Sway Bars Have Landed!

[Crisis]

Ron, Bars in. I sent you a PM. Haven't taken a ride yet.

 

[Crisis]

Ron, actually I sent you an email, pics included.

 

[pro10is]

To my knowledge there has been no 'Scientific' testing for any of these bars, but the effects of a sway-bar are well documented and understood by manufacturers. And there have been hundreds of thousands of miles put on at least the EVO bars with generally, very good results and happy customers.

I have been told by the experts that each mm increase in bar size (all other things being equal) will give a 5% increase in stiffness. 5% does not sound like much, but with a very light vehicle, a very short sway bar and narrow A-Arm width, a little translates into a lot of difference on the ground.

The harder you ride corners the more you will notice the effects of a stiffer sway-bar. A few have said they don't see any difference. The only way this can be true is if you are not riding curves/turns very hard. If you are a very conservative rider this modification may not be beneficial for you with 1 exception. In an emergency or evasive maneuver the Spyder will be much more stable. Personally, this is a feature I think everyone can use.

Differences between these bars? I do not have any of the Aussie bars to compare but as long as the diameter of the bar, attachment points and steel quality are the same, the effect will be identical. I assume the Aussie bars are of very high quality, as are mine.

The EVO bars came in at least 3 different versions over the time of their production. I purchased the last version with the double bend and have been very happily riding this bar for several years. In the process of producing my own bar I discovered a few things about the EVO bar.

First, the bends on the EVO bar are not uniform. This was very surprising to me.

Now I only have the 1 bar so I cannot speak to the entire volume of EVO bars out there, but you would have to suspect this to be a universal issue with the EVO bar. This is going to cause uneven force to be exerted by the bar, which is not what you want.

Admittedly, I did not notice this in actual riding, but that does not diminish the fact that this is an unwanted feature.

Second, some EVO bars had issues with contact to body parts on some Spyders. This could be due to a lack of uniformity in production of the EVO bars or differences between individual Spyders. Because my EVO bar is not uniform I suspect this is where the problem lies.

To avoid any contact issues, my Performance bars are in the style of the OEM bar with a single bend. EVO started out with a single bend bar with washers welded to prevent movement. Not good to be welding on spring steel so EVO went to a double bend to counteract the natural tendency for the bar to shift left and right when cornering hard. Though a double bend helps it is not entirely effective and this is where body contact issues began to appear in some Spyders. I never had any contact issues with my EVO bar.

The BajaRon bar comes with collars which clamp to each side of the bushing bracket so you get the best of both worlds. Maximum clearance between the bar and body parts assuring no possible contact issues, and collars which keep the sway-bar exactly where it needs to be with no possibility of side-to-side movement.

When I first installed my EVO bar I was astonished at the improvement. The Sway-Bar accomplishes a function that shocks simply cannot address, regardless of quality. This is because Sway-Bars and shocks, though working in conjunction with each other, perform two completely different jobs in two completely different ways. You will get definite improvements in handling by upgrading both sway-bar and shocks.

Because EVO was not too far off on their RS/GS/RS-S product my Sway-Bars will perform similarly to the last produced EVO bar with the improvements listed above. If I produce a bar for the RT (which I am working on now) it will be vastly better than the bar produced by EVO for the RT.

I can't answer all of your questions because one factor is how you ride. But I will say to everyone that if you are not completely satisfied with your BajaRon Custom Performance Sway-Bar, you can return it for a full refund. All I ask is that you tell me what it was that you did not like about my bar.

Excellent sway-bar information here, best I've seen on this site. Ron's product R&D is superb and it shows in his products which are of the highest quality. I'm also very relieved that Ron has addressed and resolved the lateral movement issue that caused me so many problems with my Evo bar. That shows incredible attention to detail. This sway-bar looks like a major winner and should exceed the quality and performance of the Evo! :thumbup::thumbup:

 

[spydaman60]

I dont know what USPS did but it did not show up today even though tracking still says it's comming today(it's 9:30pm) tracking is wrong?:dontknow:maybe it will get here tomorrow

ups driver must have stopped at the pub before he got to your house, or, he's got a spyder he's just about finished the install!:roflblack:

 

[BajaRon]

Excellent sway-bar information here, best I've seen on this site. Ron's product R&D is superb and it shows in his products which are of the highest quality. I'm also very relieved that Ron has addressed and resolved the lateral movement issue that caused me so many problems with my Evo bar. That shows incredible attention to detail. This sway-bar looks like a major winner and should exceed the quality and performance of the Evo! :thumbup::thumbup:

Honestly, you give me way too much credit. I just like stuff that works, and I assume everyone else does too! (I think I'm pretty safe in this belief).

