BajaRon sway bar question...

[wyliec]

Ron,

I didn't want to piggyback your thread about the sway bar link and muddy up your question.

Recently I saw 2 members post (I think 2) that showed or said their aftermarket Evo sway bars had actually bent over time. With the installation of the Evo bar, you continued to use the bracket with plastic bushing on either side of the Spyder cross member that holds the bar in place. If there was any lateral slippage through the bushings could that have caused the warpage (for lack of a better word) on those Evo sway bars? Also, is it possible that lateral slippage on the OEM or Evo sway bars with just the plastic bushings with bracket cause the links to break?

Back when you were designing your sway bar, a member here said he was getting lateral slippage of his sway bar and I believe he suggested what could be done to prevent it; that member may have been pro10is. I found the 2 piece locks based on what pro10is had suggested and sent you the info; pro10is if it wasn't you, I apologize. I believe you (Ron) were going to use those with your bar. But, here's another question. I used those locks and placed them right next to the bracket with bushings and also placed a second set next to them. The second set are the gold colored ones from an Aussie supplier of a sway bar; I just liked the way they looked . My question is, will locking or double locking help to prevent the warpage of the Evo sway bar and also help to eliminate the possibility of the links breaking due to fatigue.

And, yes I know that double locking is over doing it.

 

[BajaRon]

Ron,

I didn't want to piggyback your thread about the sway bar link and muddy up your question.

Recently I saw 2 members post (I think 2) that showed or said their aftermarket Evo sway bars had actually bent over time. With the installation of the Evo bar, you continued to use the bracket with plastic bushing on either side of the Spyder cross member that holds the bar in place. If there was any lateral slippage through the bushings could that have caused the warpage (for lack of a better word) on those Evo sway bars? Also, is it possible that lateral slippage on the OEM or Evo sway bars with just the plastic bushings with bracket cause the links to break?

Back when you were designing your sway bar, a member here said he was getting lateral slippage of his sway bar and I believe he suggested what could be done to prevent it; that member may have been pro10s. I found the 2 piece locks based on what pro10s had suggested and sent you the info; pro10s if it wasn't you, I apologize. I believe you (Ron) were going to use those with your bar. But, here's another question. I used those locks and placed them right next to the bracket with bushings and also placed a second set next to them. The second set are the gold colored ones from an Aussie supplier of a sway bar; I just liked the way they looked . My question is, will double locking help to prevent the warpage of the Evo sway bar and also help to eliminate the possibility of the links breaking due to fatigue.

And yes I know that double locking is over doing it.

There is very little clearance to work with on the pre-2013 Spyders (all models). If the bar is allowed to move even a small amount it is very likely that the Heim Joint Links will come into contact with hard parts and cause breakage. So the answer to that question is yes.

The EVO bars were made of an inferior steel so fatigue is possible which means bends (or not returning to the original shape) are also possible, though I've not seen this personally. I had an EVO bar on my Spyder before I started this adventure in metallurgy, and I was quite happy with it. But when I got to looking at the details I noticed my EVO bar was not symmetric. The bends were not equal, the lengths were not equal and it did move too much laterally. None of this was a good thing.

I assumed that I probably got a bad one from EVO. But having now spoken to quite a few EVO bar owners, I've come to the conclusion that these deficiencies were quite common to the EVO bar. I don't mean to bash anyone's product. These are simply my findings having been at this for awhile now.

The type of bushings and clamps used, or lateral movement of the bar, is not going to cause 'Warpage', fatigue or any other damage to the sway bar. The Sway Bar, if properly constructed using good steel, will far outlive the life of your Spyder.

As I said, it is very important to restrict any lateral movement of the sway bar in pre-2013 Spyders, so I supply collar clamps for this purpose. If installed correctly (which isn't hard) they will accomplish this task. There isn't a lot of lateral force on the sway bar so it doesn't take much to prevent it.

Most sway bar systems don't even have components preventing lateral movement. That is because the lateral forces are small and sway bars are naturally a self centering system. They will only go a short distance (left or right), and then they will return to center on their own. It is only because of the extremely close tolerances on the pre-2013 Spyders that collar clamps are needed.

Adding a second set of collar clamps may make you fell better, but they are completely unnecessary.

I know the collar clamps I supply aren't very pretty. I could supply better looking ones, like the anodized sets from the Aussie producer. But since they are not visible unless you crawl underneath the front end of your Spyder, and since they will only see pavement and road debris their entire life, never to be cleaned by anything but an occasional rain storm, I thought it would be acceptable.

Sway bars are not rocket science, yet I found that there is quite a bit to getting them right. From the steel compounds used to dimensional variables, it has been an interesting endeavor. But the bottom line is always function.

Some very good questions!:thumbup: I hope I was able to answer them for you.