Rear sway bar questions

I've been looking into rear sway bars and I was looking for others comments on it. I found two brands, Addco and Hellwig but notice one is 3/4in and the other is 7/8in. Any comments? also, I do no offroading

 

Thicker = less 'sway'

 

Understood. But is thicker better? What I mean is can I overdo it and have a stiff ass driving truck lol

 

Of course you can over do it. It will change your handling. For better or worse. I'd go with the thinnest option if I were you.

 

I have the Hellwig. Love it.

 

Too large a sway will impact your off road traction, mostly because it restricts the articulation of the rear axle.

The larger bar will improve handling on the street, though that can cause its own set of problems. When cornering hard it can cause the inside wheel to lift, without a rear LSD you will get wheel spin. In the real world though i hope you are not cornering hard enough to make that happen.

 

A bigger bar does not always mean better street handling. The goal of bars is to create neutral handling and minimal body roll. In other words, no oversteer, no understeer, and minimal weight transfer. The right amount of bar to achieve this depends on many factors, and you won't get that answer here.

Getting a straight answer from the manufacturer can be damn tough too. If somehow you do get the spring rates from the two bars, I would choose the lower rate for a truck that runs empty, and the higher rate for a truck that runs heavy. Pickups tend to oversteer as it is, and that is why Toyota just uses a front bar. If you have removed the front bar as some have, I would get the lower rate for sure unless you are carrying a heavy camper.

Jusr because one bar is bigger does not mean that it actually applies a greater spring rate to the truck either. The two bars mentioned are produced in completely different ways. One is cold formed after heat treating, and the other is heated treated after forming. That will result in different characteristics. The work hardening of the cold formed bar should result in a higher spring rate. The shape of the bar and the length of the arms will also affect the way the bar reacts. The only way to know is to put the bar in a test jig and measure it.

Bottom line is that there is no one simple answer to the question. I've had Helwig in the past and their bars have done well for me. I plan to get a Helwig first and see how it does. I may end up with both and keep the one that best matches my needs. My guess is that most would not be able to tell the difference between either bar. If you have spent time on a track you might.

 

I got one too and I love it. Less understeer, but no oversteer. It seems to be a better match for the Sport. And SR5 if it uses the same front bar. In the Offroad the front "lags" a little. The Hellwig really performs well on the backroads. I'm not pushing it like a sportscar in no way, it just drives better now. If this swaybar was any bigger or better I feel it would be too much for the rear traction.

 

OP I see you have an Offroad so I would get the smaller Hellwig.

 

Search. There are threads on this topic in here.