Re: Hotchkis Sway Bars - Worth the money?
However, bar bushings are different.
I don't think all.ws6 came that way but don't quote me
I don't think all.ws6 came that way but don't quote me
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Re: Hotchkis Sway Bars - Worth the money?
Sway bars are sway bars. Doesn't matter about the brand. There are LOTS of 36 mm bars out there. The GTA's came with 36/24 mm from the factory.
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Car: 02wrx/88 rs
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Transmission: 4eat/waiting on a t56
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Re: Hotchkis Sway Bars - Worth the money?
Esp having a vert, I would invest that money on sfc then wonderbar, and stb(I would do 3pt)
Many say sfc are a must in these cars along with wonderbar. A stock wonderbar works good too.I have both but have not driven on them. I got them for reasons like fore mentioned.
If you want more bang for buck "must do" mods I would suggest
Koni yellows. I have seen several people do similar mods and say some of the best money spent
It's around $200 for sfc IIRC,50-100 for wonderbar, and 150? For stb
Many say sfc are a must in these cars along with wonderbar. A stock wonderbar works good too.I have both but have not driven on them. I got them for reasons like fore mentioned.
If you want more bang for buck "must do" mods I would suggest
Koni yellows. I have seen several people do similar mods and say some of the best money spent
It's around $200 for sfc IIRC,50-100 for wonderbar, and 150? For stb
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Car: 1992 Camaro RS
Engine: Rebuilt 350 going in after paint
Transmission: WCT5, 7k & counting behind the 350
Axle/Gears: 4thgen disc rear w/ 3.73 Posi
Re: Hotchkis Sway Bars - Worth the money?
Esp having a vert, I would invest that money on sfc then wonderbar, and stb(I would do 3pt)
Many say sfc are a must in these cars along with wonderbar. A stock wonderbar works good too.I have both but have not driven on them. I got them for reasons like fore mentioned.
If you want more bang for buck "must do" mods I would suggest
Koni yellows. I have seen several people do similar mods and say some of the best money spent
It's around $200 for sfc IIRC,50-100 for wonderbar, and 150? For stb
Many say sfc are a must in these cars along with wonderbar. A stock wonderbar works good too.I have both but have not driven on them. I got them for reasons like fore mentioned.
If you want more bang for buck "must do" mods I would suggest
Koni yellows. I have seen several people do similar mods and say some of the best money spent
It's around $200 for sfc IIRC,50-100 for wonderbar, and 150? For stb
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Car: 02wrx/88 rs
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Transmission: 4eat/waiting on a t56
Axle/Gears: 3.73
Re: Hotchkis Sway Bars - Worth the money?
Im aware of the factory bracing but heard its not great. Haven't seen it though
Whatever order I would say it's all good choices
Whatever order I would say it's all good choices
#14
Re: Hotchkis Sway Bars - Worth the money?
Esp having a vert, I would invest that money on sfc then wonderbar, and stb(I would do 3pt)
Many say sfc are a must in these cars along with wonderbar. A stock wonderbar works good too.I have both but have not driven on them. I got them for reasons like fore mentioned.
If you want more bang for buck "must do" mods I would suggest
Koni yellows. I have seen several people do similar mods and say some of the best money spent
It's around $200 for sfc IIRC,50-100 for wonderbar, and 150? For stb
Many say sfc are a must in these cars along with wonderbar. A stock wonderbar works good too.I have both but have not driven on them. I got them for reasons like fore mentioned.
If you want more bang for buck "must do" mods I would suggest
Koni yellows. I have seen several people do similar mods and say some of the best money spent
It's around $200 for sfc IIRC,50-100 for wonderbar, and 150? For stb
wonder bar and welded alston sub frame connectors i already installed. first thing i did when i got the car.
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Re: Hotchkis Sway Bars - Worth the money?
To be honest, I have not installed one on my car yet so I can't answer either question from first-hand experience. That being said, I have not seen any STB designs that would require you to unbolt or change anything that would result in needing your alignment checked. As for how much they help, there are differing opinions on how much they help, but the general consensus seems to be that they do. I plan on building a custom one for my camaro eventually, but I need to finalize my intake choice first, which will determine what design I use for my STB.
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Re: Hotchkis Sway Bars - Worth the money?
For stb they are worthless with stock camber plate as stock onnes don't have solid strut mount so there still some flex
But used in conjunction with camber really stiffens the front but if your heading that route then mightiest well invest in it
Running dual sfc Alston and your choice of outer really stiffen a thirdgen up
When running single I notice big difference and once installed the Alston all flex was eliminated
Like stated above sway bars are sway bars go to junk yard and take your pick along with wonderbar
Are you seeking handling improvement Biggest handling improvement would be shocks struts and tires and preferably run at least 9.5 all around or up front at least then springs then all other upgrades will support those upgrades
Of course ensuring all wearable suspension components are upgraded or replace as you go
But used in conjunction with camber really stiffens the front but if your heading that route then mightiest well invest in it
Running dual sfc Alston and your choice of outer really stiffen a thirdgen up
When running single I notice big difference and once installed the Alston all flex was eliminated
Like stated above sway bars are sway bars go to junk yard and take your pick along with wonderbar
Are you seeking handling improvement Biggest handling improvement would be shocks struts and tires and preferably run at least 9.5 all around or up front at least then springs then all other upgrades will support those upgrades
Of course ensuring all wearable suspension components are upgraded or replace as you go
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Re: Hotchkis Sway Bars - Worth the money?
