Hellwig Sway Bar = WOW! What a difference!!

-
JoesEdge

JoesEdge

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2013
Messages
1,107
Reaction score
285
Location
Downey, CA
Okay, so just got done installing my Hellwig Sway Bar (part number 55905) with stock 40 year old sloppy suspension, and just that alone made a HUGE difference!!

The car seems so much flatter on the turns!! I point the car into the turn and hit the gas and it stays nice and flat! Can't wait to get the rest of my front end suspension installed. That's the project for next weekend.

I wish I had photos to show, but the pictures wouldn't be too exciting anyway. The excitement comes in actually driving it!

The only thing is that I'm not sure if I installed up right side up or up side down. It has a bend in the middle, and I installed it with the bend going down similar to the stock sway bar. I hope that's the right way. The instructions aren't clear on that.
 
In California,sold Hellwig,a few times.. Their best money,is made from trucks,& towing... Hellwig is a local vendor to me,,and they have delivered for me,when I did parts.. They are quite good,at what they do....
... (P.S: if it lined up, you installed it,& your new install doesn't hang down low,call it a win....)
 
I rebuilt my entire front end suspension, welded up and reinforced my kframe, and lcas, added adjustable struts, as well as added the 1 1/8 hellwig... i cant wait to drive the sucker, especially with 1.03 tbs and billsteins.
 
I think that the "bump" goes up, but it should work either way...
 
I don't have a problem with your Hellwig plug. I will however suggest that you previously had no stabilizer / sway control. The earliest OEM a-body stabilizers were a very long "limber timber" in design. Even so, it was/is a vast improvement over notta.
Kind of reads like I'm trying to plug/sell a OEM limber timber. Not the case. Happy moparing
 
72Valiant4Door said:
I rebuilt my entire front end suspension, welded up and reinforced my kframe, and lcas, added adjustable struts, as well as added the 1 1/8 hellwig... i cant wait to drive the sucker, especially with 1.03 tbs and billsteins.
Click to expand...

What size rear bar are you using?
 
Stabilizer bars make a world of difference. My 75 F250 came with big ones front and rear and it makes a big difference.
 
72Valiant4Door said:
I rebuilt my entire front end suspension, welded up and reinforced my kframe, and lcas, added adjustable struts, as well as added the 1 1/8 hellwig... i cant wait to drive the sucker, especially with 1.03 tbs and billsteins.
Click to expand...

You are going to love it! I am doing everything you did minus the k frame work. I am hoping that's not a big mistake but I really don't want to pull my engine out.

Brown Santa should have my 1.03 bars, bushings, strut rods, lca plates, and bilstiens here by tuesday.
 
RedFish said:
I don't have a problem with your Hellwig plug. I will however suggest that you previously had no stabilizer / sway control. The earliest OEM a-body stabilizers were a very long "limber timber" in design. Even so, it was/is a vast improvement over notta.
Kind of reads like I'm trying to plug/sell a OEM limber timber. Not the case. Happy moparing
Click to expand...

My Duster had the a stock sway bar but like you said it was "limber timber" which I'm reading as thin and easily twisty.

I was surprised to see quite a few 74 75 and 76 Valiant in the wrecking yard with no sway bar at all or provisions for a sway bar. What made a Duster more special? Because it was a sporty Valiant?
 
That looks like a fair price on that unit. Am I reading correctly you replaced an OEM unit with this one? V-8 cars are more likely to have them. My 75 Dart Sport has the stock bar.
 
The best handling comes from using the stock springs, better quality shocks and a balanced set of anti-sway bars front and rear.
You need the suspension to be compliant and not stiff. Stiff springing makes the car hop over road bumps. The standard springs lets the tires follow the road. A tire bouncing off the road has no traction!
I used ADDCO bars back in the 70s with excellent results! :thumbsup:
 
Stiffer springs with a matching quality shock will provide a better handling, if everything else is up to par.
 
mguner said:
That looks like a fair price on that unit. Am I reading correctly you replaced an OEM unit with this one? V-8 cars are more likely to have them. My 75 Dart Sport has the stock bar.
Click to expand...

Yes, I replaced the OEM bar with this bar. My car was originally a 318 but now a 360.
 
odcics2 said:
The best handling comes from using the stock springs, better quality shocks and a balanced set of anti-sway bars front and rear.
You need the suspension to be compliant and not stiff. Stiff springing makes the car hop over road bumps. The standard springs lets the tires follow the road. A tire bouncing off the road has no traction!
I used ADDCO bars back in the 70s with excellent results! :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Stock torsion bars are 100% inadequate for modern tires. They were barely adequate for bias ply levels of traction. Even BFG t/a's put too much load on the stock bars.

72Valiant4Door said:
Stiffer springs with a matching quality shock will provide a better handling, if everything else is up to par.
Click to expand...

Exactly!

odcics2 said:
I agree, if you are on a smooth race track. If not, hope your fillings are tight! :steering:
Click to expand...

