Whiteline swaybar

[BlacklistedXR]

I am looking at upgrading the suspension and getting koni yellow adustable shocks, full nolathane bushes kit, whiteline swaybars and reusing the king springs that are in there now.
The rear swaybar is an easy choice as there is only one size and type to choose from: 20mm heavy duty and i will be choosing the blade adjustable for when i goto track events.
The front has got me stumped though as im not sure what size and type to go for as there is a few to choose from. I have heard that adding aftermarket bushes also have a bit to do with determining the right swaybar.
Here are the available front swaybars that are adjustable:
Swaybar 27mm-h/duty Blade adjustable
Swaybar 30mm-h/duty Blade adjustable
Swaybar 30mm-X h/duty Blade adjustable
Which would give the best handling performance? I would rather sacrifice road comfort for performance as i plan on doing circle work when the car goes back on the road and want to have a competitive car when it does some competitive work.
Car is an AU2 Falcon XR8.
Thanks

[eXi7w0unD]

get coilovers :P

[Mr Hardware]

falcons already have a coil over spring type rear suspension.

[BlacklistedXR]

Originally Posted by eXi7w0unD

get coilovers :P

Nolthane make a front coilover setup for the AU Falcon, looks pretty good but at over $1500 for a pair i dont think itll be worth it over a good shock/spring combo.

[blueoval]

The question is, what do you want your car to do?

1. Improved handling for street and occasional fun in the hills?
2. Better handling for heavy street driving and lots of hill work?
3. Hard handling on the street/hills with some track work?
4. Minimal street and heavy track work?
5. Pure track work?

Depending on what option you go for I'd choose the following:
1. = 27mm non adj (front)
2. = 27mm adj or 30mm adj (front) 20mm (rear)
3. = 30mm adj (front) 22mm (rear)
4. = 30mm adj or 30mm Xh/d adj (front) 22mm+ (rear)
5. = 30 Xh/d adj (front) 22mm+ (rear)

I hope this is understandable :P

[BlacklistedXR]

Originally Posted by blueoval

The question is, what do you want your car to do?

1. Improved handling for street and occasional fun in the hills?
2. Better handling for heavy street driving and lots of hill work?
3. Hard handling on the street/hills with some track work?
4. Minimal street and heavy track work?
5. Pure track work?

Depending on what option you go for I'd choose the following:
1. = 27mm non adj (front)
2. = 27mm adj or 30mm adj (front) 20mm (rear)
3. = 30mm adj (front) 22mm (rear)
4. = 30mm adj or 30mm Xh/d adj (front) 22mm+ (rear)
5. = 30 Xh/d adj (front) 22mm+ (rear)

I hope this is understandable :P

Wow! That is exactly the info i needed. Where can i get 22mm swaybars from? They dont have any on the whiteline site. XR8 has got IRS and only have the 20mm rear bars shown. Do you think a 30mm xh/d front with 20mm h/d rear would be a good combo (both being adjustable) if they dont sell the 22mm rears or will that stuff up the oversteer or understeer of the car? Have heard that stuffing up the sizes on the swaybars can screw up the handling characteristics of the car, eg. too much understeer or oversteer.
Cheers for the help!

[blueoval]

Originally Posted by BlacklistedXR

Wow! That is exactly the info i needed. Where can i get 22mm swaybars from? They dont have any on the whiteline site. XR8 has got IRS and only have the 20mm rear bars shown. Do you think a 30mm xh/d front with 20mm h/d rear would be a good combo (both being adjustable) if they dont sell the 22mm rears or will that stuff up the oversteer or understeer of the car? Have heard that stuffing up the sizes on the swaybars can screw up the handling characteristics of the car, eg. too much understeer or oversteer.
Cheers for the help!

No worries mate, IMO having a sway bar thats too big for your application can ruin your driving experience as you will find oversteer can be prominent. But it also depends on your spring/shock combo too. I believe your spring/shock combo is of more importance than the sway bars.

Having an adj sway is good if your into experimenting with your car on a regular basis. Do you do track work? How often do you like to play with your suspension settings? Are you looking to improving your times on a stretch of road or track?

From what I have, I didnt want to set my car up purely for a track as its a daily driver, and I wanted some relative comfort as well as improved handling. I went the 27mm non adj on the front, and 20mm non adj rear. For me, this gave a good balance of handling without inducing oversteer.

I have nothing against those who go the bigger 30mm HD adj versions. But to me there is no point going that big unless your intending to play with the settings to serve a designed purpose often.

I know that you can get 22mm rear sways, probably not in the whiteline catalogue but possibly in the KMAC or Pedders range you could.

Just be honest with yourself when you choose. Forget the 'fully sick' reasons and do it right the first time.

[Dave_Obsession]

great advice Shav!

[AU3XSR]

I've got a 27mm adjustable whiteline front with a whiteline 24mm rear on my crate (non IRS rear), which I have found to be a good combination that gives the car heaps of grip and a relatively neutral handling feel. I agree with Shav that the spring shock combo will have a more significant affect on the behaviour of the car than the swaybars - which are a bit of a ham fisted method for controlling roll.

