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| Installing front sway bar | Rating: 
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| Posted: 10-16-2010 04:05 pm |
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1st Post |
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Anton Member
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Hi, I am intending to install a front sway bar (ADDCO) on my JH. Is there anyone who has some detailed information or pictures to guide me? Is installing complicated and is there a need to make some technical adjustments? All information on this subject is really welcome !! Looking forward to receive your advice. Anton
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| Posted: 10-16-2010 09:01 pm |
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2nd Post |
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Brett Gibson JH5 20497 Member
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Get them off Delta they give you a detailed instruction guide and I believe they are Addco, one tip. have the front wheels on a ramp to keep the suspension compressed at normal car weight while installing, another. make sure the wishbone suspension arms have the mounting brackets facing the rear, (they sometimes come from the factory facing forward) Brett
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| Posted: 04-06-2011 02:34 pm |
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3rd Post |
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carl.bedlington Member
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Hi, I have seen that an Addco 101 Front Anti Sway Bar kit is currently listed on eBay for $141. My question are; is this the best sway bar to buy, is this the same kit that Delta sells and is this the best one to buy? I have gone though all the past posts and have seen that some sway bars are 7/8" this one is bigger at 1 1/8". I would love to hear some feed back from someone who has fitted one of these front sway bars. Cheers Carl
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| Posted: 04-06-2011 05:35 pm |
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4th Post |
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rossjfox Member
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Anton, I fitted the Addco front sway bar. (As well as the rear. These must be done in pairs or be prepared for some, shall we say, "entertaining" handling.) Fitting the front bar is not a challenge as long as the factory put your lower A-arms on right way around. There are tabs on the lower a-arms where the sway bar connects. These tabs need to be pointed towards the rear of the car. On many cars, the factory assembled them with the lower A-arms switched left to right and thus the tabs point to the front of the car. If the A-arms are correct, than you can just bolt the front bar on and drill 4 holes in the frame rails for the brackets. If the A-arm tabs are pointing in the wrong direction, than the A-arms need to be switched left to right. A doable job, but much more work than just installing the sway bar. Ross
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| Posted: 04-08-2011 12:30 am |
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5th Post |
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carl.bedlington Member
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Hi Ross, Thanks for your prompt reply and good advice, I will check the orientation of the A-arms out when I do the job as I will be stripping the suspension to fit a full set of super pro bushes and new Bilstein Shocks. I'm intrigued by your comment, 'These must be done in pairs or be prepared for some, shall we say, "entertaining" handling' From what I have read in previous posts it is OK just to fit the front sway bar and a worthwhile handling upgrade? Cheers Carl
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| Posted: 04-08-2011 12:51 pm |
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6th Post |
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jcdean Member
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My current JH has front and rear bars installed w/SPAX shocks all around set to a very firm ride. It corners very flat with hardly any roll. It begs for better tires, though. My previous JH had the normal suspension and difference is extremely easy to feel.
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| Posted: 04-08-2011 01:57 pm |
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7th Post |
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Mike Aubuchon Member
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My sway bar kit from Delta included two L shaped brackets. Instead of reversing the A-arms, I welded the brackets to the the back side of the arms. Everything fit and bolted up with no problems. Nice upgrade. Took the roll out and keeps the car flat in the turns. I have never heard of installing a front or rear sway bar without doing both. Don't get crazy. Keep the rubber on the road. Mike JH 19032
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| Posted: 04-08-2011 03:54 pm |
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8th Post |
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Jensen Healey Super Moderator 
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Delta sway bars are great! I see no reason to go with a stiffer bar for street use. Tuning the suspension is somewhat complex and I'm no expert. Your springs, shocks, and tires all play into the equation. Google it up. I use stock springs, Delta sway bars, 205-60/ 13 tires on stock rims, old school non-gas Konis in the front and gas Konis in the rear. It suits me for street use. FWIW: The KYB gas shocks have about 40 lbs of lift and raise the front of the car about 3/8". There is 1" of travel until I'm on the bump stops so lowering the car is not an option. Kurt
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| Posted: 04-10-2011 01:01 am |
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9th Post |
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Dakota123 Member
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As far as I've always known it's fine to install just a front bar with no rear. Many cars come so configured. My JH has just the front installed at present; made a huge difference in handling over no bar. I have a rear bar and will probably install it once I tackle other, more pressing issues. (But yeah, a rear with no front would not be good.) Adding the rear bar to the package should decrease understeer, although the JH is pretty balanced to begin with. Plenty of people prefer a little understeer as a guide as to how hard the tires are being worked. The rear bar is straight-forward to install; you can always install it and see which suits you better, with or without. Mike
