Custom Diameter Torsion Bars (Sway-A-Way) (1 Viewer)

[hoser]

This thread is geared more towards AHC folks but those with standard suspension might be interested too. I reached out to Sway-A-Way and they do offer custom T-bars for the 100 series.

I was suggesting maybe 27mm T-bars for those with added weight in the front but not so much to warrant the non-AHC bars.

Current price is: $490 for (1) pair. $410/pr for (5) pairs. Delivery is 6 wks after ordered.

https://swayaway.com/

-----------------------------
From previous notes. Accuracy not guaranteed
AHC 25.5mm
OE standard, non-AHC 28.87mm
OME is 30.5mm
Sway Away: 31mm & 32mm (depending on availability)
Ironman 32mm
TJM 32mm

 

[jLB]

This thread is geared more towards AHC folks but those with standard suspension might be interested too. I reached out to Sway-A-Way and they do offer custom T-bars for the 100 series.

I was suggesting maybe 27mm T-bars for those with added weight in the front but not so much to warrant the non-AHC bars.

Current price is: $490 for (1) pair. $410/pr for (5) pairs. Delivery is 6 wks after ordered.

https://swayaway.com/

-----------------------------
From previous notes. Accuracy not guaranteed
AHC 25.5mm
OE standard, non-AHC 28.87mm
OME is 30.5mm
Sway Away: 31mm & 32mm (depending on availability)
Ironman 32mm
TJM 32mm

I reached out to them a few weeks ago about having some custom/modified bars, somewhere between non-AHC (28.87mm), and OME (30.5mm), for one of my “lightweight” 100 series. (OME are a little too stiff, and seem to restrict uptravel. Used OE can sometimes be chased down, but with unknown history. New OE are cost prohibitive.)

I received similar pricing and lead times.

I’ll probably order a set of 29-29.5mm torsion bars from them to play with.

 

[suprarx7nut]

Cool.

Do we have any assurance of similar metals and strength profiles? The diameter is good to know if it's the same metal/heat treatment, but some effective spring rates would be ideal.

Seems Sway Away probably has that info handy.

 

[jLB]

Cool.

Do we have any assurance of similar metals and strength profiles? The diameter is good to know if it's the same metal/heat treatment, but some effective spring rates would be ideal.

Seems Sway Away probably has that info handy.

Before they took down the majority of their website for a redesign, they did have an effective spring rate calculator. Spring rate was calculated based on (active) length of the bar, diameter, and length of the “lever” acting on the bar, if I remember correctly.

I thought sheer modulus was supposed to be the same for all steel springs?

 

[hoser]

Standard, solid, Heat Treated 4340 I believe.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

This is very timely - I am dealing with a bumpy front end and was considering trying out the non-AHC Toyota bars that I source for cheap. If those end up being too rough, I'd be interested in 27mm sway aways too!

 

[trdcorolla]

Interested but have a few questions. I have a aftermarket front bumper/winch. My front AHC pressures is 6.4Mpa (with 14 grads) with a 1/4" sensor lift (20" center wheel hub to fender). Driver side torsion bar was reindexed 3 splines (Passenger side left alone). Driver and passenger both have lots of thread left for more adjusting. Would the 27mm Sway A Way improve the ride characteristics?

 

[GTV]

Interested but have a few questions. I have a aftermarket front bumper/winch. My front AHC pressures is 6.4Mpa (with 14 grads) with a 1/4" sensor lift (20" center wheel hub to fender). Driver side torsion bar was reindexed 3 splines (Passenger side left alone). Driver and passenger both have lots of thread left for more adjusting. Would the 27mm Sway A Way improve the ride characteristics?

Larger bars will control the additional weight better dynamically.

 

[usedname]

Is this only for increased weight? I am looking to decrease body roll on a stock LX. Should I be looking at a fatter sway bar instead? I know it reduces off-road handling/articulation but the only off-road I'll be doing is forest/gravel roads.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

Is this only for increased weight? I am looking to decrease body roll on a stock LX. Should I be looking at a fatter sway bar instead? I know it reduces off-road handling/articulation but the only off-road I'll be doing is forest/gravel roads.

