used aftermarket sway bars

hi all:

tomorrow i'm heading over to a place that advertises themselves as
specializing in corvette & miata salvage. they have one used
aftermarket front sway bar that has to come off the car it came in
with. they're not sure which brand it is.

1) is it wise to go with a used front sway bar?

2) the only brands that get any sort of consistent endorsement are FM,
jackson (racing) & racing beat. are they fairly distinguishable from
each other, should it fall upon me to determine the manufacturer?

thanks.

barry

'94 red
('90 sky blue "marvin" RIP)

"i can spell. i just can't type."

In article >,
barry > wrote:

> 1) is it wise to go with a used front sway bar?

Sure. It's probably the least-easily-damaged part of the car. Don't
forget to grab the bushings, too--they'll have a larger I.D. than stock.

> 2) the only brands that get any sort of consistent endorsement are FM,
> jackson (racing) & racing beat. are they fairly distinguishable from
> each other, should it fall upon me to determine the manufacturer?

It doesn't matter, since those vendors sourced their bars from various
manufacturers, possibly the same ones as their competitors at times. The
only important variable is the diameter. If you have a caliper, take it
with you. Popular sizes are 7/8", 1". and 1-1/8".

On Fri, 07 Sep 2007 21:11:26 -0500, Lanny Chambers
> wrote:

>In article >,
> barry > wrote:
>
>> 1) is it wise to go with a used front sway bar?
>
>Sure. It's probably the least-easily-damaged part of the car. Don't
>forget to grab the bushings, too--they'll have a larger I.D. than stock.
>
>> 2) the only brands that get any sort of consistent endorsement are FM,
>> jackson (racing) & racing beat. are they fairly distinguishable from
>> each other, should it fall upon me to determine the manufacturer?
>
>It doesn't matter, since those vendors sourced their bars from various
>manufacturers, possibly the same ones as their competitors at times. The
>only important variable is the diameter. If you have a caliper, take it
>with you. Popular sizes are 7/8", 1". and 1-1/8".

thanks.i gave them a call and they said that it's bent. i'm going to
pass on this one.

"i can spell. i just can't type."

On Sat, 08 Sep 2007 06:11:14 -0500, pws >
wrote:

>Lanny Chambers wrote:
>
>> Sure. It's probably the least-easily-damaged part of the car. Don't
>> forget to grab the bushings, too--they'll have a larger I.D. than stock.
>
>Absolutely.
>The white 1990 that I parted out had jumped a curb and smashed the frame
>directly, breaking both front wheels, pushing the steering rack into the
>frame of the car enough that I had to cut it off because the bolts were
>mangled and misaligned, and bending one sway bar end-link nearly 45
>degrees, but the front bar and even the mounts were fine and it is on
>another Miata now.
>
>Pat

hmm. maybe i should go take a look. they only want $10 for it. but i
forgot to ask about the bushings.

"i can spell. i just can't type."

On Fri, 07 Sep 2007 21:11:26 -0500, Lanny Chambers
> wrote:

>In article >,
> barry > wrote:
>
>> 1) is it wise to go with a used front sway bar?
>
>Sure. It's probably the least-easily-damaged part of the car. Don't
>forget to grab the bushings, too--they'll have a larger I.D. than stock.
>
>> 2) the only brands that get any sort of consistent endorsement are FM,
>> jackson (racing) & racing beat. are they fairly distinguishable from
>> each other, should it fall upon me to determine the manufacturer?
>
>It doesn't matter, since those vendors sourced their bars from various
>manufacturers, possibly the same ones as their competitors at times. The
>only important variable is the diameter. If you have a caliper, take it
>with you. Popular sizes are 7/8", 1". and 1-1/8".

decision time:

1) i can get "new" Fm sway bars for $160 (front sway bar put on and
taken off after only 2 days - owner didn't like the ride - yes, i
suggested to him that he got massive understeer w/o putting on the
rear sway bar also, but he still wants to sell because he needs the $)
& would come with bushings, etc.

2) i can get get used FM sway bars at $50 each (front & back) & $20
shipping - but then i have to get bushings. the rear bushings are $12
- but FM doesn't sell the front bushings separately. who would have
appropriate aftermarket bushings and how much would they run?

3) i can get just a front sway bar at 7/8" for $50 plus $20 shipping
plus whatever for bushings and go with the stock rear bar, and take
the extra (?) $ and put on a used BSP front subframe brace for only
$40. (this appeals to me as being the biggest bang for the buck -
depending on what it would cost to get appropriate bushings)

feedback/ thoughts?

thanks.

bc



i could just buy everything new, but i get an esoteric kick from cost
effectiveness. (it's an asian thing!).