GM put a lot of engineering effort into making the suspensions on these cars work very well from the factory for a number of road racing series that called for factory built cars: the only real thing holding them back from being awesome in street trim back in the day was tire and shock technology... put modern sticky tires on a car with a suspension rebuilt to the best factory specs with updated shocks and the body stiffened up a bit and you could shame a lot of modern cars in the corners for a lot less money. then all you'd have to do is swap in a more modern engine- like, say, a readily available and cheap LS engine of some flavor- and you could take them on the straights, too.
so don't think too hard- get the best parts GM threw into them over the years and find the combination that works on your car and with your driving ability.
so don't think too hard- get the best parts GM threw into them over the years and find the combination that works on your car and with your driving ability.
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Re: Hotchkis Sway Bars - Worth the money?
Don't get caught up in the Hotchkis name. They really dropped the ball with their thirdgen products. They aren't any better than stock. I would use Hotchkis in my 69 camaro and it would be a huge upgrade but NOT in my thirdgen.
GM put a lot of engineering effort into making the suspensions on these cars work very well from the factory for a number of road racing series that called for factory built cars: the only real thing holding them back from being awesome in street trim back in the day was tire and shock technology... put modern sticky tires on a car with a suspension rebuilt to the best factory specs with updated shocks and the body stiffened up a bit and you could shame a lot of modern cars in the corners for a lot less money. then all you'd have to do is swap in a more modern engine- like, say, a readily available and cheap LS engine of some flavor- and you could take them on the straights, too.
so don't think too hard- get the best parts GM threw into them over the years and find the combination that works on your car and with your driving ability.
so don't think too hard- get the best parts GM threw into them over the years and find the combination that works on your car and with your driving ability.
#21
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Re: Hotchkis Sway Bars - Worth the money?
I have Hotchkiss sway bars in my 84. They are massively larger than the stock bars that were on it. I also have the Hotchkiss Lowering Springs and TDS wonderbar.
I don't know if I can tell any difference between the stock bars and the Hotchkiss bars, but I think if you put Poly bushings all around, you'll feel a good increase in suspension stiffness.
Also, I do personally think SFC's are a mandatory upgrade. I run Spohn SFC's and the reason I say they're mandatory is that if you've done anything motor-wise to the car, you'll twist the frame, have a T-top fly off if you have those, or paint cracking and body flex. Since I added the SFC's the car corners much, much better and the ride is a lot more stiff. I just feel the benefits out-weigh any possible negatives from doing SFC's.
I don't know if I can tell any difference between the stock bars and the Hotchkiss bars, but I think if you put Poly bushings all around, you'll feel a good increase in suspension stiffness.
Also, I do personally think SFC's are a mandatory upgrade. I run Spohn SFC's and the reason I say they're mandatory is that if you've done anything motor-wise to the car, you'll twist the frame, have a T-top fly off if you have those, or paint cracking and body flex. Since I added the SFC's the car corners much, much better and the ride is a lot more stiff. I just feel the benefits out-weigh any possible negatives from doing SFC's.
#22
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Re: Hotchkis Sway Bars - Worth the money?
I have Hotchkiss sway bars in my 84. They are massively larger than the stock bars that were on it. I also have the Hotchkiss Lowering Springs and TDS wonderbar.
I don't know if I can tell any difference between the stock bars and the Hotchkiss bars, but I think if you put Poly bushings all around, you'll feel a good increase in suspension stiffness.
Also, I do personally think SFC's are a mandatory upgrade. I run Spohn SFC's and the reason I say they're mandatory is that if you've done anything motor-wise to the car, you'll twist the frame, have a T-top fly off if you have those, or paint cracking and body flex. Since I added the SFC's the car corners much, much better and the ride is a lot more stiff. I just feel the benefits out-weigh any possible negatives from doing SFC's.
I don't know if I can tell any difference between the stock bars and the Hotchkiss bars, but I think if you put Poly bushings all around, you'll feel a good increase in suspension stiffness.
Also, I do personally think SFC's are a mandatory upgrade. I run Spohn SFC's and the reason I say they're mandatory is that if you've done anything motor-wise to the car, you'll twist the frame, have a T-top fly off if you have those, or paint cracking and body flex. Since I added the SFC's the car corners much, much better and the ride is a lot more stiff. I just feel the benefits out-weigh any possible negatives from doing SFC's.
How does your car ride with those springs?
#26
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Re: Hotchkis Sway Bars - Worth the money?
And those Hotchkis front springs are about 100 per inch softer than the stock stiff springs. The 450# front springs on my 84 z28 were pathetic and rode as soft as any Cadillac I have ever been in. I replaced them with some cut 5662 moogs (~750# after cutting) and love the firmer ride with the Koni's. It's not harsh at all but it is firm.
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