If you match your shocks to your torsion bars you don't get that problem.

I run 1.12" torsion bars AND a Hellwig 1 1/8" front bar and a 7/8" rear bar. Matched with a set of Hotchkis fox shocks the ride quality is fine. I drive my car as my daily, and my fillings are fine. The key is matching your suspension components to work together.
 
72bluNblu said:
I run 1.12" torsion bars AND a Hellwig 1 1/8" front bar and a 7/8" rear bar. Matched with a set of Hotchkis fox shocks the ride quality is fine. I drive my car as my daily, and my fillings are fine. The key is matching your suspension components to work together.
Click to expand...

What brand of torsion bars?
 
72bluNblu said:
Stock torsion bars are 100% inadequate for modern tires. They were barely adequate for bias ply levels of traction. Even BFG t/a's put too much load on the stock bars.



Exactly!



If you match your shocks to your torsion bars you don't get that problem.

I run 1.12" torsion bars AND a Hellwig 1 1/8" front bar and a 7/8" rear bar. Matched with a set of Hotchkis fox shocks the ride quality is fine. I drive my car as my daily, and my fillings are fine. The key is matching your suspension components to work together.
Click to expand...

What are your pound per inch ratings of your T-bars and anti-sway bars? What is your percent roll couple?
 
i've found that the rear springs are under sprung , building those up always improved handling . ran stock front and built some rears and the car went front a leaner to tracking around , no anti-sway bars at all and plain jane shocks . it was fun in the mountain drives . sat high although .

DSC03650.JPG
 
the hellwig kit is great , i used bolt on for a 73 v8 no provisions for sway, directions not so good , but parts excellent and world of differance for cheap money. saving for rar set up next.
 
Here's a pic of a guy that knew how to get around a track...
Notice the cars attitude.
petty43_1977.jpg
 
mguner said:
What brand of torsion bars?
Click to expand...

odcics2 said:
What are your pound per inch ratings of your T-bars and anti-sway bars? What is your percent roll couple?
Click to expand...

Firm feel 1.12" bars, 300 lb/in wheel rate. I don't remember what I calculated for the rating on the Hellwig bars, it was just a generic number based on the diameter. I use the hollow Hellwig a-body bar (55906) and the solid rear 7/8" E body bar. I wasn't going to go with custom bars so I wasn't too worried about calculating the exact numbers for the bars. I run 120 lb/in AFCO rear leafs with those bars.

pomonamissel said:
i've found that the rear springs are under sprung
Click to expand...

Actually the factory rear springs are much closer than the factory torsion bars, which are massively undersprung. The stock XHD leafs are 110 lb/in, the Mopar oval track springs are 120 lb/in and work great with a rear sway bar. Too much more than 130 lb/in in the rear and you have to drop the rear bar otherwise you get too tail happy.
odcics2 said:
Here's a pic of a guy that knew how to get around a track...
Notice the cars attitude.
Click to expand...

And that car would have been running 1.24" torsion bars at minimum, and maybe would have had the anchors swapped out for c-body pieces to run an even larger diameter depending on the set up.
 
72bluNblu said:
Stock torsion bars are 100% inadequate for modern tires. They were barely adequate for bias ply levels of traction. Even BFG t/a's put too much load on the stock bars.



Exactly!



If you match your shocks to your torsion bars you don't get that problem.

I run 1.12" torsion bars AND a Hellwig 1 1/8" front bar and a 7/8" rear bar. Matched with a set of Hotchkis fox shocks the ride quality is fine. I drive my car as my daily, and my fillings are fine. The key is matching your suspension components to work together.
Click to expand...

I agree with this 100%, I run the Mopar 1.14 bars, the 1 1/8 Helwig tubular front bar and the tubular Hotchkis rear bar and the Hotchkis/Fox shocks set on firm, Hotchkis rear springs with 245/45/17 tires and the ride is just fine in a 3196lb early a body. Its all about component matching.
 
72bluNblu said:
Firm feel 1.12" bars, 300 lb/in wheel rate. I don't remember what I calculated for the rating on the Hellwig bars, it was just a generic number based on the diameter. I use the hollow Hellwig a-body bar (55906) and the solid rear 7/8" E body bar. I wasn't going to go with custom bars so I wasn't too worried about calculating the exact numbers for the bars. I run 120 lb/in AFCO rear leafs with those bars.
And that car would have been running 1.24" torsion bars at minimum, and maybe would have had the anchors swapped out for c-body pieces to run an even larger diameter depending on the set up.
Click to expand...

All MoPar stock cars ran the "C" body t-bar anchor since the early 60s. One good way to tell if you find one in the weeds someplace, rusting away! The bars are 37" in length. Off hand, I remember about 20 different sizes up to 1.60. and rated at 1,250#/inch. Same with rear leafs: rates up to 1,400 #/inch. The faster the track and G forces, the heavier the suspension required to keep the car from bottoming.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top