Stiff ride with rear sway bar

eric96ser · 08-19-2002, 03:20 PM

My '91 has a very stiff ride with just the ST rear sway bar. I have stock springs, with GR2s. The car also has my old RE730s on B14 wheels, but it rode like this with the stock 14s and RE950s. Anyone else have this problem? I'm thinking it might be the bushings too, but I would think that dead bushings would give a floaty ride, not a harsh one.

Slartibartfast · 08-19-2002, 03:22 PM

You are probably binding the end links against the bottom of the strut on compression.

eric96ser · 08-19-2002, 03:29 PM

I installed the sway bar like the instructions said. I'll get someone to sit in the car and jump around and I'll see if this is happening. The GR2s have more room between the endlinks and the struts than the stocks do.

Slartibartfast · 08-19-2002, 03:43 PM

Another possibility is using the wrong-sized (i.e. stock) pillow bushings, but I would doubt you could get them around the ST bar. You did lube all the bushings, nicht wahr?

eric96ser · 08-19-2002, 04:20 PM

Yup. I lubed the hell out of them with my nice, new tub of white lithium grease. They made tons of noise before, and clucked around. I'll take some pics tonight. No one else local has a rear ST bar for me to compare.

Bowlcut · 08-19-2002, 05:21 PM

Got one sitting in my closet now. Need to put it on sometime. Need instructions actualy. I can put it in the car and come down, or if you are like really wanting it like immediatly, come on up. Just let me know

cantdoadonut · 08-19-2002, 10:03 PM

the only thing i noticed about my st sway bar is that when i go over a speed bump it hits really hard in the back, even when im creeping

eric96ser · 08-19-2002, 10:37 PM

Here are the pictures from today:

No one in the car:

Same:

With my wife in the car:

Wheel gap:

I'll look at the bottom of the struts to see if there are inpact marks on the bottom. I guess I could put some paint on the top of the bolts, and see if they are hitting that way.

se-r sam · 08-20-2002, 01:10 AM

I just bought one today...........now I see this thread.......making me nervous. lol

Slartibartfast · 08-20-2002, 12:38 PM

Nice photos. It would appear you did everything correctly. It's been a couple of years since I replaced the rear ST with the Nu-Tech adjustable; I seem to recall the same stiffer ride after mulling it over.

I guess the stiffer ride is due to suspension binding. Notice how the control arms move the hub through an arc. The stiff bushings and sway bar provide more resistance than the stock pieces do when distorting the end-link angle as the hub moves through its travel. The stiff ride has been reported on SE-R.NET over the years but I dismissed it as seat-of-the-pants error. I have changed my thinking after disassembling my rear suspension last year. There's lots of binding built in even witout the sway bar issue.

eric96ser · 08-20-2002, 01:46 PM

That sounds about right. I'm just worried how bad it will be once the prokits are on there.

Slartibartfast · 08-20-2002, 04:34 PM

The sway bar binding won't change with the spring.

eric96ser · 08-20-2002, 05:56 PM

I meant if it rides rough now, it will be a lot worse with ProKits. The sway bar is too fun to remove just because of ride quality though.

llaprad1 · 08-21-2002, 02:40 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by eric96ser
I meant if it rides rough now, it will be a lot worse with ProKits. The sway bar is too fun to remove just because of ride quality though.

Yeah, it might be too harsh of a ride. Wanna sell it???

cantdoadonut · 08-21-2002, 04:14 AM

eric did you paint it blue or did it come that way? mine was a dark gray color

eric96ser · 08-21-2002, 09:38 AM

Hands off louis

No, it came blue. The older ones were powdercoated blue.

SR20RACER · 08-30-2002, 11:50 PM

I might be late to the party here but my car is very stiff with the front and rear sway bars. If I come out of a driveway and it is steep and I have to angle it, my car will go up on three wheels and stay in the position until I pull forward. VERY VERY STIFF!!!!!

mpg9999 · 09-02-2002, 05:11 PM

what is suspension bind?