PitStopUSA.com - Sway Bar Adjusters

Adjustment:
Using sway bar eye bushings keeps your bar running smoothly and eliminates binding. A swivel eye self adjusts for perfect alignment. This swivel eye is removable allowing the bar to be dropped out the bottom for quick sway bar changes.

Swivel adjustment eyes allow you to use a ratchet to load the bar making for quick and easy adjustments. The swivel system allows you to preload the biggest bars with ease. The swivels prevent binding and self adjust keeping in line with the bar. Quick sway bar changes can be made as the swivel eye unbolts allowing the bar to be dropped out the bottom.

Adding preload to a sway bar effectively increases its rate. If your team feels you need a bigger bar you can wind in some load to see if you are going in the right direction before spending the time to change out the entire bar. Moving the sway bar links just one hole has a profound effect and is another adjustment option.

If your car is a little loose on entry then adding preload to the bar can help to settle it on entry. A bar that is neutral or set slack can, at times, cause a loose entry condition. A quick preload adjustment can be made during practice and your driver can give you an instant report. My feeling is that race teams should do everything in their power to avoid a car that is loose on entry. If your car is tight in the middle the driver can compensate with a different line to help minimize the push. With a loose entry condition the only thing the driver can do is to slow down. Loose entry should be avoided at all costs and in this condition winding turns in your sway bar may be good fix.

Choosing the right bar is difficult. The best way is to consult with your chassis builder and simply watch what your competition is doing. At many tracks it remains to be seen if the new big bar concept is better than the traditional bar set up. Most crew chiefs agree that the big bar set up is good when you hit it. The offsetting factor is that the big bar concept is finicky and you can be out to lunch as soon as the smallest variable is introduced. For less experienced drivers a standard bar set up is going to produce more feel helping them through their learning curve.

Whether you use a standard bar or a big bar establish a routine so that your sway bar is set the same way each and every time. When you preload a sway bar the increase in rate is exponential as you add turns of load. Teams should experiment with the car on the scales and record the wedge number increase with each turn. Charting the wedge change with each turn of preload only takes a few minutes and it will give teams the information they need to make precision changes at the track.

The bottom line is that a smooth operating sway bar that is installed free of binds will make your car faster. The precision parts available today offer an advantage. In the past, one piece sway bars were simply bolted in and taken for granted. Your team can find consistency and extra speed by tuning up your sway bar installation coupled with a sound routine for loading the bar.

Courtesy of JOES Racing Products