Sway bar adjustment help.

[militarymaxx]

Looking for help on how to adjust sway bars or maybe a link to some article. I'm guessing that if I move the stabilizer ball further out that it loosens things up but I'm looking for some technical data on the whole thing. Thanks.

[Nitro_Keebler]

Err, what kind of car? Are you just wanting to loosen up the linkage?

[militarymaxx]

GS Storm. I wouldn't think it matters but then again, some of these buggies can be quite different. I want to know what the effects will be when I move the end collars in/out on the end of the bars. The problem I'm experiencing on the track is through the corners I get great bite. So great it sometimes causes the buggy to roll over. Along with tire selection, shock setup, camber, caster, and toe in/out, I want to see what can be done with the sway bars, (Anti-sway bars is what I should call them). I know what they are there for (to keep things level through a corner), I just don't how the different adjustments directly affect my cornering performance.

[Nitro_Keebler]

Ahh, i thought you were wanting to know HOW to physically adjust the sway bar, hence my reasoning behind asking the type of car

As for racing effects, I wouldnt have the slightest... I can make assumptions, but we all know where that leads...

[cbreaker]

My assumption is that the further out you set the end on the sway bar, the more pull the bar will have on the suspension.

Perhaps setting them in a bit would help tame your bite a little?

That's my guess. =) It seems to make sense to me.

[militarymaxx]

I've been searching the web but most of the stuff on sway bars or anti-sway bars is for full size cars and their adjustments are completely different than those on the buggies. I hear what you're saying and I think this is going to fall into the category of trial and error. I think I wll set them all the way out and see what that does then set them way inside and then compare the two.
My biggest problem with too much bite in the corners I think are my choice of tires. I have these panther step pins and the profile is almost square, that is, there isn't much of a contour from the tread surface to the sidewall. It's pretty much a right angle.

[raven7]

Try this site out for some good explanations on setups.
http://users.pandora.be/elvo/

[flash183]

Originally posted by militarymaxx
My biggest problem with too much bite in the corners I think are my choice of tires. I have these panther step pins and the profile is almost square, that is, there isn't much of a contour from the tread surface to the sidewall. It's pretty much a right angle.

The sway bar adjustment might help a bit but mostly that's your tires. And that depends on the track you're driving on. But of course no matter what tires you're using you may just need to slow down a bit around certain turns. Especially surfaces that don't offer a flat sliding surface. If you choose a flat bar groove that will give good traction during acceleration but allow you to slide around turns with out too much bite.

There's only one way to set your sway bars: You want the mounting rods set in (toward the center of the car) as far as possible while still allowing the arm to drop to its lowest point. Once you set it this way you will see why. As the tire/suspension arm moves up that little rod will need room to move out. If it's set out (away from the center of the car) it will cause stress on the sway bar that you will see it is not supposed to have.

[militarymaxx]

Outstanding link raven7 !! This is exactley what I was looking for and not just for my sway bar questions. It had everything regarding chassis dynamics. Some of it was technical but if you weed through a bit, you'll find some great stuff. Thanks to all the others too for your inputs.

[militarymaxx]

With new information in hand (courtesy of raven7 and that great link) I just finished re-looking at my buggy. Man, things were all out of whack. It's no wonder I was struggling on the track, especially the corners. I always knew the buggy had tons of adjustments and assumed that the factory settings were close enough. Anyways, I ended up changing the following:

-wheelbase (shortened it)
-rear toe (was set at 3.5 deg in, now 0.5 deg in)
-Anti-squat (rear was at 2 deg, now it's 1 deg)
-Front sway bar was softened up

All of this should greatly help me with my cornering problems.
As with any adjustments, some things are sacrificed but they were minor and the benefits, (I hope), should greatly outweigh those sacrifices. Of course the ultimate test will be tomorrow at the track. More to follow.........

[Nitro_Keebler]

That IS an awesome site... I almost feel like I need to get a college degree in vehicle dynamics now