I didn't set out to improve on the EVO bar as I have been very happy with the one I've been running for the last several years. But the more I looked into it, the more I found it really did need a make-over. I can only speak for the one bar I have but it really left a lot to be desired. I didn't really check it out very closely until I decided to produce my own.

But the real story is all of you who have supported this project with information I did not have, nor was I likely to get (other than the hard way with customer issues).

I was not smart enough to ask for your help. But many generously (some behind the scenes asking for no glory or consideration) have offered invaluable information regarding their personal experience and issues with the EVO bar. Things that they wanted to see addressed in my new product.

For example, I never had contact problems with my EVO bar, without input from Spyderlovers who DID have contact issues I may have made a defective product in ignorance.

I don't like junk, I don't like issues, I just want a quality product that lives up to realistic expectations. That is what I try to offer to those who would trust me with their hard earned money.

Thanks to everyone, we can all take credit for the RS Sway-Bar project. But truthfully, I am even more excited about the RT Sway-Bar because there is even more room for improvement than for the RS bar.

 

[BajaRon]

Ron, actually I sent you an email, pics included.

You guys embarrass me with all the effort and help! I know I keep saying this but I simply don't have as much time as I would like to take care of the little things like pictures.

Crisis has graciously sent these GREAT pictures of his Sway-Bar Install for your viewing (and curiosity fulfilling) pleasure. The collars really are a nice, functional touch (another helpful hint from a Spyderlover).

 

[BajaRon]

I have the EVO bar installed on my RS along with the Elka 2+. I know this was discussed in an older thread but I can't find it. The Aussies have a 15mm bar. What size bars do you have for the RS/GS?

My bar is 14.3 mm.

 

[dliszews]

ups driver must have stopped at the pub before he got to your house, or, he's got a spyder he's just about finished the install!:roflblack:

UPS at least eventually shows up. This is the US Postal Service, and given their financial issues they may have run out of gas on the way :banghead:

 

[Crisis]

Thanks for the Pics credit Ron. I will be home in a couple of hours to take a ride on some fast curves and turns. I'll let you know what I think.

 

[Camdenlake]

The RT has a sway bar :roflblack::roflblack:. Cant wait to see the RT one. Depneds on the price but count me in.


Josh

 

[tobor9]

USPS Finally delivered,now to start taking the frunk off!

 

[BajaRon]

Thanks for the Pics credit Ron. I will be home in a couple of hours to take a ride on some fast curves and turns. I'll let you know what I think.

Very nice install, by the way. I like the way you oriented the collars. Very good attention to detail! My kind of guy!

 

[tobor9]

All I can say is WOW!! it corners like it's on rails now,Thanks Ron,great product,easy install althought you forgot to remind me to plug back in my frunk outlet:banghead:,I hope i can reach it just taking off the side panel.

 

[BajaRon]

All I can say is WOW!! it corners like it's on rails now,Thanks Ron,great product,easy install althought you forgot to remind me to plug back in my frunk outlet:banghead:,I hope i can reach it just taking off the side panel.

Oh! By the way! Don't forget to plug in your Frunk outlet! ..... How am I doing? :dontknow:

As I said, the current install instructions are minimal and very basic. Glad you like the bar though! Take a corner or 2 for me!

 

[Questions]

Sway bar for RT Limited

Please advise as soon as the sway bar is ready for the RT Limited 2012.

Thanks

 

[BajaRon]

Please advise as soon as the sway bar is ready for the RT Limited 2012.

Thanks

The RT Bar is in prototype production mode right now. I fully expect the 1st production set to work perfectly and at that point it will just be a matter of making the final product run. I do not yet have a delivery date but suffice it to say that the people making the bar and other components have got a production schedule for previous orders and I don't have enough cash to push this project up to the front.

But the RT Bars are coming and they will be AWESOME!