Has anybody had specific experience with the belltech sway bars? The belltech set seems to be much less expensive than the hotchkis set. The Hotchkis front bar is a 1/16 larger in diameter, and the rear's are both the same. The Hotchkis set is $200 more. What gives?

josh

 

jlaird,

No experience with Belltech sway bars however, I have done some research on swaybars.

The hotchkis and hellwig swaybars have the same diameter and the largest diameter swaybars. Front/back hotchkis is around $500.00 to $600.00 shipped, yet, front/back hellwigg is around $310.00 shipped.

one reason given for Hotchkis swaybars being higher priced is that the front swaybar is hollow. It is suppose to provide a faster response time than a solid bar. The fit and finish is better than most others as well.

I got the front/back hellwig. They are not pretty, but for me, the whole underside of my truck is not "pretty" ha! I am very happy with my Hellwigs.

Regardless of what kind of swaybars you get, remember to determine if you are going to lower it and by how much. As you may know already, lowering requires different lenght endlink bolts and spacers.

I put my Hellwigs on at stock height. When I lowered it, I called Hellwig and they sent my the correct endlink bolts and spacers for free.

 

thanks for the reply. My truck is already lowered with a belltech 3-4 drop. I thought it would be nice to stay with belltech. I'm kind of **** like that. It seems like the hellwig and belltech sets are about the same price. I'm probably going to do the install myself with a friend, but was still wondering how much install cost would be if I had a shop do it.

josh

 

Sorry, don't know. I installed my lowering kit and swaybars by myself.


Front sway bar install is very, very easy (your able to see how the stock one is installed). The rear one is easy once you have figured out how everything is suppose to be bolted up, but at first for me, it seemed a little confusing. So, I just laid the rear swaybar up over the drive shaft/rearend and looked at it for a while, then I figured it all out.

Tips for rear:

1. Bolt everything up loosely.

2. The swaybar goes OVER the rearend "pumpkin".

3. The endlink arms should be parallel to the frame.

4. Use the U bolts that fit tightly against the axle, yet allow the Ubolt clamp holes to fit through the U bolt. You may have several sizes with the rear kit.

4.(a) You will need to bend the small metal brake line to slide the U bolts up against the axle. It is no big deal. You can do it with your hands. You do not need to bend it very much but, bend it enough so that it does not rub against the ubolts. Do not bend it too much or you can crimp it. DO NOT CRIMP IT.


5. When you tighten the U bolt/brackets, tighten them down well or they may begin to slip on the axle. After you see that the endlink arms are parallel with the frame and that the endlink bolts can be lined up with the frame bracket hole, you should tighten down the U bolts/brackets. Then you can adjust the frame bracket a little to line the hole and bolt up.

6. It is good to have some weight in the back of the truck when you tighten down the endlinks (or jack the rear end up a little). If the endlink arms are parallel and you have the correct bolts and spacers, you should need a little downward frame pressure or upward rear end pressure to start threading the nut on the endlink bolt. Not too much but some.

7. Do not over tighten endlinks to the point that your urathene bushings look like pancakes.

8. Remember to tell them how much you have lowered it to get the correct endlink bolts and spacers.

9. After you put some miles on it, re-tighten if needed.

I did both, by myself in one evening. I wish that I had another guys help to hold one side up, but the install went fine. The combo of a lowering kit and swaybars does a dramatic change in the driving performance. If I can do it, anyone can.

Good Luck.

 

Thanks for all that info. Very appreciated. I just ordered the front and rear belltech kit from summit. One thing that I'm suprised about is that the guy from summit said there are different bars for lowered vehicals. I was kind of unsure about this after reading all the posts about lowered vehicels with sway bars, so I just called belltech and the guy said the same thing. He said the same bar would go on a lowered or stock vehicle. Nothing is different, not even endlinks. I guess both of them can't be wrong. Well thanks for all your help. Seems like a great mod for the price.

josh

 

There is such a thing as over doing it for the size of the sway bars...

and My hellwig rear was a 100% complete bolt on. I didn't have to bend anything.

 

TalleyWacker,

You did not have to bend the small metal line that "runs" along the axle? Do you mean you just "slid" the U bolt between the axle and metal line? I could have done that, but was concerned about the metal line rubbing against the U bolt?

 

Hello everyone,

Help me, please....

I am wanting to get sway bars. Front and rear. I noticed they offer differrent diameter bars. Why would someone choose one over the other? Pros and Cons?
Also any recommendations on brands would help. Money is no object here.

TIA,
Rocks

 

Will sway bars help when towing?

 

Rocks,

If money was no problem and you want the best there is, I would go for the Hotchkis front and back ($500.00 to $600.00). In all the reviews I have seen, Hotchkis provides the most "G-Force" ability through the slalom for the F-150s. According to reports, it is for three reasons, (1) they have the largest diameter (along with Hellwig) and (2) the front swaybar is hollow, which is suppose to provide a quicker response time when shifting the weight of the truck through turns and crosswinds; as well as (3) the way they are manufacturered/tempered.

I wanted the largest diameter I could find and afford. Why? In the past, on my cars, when I wanted more suspension performance, the larger diameter swaybars always outperformed smaller diameter swaybars, because the larger diameter provided a "stiffer" bar, therefore, the vehicle "stuck" to the road more.

I also think that a rear swaybar also ensures that you utilize all the torque possible on take-off. I noticed it after I installed mine. I really noticed a difference on take-off after the lowering of my truck (2/2).

I went with Helwigg, because they have the largest front and rear diameter (same as Hotchkis) of any of the manufacturers. They also come with urathene bushings and are about 134.00 to 139.00 per bar. My total cost was 304.00 including shipping for both. When I lowered my truck, Helwigg sent me the correct lenght bolts and spacers within 4 days at no charge. On my 99 supercab, they fit perfectly before lowering and after lowering. However, the Helwigg bars finish looks crude compared to others. Yet, in my opinion, for the money and performance, they are the best.

Yet, some members have posted problems with the Helwiggs such as:

1. Ubolt brackets "slip" on the axle. (I think, if you tighten down the Ubolt brackets enough, before you first drive it, this will not occur.)

2. Rear swaybar will not fit "over" the rearend "Pumpkin", therefore they will put it under the "Pumpkin". (I do not know about 4x4s, but for 4x2s, it will fit over the "pumpkin". It may not look like it will, but you just have to move it around enough to see how it fits)

Wingnut33,

To me, towing is similar to having a rear swaybar in that, it puts the rear of the truck firmly on the ground.

 

But does it make towing any easier?

 

Hello Iron Horse,

Thank you for the information. That is very helpfull. I have read quite a few posts were folks are having problems with Helwig installs. I amm probably going with the hotchkis.

See ya around the boards.

By the by....did you get the dual fan kit from Mike at performance?
Mine are still doing great.


Rocks