Factory sway bars is one better than the others. Cars with F41 swaybars V GN and 442/ Hurst Olds sway bars? Are they the same or is the GN or 442 bars better? Thanks. Bernhard
Sway Bars
- Thread starter Bernhard
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F-41 bars should all be the same to my knowledge. At least for the front. I believe there were two different rear bars. One was 7/8" and another was 1".
Other options out there are to use the 3rd gen F-body hollow front bar. Those were 34mm and 36mm. The 36mm is a pretty tight fit and would take a really large rear bar to compensate for it. Or an SC&C pro-touring rear adjustable sway bar.
Other options out there are to use the 3rd gen F-body hollow front bar. Those were 34mm and 36mm. The 36mm is a pretty tight fit and would take a really large rear bar to compensate for it. Or an SC&C pro-touring rear adjustable sway bar.
it depends on the year. older F-41 bars were smaller. the later ones were 1 1/4 . sorry i don't know what year they switched.
IIRC all the rear bars are 7/8. but on our cars you don't want a very stiff rear bar as it promotes major oversteer. so i'd stick with stock in back unless the car is highly modified and actually needs it.
IIRC all the rear bars are 7/8. but on our cars you don't want a very stiff rear bar as it promotes major oversteer. so i'd stick with stock in back unless the car is highly modified and actually needs it.
IMO you want the stiffest bars you can get. A stiff rear bar will help reduce wheel hop without posi and will reduce right wheel lift/spin with posi and a stiff front bar will help reduce dive in corners and braking. Stiff bars and light/medium shocks are the bomb IMO. German engineers do the same thing on Beemers and Mercedes. On the other hand spoolz are different altogether. I don't do spoolz cuz I drive on the street. For the strip ask a drag guy.
The problem with a really stiff bar in the rear with the converging 4 link suspension is that it causes more problems with handling than helps. Since the bar is mounted to the lower control arms, you end up fighting the stiff bar and the rear suspension can't articulate as well.
The ideal solution is that no one component is dominant in the entire system. Shocks/springs should match front and rear sway bars along with vehicle weights, tire sizes, etc.
Keep in mind too that BMW and Mercedes have vastly better rear suspension setups than our stock G-body.
The ideal solution is that no one component is dominant in the entire system. Shocks/springs should match front and rear sway bars along with vehicle weights, tire sizes, etc.
Keep in mind too that BMW and Mercedes have vastly better rear suspension setups than our stock G-body.
Like Andrew said I don't think any bigger bars then 1" for the back will help with the way the bar was mounted. Maybe if you used like a 3rd gen F-body rear sway bar and drilled holes in the frame and mounted traditional end links there it could be better but for the time and cost you might as well throw a stock one on and focus time and resources elsewhere.
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79loserbluebu said:
I got the 36mm 1LE sway bar for the front.. How would i go about drilling the the holes for the rear? I had the f41 rear sway bar that i sold off my car. I think the f-body rear sway bar is easier to find but wondered what would it take to make it work on a g body??
Not sure if this would work for your application, but the stock 78 & 79 Grand Am front sway bar is 1 5/16" thick. It may be the same for the 80, 81 grand am also but I know on my Grand Ams that's the size.
On my 442 I had a 36mm hollow up front with the stock f-41 rear bar and the combo seemed to work pretty well on the street. I also had aftermarket rear lower control arms and an air bag in the passenger rear spring normally set between 10 & 12lbs. I know it worked well for launching as both tires would leave flat solid equal length black marks. 15x7s on the front and 15x8s on the rear. Springs were stock f-41 suspension springs ie same as GN/Ttype/442/MCSS. Tires were 235/60/15s up front and 275/60/15s drag radials on the rear. I also had the jounce bars up front and the Pontiac bar that ties them together. Never did the gradual speeding circle test to see which slid out first though.(front or rear tires) I think despite the drag radials it would be the rear but I am sure it would hold a higher speed than stock. If I had no pressure in the air bag it might hold a faster circle but it was quicker to spin when on & off the throttle and at launch so a few pounds in ye ole air bag was a good trade off for me. Also noteworthy for this car is that it had LOTS of low end torque.
I don't use polyurethane bushings in any of the suspension except the end links & sway bar bushings which I put new on this car. Inexpensive poly end links are probably the biggest bang for the buck suspension upgrades/wear & tear item on these cars. Read that again & just do it. Get them from Jegs etc or order them at your local autoparts store. I also like poly for body bushings & the transmission mount. Poly bushings in other suspension parts such control arms etc are a marketing thing and actually mostly serve to make the car ride harsh.
On my GN I had the stock f-41 front & rear sway bars & the jounce & Pontiac bar to complete the triangle. Again 15x7s up front with 235/60/15s & 15x8s on the rear but with 275/50/15 drag radials. ( I needed to keep a shorter tire to work with my turbo & converter.) Also like on the 442 I used an air bag in the passenger side rear set at 10 to 12 lbs & aftermarket lower control arms. What can I say it worked well for the launch leaving two solid even length black marks. The big difference on my GN was that I had the very stiff Eibach lowering springs on this car. The GN was more fun on the on/off ramps but was more harsh and a pain with speed bumps & parking blocks. To do over on either car I would use springs between the f-41 & the short stiff slightly harsh & bouncy Eibachs. I would use the Moog 5660 up front & the corresponding rear springs. Hope this helps somebody.
I don't use polyurethane bushings in any of the suspension except the end links & sway bar bushings which I put new on this car. Inexpensive poly end links are probably the biggest bang for the buck suspension upgrades/wear & tear item on these cars. Read that again & just do it. Get them from Jegs etc or order them at your local autoparts store. I also like poly for body bushings & the transmission mount. Poly bushings in other suspension parts such control arms etc are a marketing thing and actually mostly serve to make the car ride harsh.
On my GN I had the stock f-41 front & rear sway bars & the jounce & Pontiac bar to complete the triangle. Again 15x7s up front with 235/60/15s & 15x8s on the rear but with 275/50/15 drag radials. ( I needed to keep a shorter tire to work with my turbo & converter.) Also like on the 442 I used an air bag in the passenger side rear set at 10 to 12 lbs & aftermarket lower control arms. What can I say it worked well for the launch leaving two solid even length black marks. The big difference on my GN was that I had the very stiff Eibach lowering springs on this car. The GN was more fun on the on/off ramps but was more harsh and a pain with speed bumps & parking blocks. To do over on either car I would use springs between the f-41 & the short stiff slightly harsh & bouncy Eibachs. I would use the Moog 5660 up front & the corresponding rear springs. Hope this helps somebody.
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