Spring/Swaybar combo! January 26, 2005, 09:46:21 PM I have an '86 5.0L T-Bird and I am planning to buy a set of Eibach Spring for it to go autocrossing. The springs will lower the car an inch on all four corners and the fronts are rated at 600 lbs. per square inch linear and the rears a re at 150-200 progressive. I would like to match the sway bars to the springs and don't know what would work best. Any input would be helpful.Other supension work to come besides the springs and sway bars.Sunframe connecters, caster/camber platesIf you want to know about my T-Bird check out the readers rides section a coolcats.net Quote Selected
Re: Spring/Swaybar combo! Reply #1 – January 27, 2005, 12:33:16 AM from what i know, the best swaybars for these cars are the factory Turbo Coupe bars, pick up the front and rear bar from a turbo coupe, xr7, or stang Gt of similar years, and you should be good Quote Selected
Re: Spring/Swaybar combo! Reply #2 – January 27, 2005, 01:11:23 AM best stock bars are turbo coupe or sport, or xr7. after market ones for rear come as big as 1.125" and front as big as 1.4" and from what i have on a nother swaybar post some of the biger sn95 cobra bars are hollow and break, so i'd stay away from them. Quote Selected
Re: Spring/Swaybar combo! Reply #3 – January 27, 2005, 07:14:45 AM Instead of buying new bars now, install the springs and leave the stock bars on there. Your 86 should have the big stock set-up on it (33mm front/21mm rear). Sway bars are used to fine-tune a suspension, and the "biggest" you can get might not be the "best" for your application.I'd first start to compete and actually see how the car does before spending money on bars. You may not need anything, or you might want to add stiffness (or even take it away) depending on what you need either end of the car to do.Stiffen the chassis (SFCs and an STB) at the very least. Then go compete and decide from there. You may find that you need a bit more roll stiffness in the front, but less in the rear. Quote Selected
Re: Spring/Swaybar combo! Reply #4 – January 27, 2005, 11:25:15 AM chuck, if i remember correctly, thr V8 cars got the 1 1/4 bar up front, not the 1 5/16's, and got the smaller rear bar Quote Selected
Re: Spring/Swaybar combo! Reply #5 – January 27, 2005, 11:29:27 AM Regardless of what is on the car now put poly bushings on the front bar and actually compete in it and see what it needs. Auto-x requires different set-ups from fast road driving and road course handling. What feels good driving to the store or canyon carving might work for shiznit around the cones.....esp on tight courses. Quote Selected
Re: Spring/Swaybar combo! Reply #6 – January 27, 2005, 11:39:55 AM which is trueits best to have different bars handy, but it is a pain in the ass for a joe schmo to be lugging bars around to the auto-xthats why i generally reccomend the TC bars, because the factory put em on the car, so they were somewhat engineered for decent control, enough understeer to make it hard to really get out of shape...even though we still do Quote Selected
Re: Spring/Swaybar combo! Reply #7 – January 27, 2005, 11:48:19 AM The dynamics of auto-X are quite different though. My opinion is that he'd be better off to drive the car first and see. He might need larger bars..he might not. He also may want different set-ups for different courses depending on how far he gets into it. The extra bars might be needed anyway. Quote Selected
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