Torsion bars
Stiff? It is all a matter of personal preference AND the application. T-Bars (and springs of any type) CAN be too stiff on roads that have rough surfaces and have large bumps; the shock/spring combo that matches will not be compliant on rough roads. That is why the OP needs to help with info. And the guys who like the 1" bars really would help to say what kind of roads they drive on and how, where they drive their cars, etc. ... IMO.
Living and driving in an around a large European city I can say I encounter all kinds of roadtypes, from brick stone roads, infested with speedbumps, upto smooth asphalt, also infested with speedbumps usually. And ofcourse the overabundance of roundabouts which seem so popular overhere.
Before I upgraded the Dart, coming up to most speedbumps made the car behave kinda 'ridiculous' if you didn't slow down enough; LCAs pretty much bottoming out on the upramp, suspension way unloading shortly after that, and the same happened in reverse on the downramp of the speedbump, followed by a few 'afterbumps' in the suspension.
In relation, newer cars don't really have to slow down.
Now, with the better torsionbars and shocks, I can drive over the speedbumps with the same speeds as all the other traffic around me, without causing unsettling suspension movements, making my car look like a cartooncar. (Well, not more than usual ;) )
On pretty much all road surfaces the car drives and handles much more 'serious' and modern than before.
If you look at the 1:19 mark in the Hotchkis videoclip below, you'll see exactly how my car also behaved after a dip/bump/speedbump;
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3q5RCsWwYw"]Development of the New Hotchkis Tuned APS Adjustable Monotube Shocks - YouTube[/ame]
My car now seems to behave pretty much just like the endresult in the clip.