As far as sizing goes, don't go too big otherwise you'll have noticable understeer. I would say that unless you are planning on serious track work then a 27mm adjustable will be more than adequate.

[BlacklistedXR]

Originally Posted by blueoval

No worries mate, IMO having a sway bar thats too big for your application can ruin your driving experience as you will find oversteer can be prominent. But it also depends on your spring/shock combo too. I believe your spring/shock combo is of more importance than the sway bars.

Having an adj sway is good if your into experimenting with your car on a regular basis. Do you do track work? How often do you like to play with your suspension settings? Are you looking to improving your times on a stretch of road or track?

From what I have, I didnt want to set my car up purely for a track as its a daily driver, and I wanted some relative comfort as well as improved handling. I went the 27mm non adj on the front, and 20mm non adj rear. For me, this gave a good balance of handling without inducing oversteer.

I have nothing against those who go the bigger 30mm HD adj versions. But to me there is no point going that big unless your intending to play with the settings to serve a designed purpose often.

I know that you can get 22mm rear sways, probably not in the whiteline catalogue but possibly in the KMAC or Pedders range you could.

Just be honest with yourself when you choose. Forget the 'fully sick' reasons and do it right the first time.

Great info and advice. I will add to your rep.
I will be getting into track work and want to play around with the adjustments on the shocks and swaybars to acheive the best setup for the track and be able to readjust for optimum settings for the street. I will be going with Koni Yellow adjustable shocks all round with king ultra low rear and super low front springs. I do want it to be fast on the circle stuff, quarter mile isnt a top proiority for my car.
The car wont be driven daily but will be driven on the weekends. I dont mind a little bit of a rough ride but do want to be fairly comfortable when i drive it on the street. I thought that i could adjust the swaybars and shocks for a soft setting for the street and when i goto the track then adjust it back to a stiffer setting?

[blueoval]

Originally Posted by BlacklistedXR

Great info and advice. I will add to your rep.
I will be getting into track work and want to play around with the adjustments on the shocks and swaybars to acheive the best setup for the track and be able to readjust for optimum settings for the street. I will be going with Koni Yellow adjustable shocks all round with king ultra low rear and super low front springs. I do want it to be fast on the circle stuff, quarter mile isnt a top proiority for my car.
The car wont be driven daily but will be driven on the weekends. I dont mind a little bit of a rough ride but do want to be fairly comfortable when i drive it on the street. I thought that i could adjust the swaybars and shocks for a soft setting for the street and when i goto the track then adjust it back to a stiffer setting?

Thanks for the rep points

Sounds like your going for option 4. Good choice for shocks. Koni's are excellent. Although Im not a major fan of King Springs, you should get excellent handling characteristics on the track with that combination of shocks/springs and sways.

Are you doing a urethane bush kit too while you at it?

Have you looked into strut braces, and performance trailing arms (assuming you have live axle rear)?

Let us know how you go on the track.

[BlacklistedXR]

Originally Posted by blueoval

Are you doing a urethane bush kit too while you at it?

Have you looked into strut braces, and performance trailing arms (assuming you have live axle rear)?

Let us know how you go on the track.

I will be using Nolathane for the bushes. Im not sure of anyone who makes strut braces for the AU Falcon, is there an aftermarket brace available?
Car has independent rear suspension which is an added bonus for track work.
Will let you know how i go.
CHeers

[blueoval]

Originally Posted by BlacklistedXR

I will be using Nolathane for the bushes. Im not sure of anyone who makes strut braces for the AU Falcon, is there an aftermarket brace available?
Car has independent rear suspension which is an added bonus for track work.
Will let you know how i go.
CHeers

I think whiteline do a strut brace. You may need to check with them.

[MGM]

ive just bought 26mm swaybar mount bushes for my au, will they fit with a 27mm bar?

[blueoval]

They'll be a little tight. Be sure to add heaps of grease if you decide to fit them.

[BlacklistedXR]

Just spoke to a couple of suspension shops today and it seems that they reccomend either a 27h/d adjustable front with 20mm h/d adjustable rears for street and occasional track or a 30mm h/d adjustable front and 20mm h/d adjustable rear if I'm going to be doing track work with minimal street.
I was close to putting the order in for the 30/20 combo but thought I would post here to get some thoughts. Car will only be used on weekends and track days.
Any ideas if I should go ahead and get the 30/20 bars?

[blueoval]

Originally Posted by BlacklistedXR

Just spoke to a couple of suspension shops today and it seems that they reccomend either a 27h/d adjustable front with 20mm h/d adjustable rears for street and occasional track or a 30mm h/d adjustable front and 20mm h/d adjustable rear if I'm going to be doing track work with minimal street.
I was close to putting the order in for the 30/20 combo but thought I would post here to get some thoughts. Car will only be used on weekends and track days.
Any ideas if I should go ahead and get the 30/20 bars?

That shouldnt be too bad going the 30/20 combo. Should turn in nicely. Not that 2mm would make a massive difference on the rear, but just feel for any over steer mid corner and adjust it accordingly. Other than that, let us know how you go.