Hello all,

I'm looking for some input as to what sway bar you all prefer. I'm torn between the Top Down Solutions 34mm hollow front sway bar and the BMR 32mm solid front sway bar. I would think the two would be compare fairly similarly considering the differences in diameter and the whole solid vs hollow thing.

The BMR sway bar appears to be significantly more expensive, but if there is a significant performance gain it may be worth the money to me. Essentially I'm putting a 350 in my old 84 2.8L and going through and rebuilding/replacing core components while I'm at it. I want the car to serve mostly as a daily driver of sorts, but also something that will just annihilate corners.

I know the general consensus around here is that the TDS wonderbar is the way to go over BMR or others. I'm curious if the consensus is the same for sway bars. I also noticed that TDS doesn't appear to offer any rear sway bars, while BMR does. I can't imagine it would matter to much if the front and rear sway bars "match" but is that something to consider?

Is the handling better with one over the other?
Is the installation more of a PITA with one over the other?
Any other factors I should be considering?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

 

It's normally a lot cheaper to just buy a used OEM bar and you can get up to a 36mm Hollow Front. Most (including myself) generally put the 36mm front on since it reduces body roll the most in corners.

Rear is Kinda the same story, any sway bar from 82-92 will work and you can go up to a 24mm rear just from OEM bars. The springs you run and goals of the car have a big influence on the rear since you can get to much rear steer.

Can easily save some money here and buy other parts

 

I'd definitely to TDS over BMR

 

Necron,

Thanks for your input. I considered factory sway bars briefly, but for some reason I guess I fell into the "performance=aftermarket" thought process. I just replaced the springs with like-stock Moog springs (although I may swap them out to coilovers or lowering springs some day, haven't decided...either way wouldn't be anytime soon). Like I said I just want a daily driver that I can have some weekend fun in. I live in a mountainous area with a lot of long, winding, rural, two lane highways and it can be really fun and honestly relaxing just to go up there and blow through curves, or even just cruise.

thtanner,

Any particular reason you'd go with TDS over BMR?

 

BMR and TDS will both be a quality product. Side by side I doubt one would be arguably better.

TDS is a smaller operation that the owner (Lon) really goes out of the way to fill voids in the third-gen marketplace. I like supporting him because of that fact; he is part of our community.

 

thtanner,

Fair enough, I had to ask. I know Lon is one of the active members on the forums, and his company is listed in the sponsored retailers. I like the idea of supporting small business as well (especially when the price tag is significantly lower), I was just curious if anyone had experienced any difference in performance between the two.

It's starting to sound like it really doesn't matter, they're all pretty much the same construction (which makes sense really...it's essentially just a big bar of metal after all), pretty much the only thing that matters is what size I want.

 

I always wondered if TDS just sold OEM bars that were powder coated. I've seen 36mm on there to but he could just be out.

Personally with the history of BMR on LS1tech and the spats they've had with Strano I'm not a big fan of them. I looked at what they offer and that's a lot of money just for a 32mm Sold Sway Bar. If you want something even stiffer then the stock 36mm then go UMI 35mm Solid: http://umiperformance.com/catalog/in...oducts_id=1129

Other then UMI's bar yes they are all the same setup/install. It's just how thick you want vs holy/solid.

 

Necron,

Thanks for the info. For some reason UMI hadn't crossed my mind when I made my original post...somehow when I was going over brand names in my head I missed that one, but you're right UMI makes great stuff.

FYI, in regards to TDS...you're dead on. Lon gets OEM bars and sends them off for multi media resurfacing and then powdercoats them. I found this out by digging through threads on here. I'd have to dig up the link again but it was straight from Lon's post.

As of now, I'm torn between the UMI 35mm bar or a 36mm bar from Lon (TDS) or this one from Hawksmotorsports. Unless I get lucky and happen to find an OEM bar on ebay or something. Junk yards for some reason are non-existent around here so unless I want to drive down to Easley, SC and beg the guys at Hawks to let me rip apart one of their salvage cars I'm pretty much SOL. I'll probably go with the 36mm from TDS if he can still get them...they're not listed on the site but I have to call him today anyway to see if he can get me brackets for the rear sway bar. If not then it'll be either Hawks or UMI.

Thanks all for the input

 

You need a very unique application to justify the expense of an aftermarket bar here. OEM's are plentiful at the recycler.

 

I'm sure they're out there, unfortunately, for whatever reason scrap yards are almost non-existent around here, and the few we do have really only have late model trucks and sedans. It's very rare that anyone has a 3rd gen or anything from the 80s for that matter. I'll probably scour ebay and maybe I'll get lucky, but short of that I'll take what I can get.

 

FYI for anyone interested.

I just got off the phone with Lon at TDS, unfortunately he does not have any of the 36mm sway bars anymore, and has no plans of getting any more.

 

Yep! unless you are going all out the solid bar will probably be to stiff and not worth the extra $$. I also have heard peeps beef up the front and leave the back stock. The trick is to have both front and back sized so they work together, sometimes just putting a larger bar may hurt more than you find it helps. Make sure you do all new bushings and end links with poly. These will make the stock stuff work like never before.

for TDS

 

Vinny R,

You make some very solid points. I'm planning on either a 36mm or the 35mm UMI suggested above front and either a 22mm or 25mm rear. With poly or Derlin bushings all around. If I'm correct, the 90 IROC's had a stock set up of 36mm front and 24mm rear, so I figure this set up shouldn't cause too many issues.

PLEASE correct me if I'm dead wrong about this. I don't have a lot of experience with suspension upgrades, so if I'm about to completely destroy my car feel free to let me know. I do plan on going through and upgrading the entire suspension at some point. Right now I'm just focused on beefing up the suspension enough to be able to support the added weight of my new 350 in my 2.8L car (gotta put in a wonder bar so I figured I might as well do sway bars while I'm at it), and I want to get some really awesome cornering while I'm at it.

 

36MM Bar (Ebay) Saw multiples on there.

The 36/24 with stock springs should be fine.I'm running the same setup on my 88 but when I put the stiffer springs on for autocross I might have to downsize the rear but we'll see.

Otherwise just don't put poly bushings in the front/rear control arms.


Beyond that wide wheels/good tires, shocks and tight steering components will make the biggest differences

 

Necron,

Thanks again, sounds like im on the right track.

I really appreciate everyones input here, I'm learning a lot!

 

Also consider 4th Gen rear bars. They fit and add even more size options. I had to downsize from the stock rear 24mm bar on my car to a 19mm from a 2002 Z28 in order to help keep my right rear tire from lifting during hard right turns.