--------
"any words spelled incorrectly are probably typing errors"

In article >,
barry > wrote:

> 3) i can get just a front sway bar at 7/8" for $50 plus $20 shipping
> plus whatever for bushings and go with the stock rear bar

Thr front bar in my FM set *is* 7/8". The rear bar is 5/8", for a
nicely-balanced match on my '94. I realize FM started shipping 1" front
bars at some later point, presumably because people didn't really want
neutral Miatas, but felt more comfortable with reliable understeer. I'd
rather be able to control under/oversteer with my right foot, even
though it means paying more attention.

Of course, you can overcome the swaybars' natural balance with an
exaggerated alignment, though it may take several alignments to get what
you want. Not the cheapest way out.

On Wed, 26 Sep 2007 21:52:38 -0500, Lanny Chambers
> wrote:

>In article >,
> barry > wrote:
>
>> 3) i can get just a front sway bar at 7/8" for $50 plus $20 shipping
>> plus whatever for bushings and go with the stock rear bar
>
>Thr front bar in my FM set *is* 7/8". The rear bar is 5/8", for a
>nicely-balanced match on my '94. I realize FM started shipping 1" front
>bars at some later point, presumably because people didn't really want
>neutral Miatas, but felt more comfortable with reliable understeer. I'd
>rather be able to control under/oversteer with my right foot, even
>though it means paying more attention.

so with

7/8" & 12mm ) in back, 22:12 = .55,

i'd expect to have slightly more understeer than with

1 "- 5/8" 8:5 = .625

if we assume that

7/8 - 5/8 7:5=.71

is actually neutral.given that i like to drift, it sounds like i
should go with the used FM route and get the 7/8" 5/8" combo (FM has
both in salvage).

i still need to get bushings for ther front sway bars. should i expect
to have diificulty finding a 7/8" polyurethane front sway bar bushing?
and are there any suggestions? the only brand i've found via googling
the NG is energy suspension.

>Of course, you can overcome the swaybars' natural balance with an
>exaggerated alignment, though it may take several alignments to get what
>you want. Not the cheapest way out.







--------
"any words spelled incorrectly are probably typing errors"

On Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:53:32 -0700, barry wrote:

> On Wed, 26 Sep 2007 21:52:38 -0500, Lanny Chambers
> > wrote:
>
>>In article >,
>> barry > wrote:
>>
>>> 3) i can get just a front sway bar at 7/8" for $50 plus $20 shipping
>>> plus whatever for bushings and go with the stock rear bar
>>
>>Thr front bar in my FM set *is* 7/8". The rear bar is 5/8", for a
>>nicely-balanced match on my '94. I realize FM started shipping 1" front
>>bars at some later point, presumably because people didn't really want
>>neutral Miatas, but felt more comfortable with reliable understeer. I'd
>>rather be able to control under/oversteer with my right foot, even
>>though it means paying more attention.
>
> so with
>
> 7/8" & 12mm ) in back, 22:12 = .55,
>
> i'd expect to have slightly more understeer than with
>
> 1 "- 5/8" 8:5 = .625

However, the stiffness of bars is not proportional to
the diameter. It is proportional to the fourth power
of diameter.

Nor is there a direct bar-stiffness-ratio/understeer
relationship. Else a bar-less car would have both infinite
oversteer and understeer.

Leon


> if we assume that
>
> 7/8 - 5/8 7:5=.71
>
> is actually neutral.given that i like to drift, it sounds like i
> should go with the used FM route and get the 7/8" 5/8" combo (FM has
> both in salvage).
>
> i still need to get bushings for ther front sway bars. should i expect
> to have diificulty finding a 7/8" polyurethane front sway bar bushing?
> and are there any suggestions? the only brand i've found via googling
> the NG is energy suspension.
>
>>Of course, you can overcome the swaybars' natural balance with an
>>exaggerated alignment, though it may take several alignments to get what
>>you want. Not the cheapest way out.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --------
> "any words spelled incorrectly are probably typing errors"

Leon,

Would he get more "roll rate" with a "White" bar than say, a black or
red bar due to the "speed" of the White bar ? :-)

Bruce Bing '03 LS

Well, I wouldn't mix the colors, that's for sure. The consequences, and
therefore the outcome are incalculable.

--
" ya gotta let it out, Captain! " ( Jaime Brockett )
"BRUCE HASKIN" > wrote in message
...
> Leon,
>
> Would he get more "roll rate" with a "White" bar than say, a black or
> red bar due to the "speed" of the White bar ? :-)
>
> Bruce Bing '03 LS
>