[DML] Re: Rear Sway Bar

[tobyp@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

EJ - I have one of the earlier rear sway bars on Winged1.  The fit 
of the bar was not that great, and the attachment points for 
the "saddle brackets" are in the thin web of the rear crossmember.  
This eventually led to cracking of the web on both sides, which I 
repaired with welding and the addition of some structural doublers 
to reinforce the web.  I redesigned the attachments to the trailing 
arms to make them work properly.  I also changed the bushings to 
polyurethane to make the bar effective for more of the range of 
suspension travel.  The instructions that came wiith the bar were 
very sketchy at best.  Now for the good news ... after my various 
tweaks, reinforcments, and adjustments, the bar is AWESOME.  Body 
roll is nearly nonexistent, and turn-in is very crisp and 
consistent.  One thing that I noticed early on is that it tends to 
give the rear suspension a little "rear steer" effect.  It isn't 
really oversteer, but the effect is to negate some of the understeer 
that Chapman attempted to put into the chassis because of the rear 
engined layout.  If you're not aware of it, it can surprise you 
during a very hard corner.  However, once you relearn the cornering 
characteristics, handling is dramatically enhanced.

I've mentioned on the List before that one of the many items on 
my "projects to do" list is to come up with a better fit than the 
currently available bar.  I lost almost 2 inches of precious ground 
clearance due to the bracket location and the thickness of my 
reinforcement doublers - this is a real issue in the real world of 
speed bumps and dips in the roadway.  I felt that this project 
shouldn't be near the top of the list due to limited demand, but ...

Toby Peterson  VIN 2248 "Winged1"
DeLorean Parts Northwest, LLC
www.delorean-parts.com 


--- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "EJ Chambers" <marmieej@xxxx> wrote:
> Does anyone have a rear sway bar installed on their DeLorean? Does 
it help with the handling of the car? I am interested in hearing 
people's opinions before purchasing one.
> 
> Thanks!
> Ej
> 4475




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