Re: Removing front swaybar improves handling??

[VWMikeLVW@aol.com]

In a message dated 12/12/00 12:25:58 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
sfwilliams@home.com writes:


> Eric, I think you've got some of your tuning wires crossed.
>
> > There are the 'Shine Racing' folks that run with no front sway bar (I am
> > part of this group.) Then there are the rest of the world who say big
> > front bar and minimal rear bar.
>
> I don't know *anyone* who suggests using a minimal rear bar. Folks usually
> debate no front bar with big rear bar or big bars front and rear.
>
> >  I personally prefer the big rear bar no
> > front bar approach.  but only for the street,
>
> Wierd, this is the method that turns the best times on the *track*. In order
> to control the camber changes in the front end of a VW one either has to add
> roll stiffness via big swaybars or by stouter front springs. Doing it with
> the springs makes for a lot of crash and bang on real streets. On the track
> it makes for a very balanced car. I've not seen this work on the autocross
> circuit but then I'm not an autocrosser...
>
> > The big front bar is the best
> > for a fully prepped racer for sure.  As for the street, I prefer the no
> > front bar.
>
> Once again, I've never seen or heard of racers running big *front* bars.
> Autocrossers and street people will do it but definitely not road racers.
>
> (And now.. -back to our regularly scheduled contreversy...)
> ______________________________


On my turbo bunny, I have some old school Koni suspension which isn't the 
most forgiving. Since I switched the rear beam to one from a Scirocco 16v 
(for the rear disks) I left the original 16v sway bar on there. I also added 
a set of Rabbit hutch sway bars (basically H&H copies, the rear is the same 
as the shine bar). The front bar is rather short and mounts to a little 
subframe thing that bolts on...but the sway bar and the downpipe didn't clear 
one another. I spaced the bar down to keep those from hitting...the trade off 
was that the sway bar was *very* close to the ground. After one of the mounts 
came off I removed the bar as I didn't feel like fixing it just then. The 
difference I have noticed is that the car doesn't feel as 'light' on high 
speed turns (like freeway ramps and such). I have left the bar off for this 
reason. I think front sway bars are good on low hp street cars for 
maintaining good low speed maneuverin!
g and for this same reason are good for 
autocross cars. For big, wide open maneuvering, the 'no front bar' thing 
works...but only if your spring rates can back it up. Removing the bar on 
most street cars is foolish,...the soft rates mean the front wheel will just 
tuck under and you'll go sliding. Just my $0.02

Mike
http://www.geocities.com/vwmikel
'84-Arkay Turbo Rabbit GTI
'84-Rabbit GTI - uh.....
'77-Rabbit - project
'80-Scirocco S - (um... to be:1.9L crossflow, turbo, 6 speed, widebody?)