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| Posted: 04-10-2011 07:24 pm |
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10th Post |
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Jensen Healey Super Moderator
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Installing a front sway bar alone will cause understeer. While understeer is safer for the average driver than oversteer it is not optimal for handling. To counter this effect you can soften the front shocks and stiffen the rear shocks, reduce air pressure on the front tires and increase pressure in the rear, install heavier springs in the rear, etc. etc. Unless you want to read a few books on sports car suspension tuning and do a lot of testing I would recommend installing both bars at the same time, and installing new springs, shocks, wheels, or tires in matched sets. Kurt
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| Posted: 04-10-2011 11:48 pm |
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11th Post |
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carl.bedlington Member
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Thanks for your 5 cents worth Dakota123, I’m sure Greg Fletcher mentioned to me that it was OK to fit a front sway bar by itself as the Jenson GT was fitted with only a front sway bar as standard. From all the other comments I’ve read here I’m now thinking that maybe I should purchase both at the same time as I would be saving on postage. Thanks to all for your input. Cheers, confused downunder
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| Posted: 04-13-2011 02:42 am |
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12th Post |
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rossjfox Member
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Kurt's explination of the handling issues with installation of only a front bar is accurate and what I was driving at. The key here is to keep the car balanced. There is little reason not to install the rear bar if you're doing the front. Of the two, the rear is the easier to install given the front A-arm issues. Good luck... Ross
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| Posted: 05-30-2011 03:32 pm |
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13th Post |
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philharmonic Member
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What does the rear Sway bar do? I mean the rear suspention is not independent and there can't be much sway or roll with the rear wheels connected through the third member; so why install a rear sway bar???
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| Posted: 05-30-2011 06:42 pm |
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14th Post |
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Jensen Healey Super Moderator
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I may seem that way at first glance but the bar works as advertised.
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| Posted: 05-30-2011 07:21 pm |
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15th Post |
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Dakota123 Member
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The roll in cornering comes about from the springs-- the rear axle is not rigidly connected to the frame. The anti-roll bar ties one side to the other more rigidly. The designed-in flexibility of the bar itself (and, to a small extent, its bushings) limit the effect, as the bar is a spring in it's own right. One-wheel bumps become firmer as a result of this added spring in the system. Everything is a trade-off... Last edited on 05-30-2011 10:32 pm by Dakota123 |
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| Posted: 05-31-2011 01:06 am |
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16th Post |
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philharmonic Member
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When I look at the front sway bar it makes a lot of sense; there is a lot of physics in every front suspension component and keeping them all straight is clearly a handling advantage. But when I look at the rear sway bar as connected to the the rear spring directly under the axle that is completely ridged and does not connect to the any other part of the car what good can it possibly do? Sorry for my confusion but it just seems to be bolted on in such a way that it has absolutely no effect at all on the rear suspension.
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| Posted: 05-31-2011 02:09 am |
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17th Post |
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Dakota123 Member
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What makes it work is the short bit that kicks the cross bar to the rear a few inches from the mounting point. That makes the assembly a torsion bar; the bar twists under cornering load or one-wheel bump. (Sorry for using the word 'rigid' earlier. That probably didn't help the mental picture.)
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| Posted: 05-31-2011 03:33 am |
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18th Post |
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philharmonic Member
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Thank for the explanation I get it.
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| Posted: 10-23-2013 05:28 am |
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19th Post |
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atgparker Member 
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TaDa Attachment: WP_000517.jpg (Downloaded 320 times)
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| Posted: 10-24-2013 08:44 pm |
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20th Post |
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Art DeKneef Member
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atgparker, I noticed in your picture that the sway bar is attached above the tabs instead of underneath. All the other cars I have seen equipped with a front sway bar had it mounted below the tabs. What's the reasoning you use to mount it on top like you did? Just curious.
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