OK I am showing my age hear but if I remember right the rear bar effects the front and the front effects the rear at least to some degree. I have noticed two things with the new front bushings, the front seems to require a little less input to turn and the rear seems a bit looser. I have not played with damping yet. I feel like I need to soften the rear a bit, they are pretty stiff now. The fronts feel about right. with 0 being stiffest I am at at +14 in front and +17 in the rear. Before I put on the stiffer front bushings I was going to increase damping in the rear. I am going to try the 34mm bushings up front.
The sway bar is actually a preloaded lever, when you change the front bushings not only does it change the bushing to a stiffer bushing it changes the preload as it is so much thinner. It moves the bar about 3/4 of an inch closer to the frame. Bob can probably explain this better than I can but I am sure it has an effect. If I understand it correctly this will make the bar stiffer. I think even more stiffness could be achieved by changing the end links to shorter ones. They are also very cheap I may try this at some point. I think ours are 2 7/8 " now. I like the cheap easy stuff, if it doesn't work just change it back.
I'm sort of confused as to what bushings you have on which bars.
if I remember right the rear bar effects the front and the front effects the rear at least to some degreeThe bar affects the end that it is attached to. BUT, the way THAT end now works makes the other end feel better or worse.
the front seems to require a little less input to turn and the rear seems a bit looserNot knowing what rate springs you have it's sort of hard to nail down what is happening. But if the shocks are set wrong (relatively speaking) or the front springs are too soft, the firmer action of the front bar may be doing this.
The sway bar is actually a preloaded lever, when you change the front bushings not only does it change the bushing to a stiffer bushing it changes the preload as it is so much thinnerNow I AM confused.
With the car EMPTY and setting on level pavement, the bars should be completely unloaded. This is where adjustable endlinks come in to play; with driver weight in the seat set the adjusters to ZERO load at the control arm. (Theoritcally, only ONE adjustable end link is needed per bar.) The poly bushings are reducing the movement of the bar as loads go into the suspension and thus "act" just a bit quicker, but once the twist starts very little is different from rubber bushings. For left and right driving there should (ideally) be ZERO preload at rest. The roundy round guys can use preload to adjust how their cars corner (entry, middle, and exit).
If I understand it correctly this will make the bar stiffer. I think even more stiffness could be achieved by changing the end links to shorter onesIn practical terms, the endlinks are there to keep the bar clear of other pieces and fairly parallel to the ground. The bar is as it is, and can't be "tricked" into being anything different (stiffer or softer) than it is. It is hollow or solid with certain diameters and wall thickness (and even different hardness), X inches left to right (in the center), arms are Y inches long at Z angle, and people that know this stuff can be figure out what "rate" a given bar is. Moving the mount up, down, in, or out fractions of inches really doesn't matter unless there have been REALLY big changes in average ride height. On some cars suspension binding can occur as the pieces "compete" with each other as the suspension moves. I know that mt TR8 can have that problem, but I seriously doubt this is an issue. (After all, the differences in a poorly designed 30 year old British car and a Kappa ARE rather easily appreciated !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Trust me on THAT one.) The stock end link is the best legnth to stay with, should be at about a right angle to the travel, and its legnth will not effect the rate of the bar. On a given bar only moving the location of the link on the bar will change the bar's rate. I punched a hole (on each end) inboard of the existing hole on my FE3 bar and I could feel the change. Getting back to the bushings, THEY will alter WHEN the effect of the bar takes place - it isn't getting stiffer (that is a constant for a give bar and endlink point) it is just "working" sooner.
Phew. Sorry. Goat touched on a bunch of things in one post.
(Disclaimer; not trying to lecture. I have been screwing with the suspension and alignments since October 06 when I first Solo'ed my RL while in SCCA Solo Stock class for 07 and 08, and this year has been a real thrash for Street Prepared. I have made a ton of changes and nearly as many mistakes. Just trying to shorten other peoples learning curves as it is cheaper NOT to repeat other peoples mistakes.)
Semi off topic, but not too far. Did you know that C4, 5, and 6 Corvettes come with PLASTIC end links!!! Just found that out two days ago.
