Does anyone have any experience with a rear sway bar? Are the benefits worth the time & money? I have lowered my truck 2" F & R and already notice that it takes the off ramps a little better but still a bit of body roll.
(tires aren't exactly racing quality). Yet
Any hints or tips appreciated...
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I just installed a Hellwig rear anti-sway bar. I was pleasantly surprised with the improvement. Whats worse than body roll, is body roll with leather seats. I slid all over the seat during cornering. Not even the same now. Get it. For $150 or so, you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner. A must have.

 

here's the hotchkis sway kit i used i can hit corners hard now!!! just the larger front made a huge difference......have fun....

 

I also got the helwig.
Put it on about 8 months ago, and what a difference,.

It is a great mod for < 150.00 to do.

Do it you won't be sorry.

 

Roushfan,
Did the kit include both front and rear for $150 ?
If so, that is a great deal - soon to be a done deal !

BTW very cleen ride !

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Howdy fishdeth,

The Hotchkis sway bars are a matched set sold by https://www.hotchkis.net/secure_index.html depending on the model they cost around 500.00 for the set.

 

yeah if your willing to pay for them they're worth it......

 

GREAT mod. This is one of those mods where you will immediately feal the difference.

Hint: Go to the store and pick up a JC Whitney catalog for $3. There is a 10% & 15% coupon in it (orders less than $150=10%, more than $150=15%). The sway bays are only $125 in the catalog. $125 - 10%=$112!

 

Going to buy one of my own soon! Going to get faster first,,,,98

 

Lone Wolf,.... (Is that you Ted) ???

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fishdeth,

In just a few words, you sumed up my whole suspension situation. Your also the first other member, I have stumbled upon that did "only" a 2/2 lowering. If you don't mind, I have some questions for you, but first to answer your question:

For me, the rear swaybar made the biggest difference. Probaly because our F-150s come with a front swaybar and no rear swaybar. ha! The results are immediate and well worth it. Infact, with your lowering and the swaybars, you will see incredible results. If you get "short sidewall" tires, the results should be awesome.

Okay, my situation is as follows:

I have a 99 F-150 supercab flareside. I have front and rear hellwig swaybars. I also have 265/75/16s (they are 31.6 inches tall and have far too much sidewall flex, therefore, I bought some chromed F-150/Expedition oem "buzzsaw" directional 17x7.5 rims and intend to get some sport truck 275/55/17s which are 28.9 inches tall and almost as wide as the Lightnings 295/45/18).

Recently, I installed a 2/2 lowering. I had purchased a 2/4 kit, and was going to adjust it for a 2/3 lowering ( I did not want a level look, I wanted a little bit of a "sport rake" look with the rear a little higher than the front). However, after installing the front 2 inch drop springs and going through rear hanger rivet hel* and installing the 2 inch drop rear hangers and adjusting the shackles for a 1 inch drop instead of 2, I found that the rear tire to fender space was shorter than the front tire to fender space. The only way to have the tire to fender space to be the same or a little more space in the back was to remove the shackles for a 2/2 drop. What is even more odd is that, with the front and rear tire to fender spaces about the same (rear has about 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch wider gap), the bottom of the frame is not level with the ground, it has the "sport rake" with the rear farther from the ground than the front. How do you get the sport rake look on the bottom of the frame, yet the tire to fender spaces are the same?

So my question is, with your 2/2 drop, how much of a tire to fender space do you have in the front and the rear?

Thanks.

 

Iron Horse,
Before lowering I had 5" in front & 7" in the rear. After installation I measured 3.5 up front & 5 in the back. I wish I got the full 2" up front but I am quite pleased with the look. (And the handling)
I was originally going to go with a 3/4 drop, but with the new air dam I'm glad I didn't. Cause I would have to find a place in the back yard to bury my old lady after she hit a curb or one of those parking stones and tore it off !!!
Can't wait to get my rear bar on... will post results.

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iron horse, I'd put 275/60/17's on those wheels. It's pretty much the perfect sized tire for the sawblade sport wheels. It's also a stock size so it will be easier to get the speedo calibrated correctly. The handling is great so far, and a sway bar should help alot in my situation. I'm also only doing a 2/2 drop, it has the lowered look but still allows the truck to be loaded like a truck So far I only have the back end dropped, but I'm looking at Eibach 2" springs for the front.,,,98

Here's what they look like for the rear. Nice and meaty, but no too big

 

fishdeth,

Thanks for the info. Nice pics.


98Screamer,

That is a good point about the 275/60/17s being a stock size. In the local newpapers, they sell new take off tires for $200 to $300 for four (4) tires.

The 275/55/17 Perilli Scorpion Zeros that I want are about $650 including shipping and not including mounting/balancing, therefore I am looking at $700 just for the Tires. These tires are suposed to be the best street performance truck tires. However, their tread life is something like 25K to 35k.

I was trying to go short and wide to decrease sidewall flex, increase steering sensitivity, and increase "take-off torque" but if I went with a stock 275/60/17 I could put those on this year (as opposed to waiting until next year to have enough for the 275/55/17s). hmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Thanks for the input and the extra pic of the tires on your truck. They do look good. I love those rims!

 

Another tire that got VERY good reviews was the Falken ST/Z01. At a local Discount tire I was quoted $620 for a set of four of these, this was with mounting/balancing and every possible warranty and perk they sell tacked on. These were 275/60/17's Not bad for a set of tires that size!,,,98

http://www.carsound.com/features/cs_...alkenziex.html