LC rear sway bar is beefier than the AHC equipped LX ones. That would an easy swap!

 

[usedname]

LC rear sway bar is beefier than the AHC equipped LX ones. That would an easy swap!

Do you think that's chunky enough? I thought I might have to go to the whiteline ones...

I was so happy when I got my LX because I thought they had improved body roll - turns out the AHC needed flushing. Soon as I did that, it went back to tons of swaying!

I guess I'd have a better idea if I'd sat in an LC.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

I had a 98 LX before. Removed the AHC and put the LC bar and it swayed much less than my current AHC equipped LX!

 

[usedname]

I had a 98 LX before. Removed the AHC and put the LC bar and it swayed much less than my current AHC equipped LX!

I replaced the sway bar in my LS430 and only had to do the rear in order to get it to tighten up.. on an LX is just replacing the rear good enough or did you do the fronts as well?

 

[ClassyJalopy]

Just the rear was good enough!

 

[tmils470]

I replaced the sway bar in my LS430 and only had to do the rear in order to get it to tighten up.. on an LX is just replacing the rear good enough or did you do the fronts as well?

Not mentioned yet is replace the bushing with the non rubber type. Makes a big difference with initial turn in. A little more noise transfer from suspension. On some of my trucks I even replaced the rubber with a Heim joint (spherical bearing)
Also with these tall cars heavy swaybars increases "head bob" or left to right motion when going diagonally over uneven bumps, driveways etc. I think it is already significant on my 2002 lx With AHC. Driver is usually fine bc you are holding on to the steering wheel.
I would replace the bushings first. The new bars will likely come with polyurethane bushings and you will have more noise anyway.

 

[usedname]

Not mentioned yet is replace the bushing with the non rubber type. Makes a big difference with initial turn in. A little more noise transfer from suspension. On some of my trucks I even replaced the rubber with a Heim joint (spherical bearing)
Also with these tall cars heavy swaybars increases "head bob" or left to right motion when going diagonally over uneven bumps, driveways etc. I think it is already significant on my 2002 lx With AHC. Driver is usually fine bc you are holding on to the steering wheel.
I would replace the bushings first. The new bars will likely come with polyurethane bushings and you will have more noise anyway.

Yeah I feel that bob even in the LS. But body roll annoys me more, and also unsettles my wife when we're at speed, whereas the bob is more of a low-speed thing. Plus that's what all those handles are for!

Advice noted... I hope to keep noise to a minimum so I'm going to try OE bushings and maybe the 24mm whiteline bars, cause those'll fit in LC 24mm D bushings. Right now the only Q is whether adjustable bars fit just like stock ones in the end links. Can't find an answer...

 

[krispykritter]

So - is anyone interested in buying a set of the 27mm t-bars? I'd be interested. I'm currently using the non-AHC t-bars and they are more stiff than I'd like. I would be willing to buy a set as a group buy. @hoser were you thinking of doing this?

 

[hoser]

I'm not getting them just yet but I think @trdcorolla is interested.

 

[FLtrails]

I’m putting an ARB Deluxe with winch on the front of my LX470. It already has a 100lb rack, tent, sliders, and a bunch of gear always in the back. Will stay stock height. Worried AHC t bars won’t be enough. This is why you guys are look into custom T bars. Anyone actually try it yet and have experience???

 

[krispykritter]

I think I'm going to buy a set of these; I'll report back my findings once I have. Based on some internet sleuthing, it appears you can directly compare torsion bar stiffness by taking the diameter to the fourth power of the two bars, dividing the two values, and getting a percentage by multiplying by 100. Tosion bar stiffness/spring rate does NOT scale linearly with stiffness, so the 28.82mm bar is NOT 113% the stiffness of the 25.5mm bar. In math form:

( (bar1^4) / bar2^4) ) * 100 = how much stiffer bar 2 is vs bar 1 in percentage

So, for non-AHC vs AHC bars above:

( (25.5^4) / (28.82^4) ) * 100 = non-ahc is 62% stiffer than ahc, or non-ahc is 163% the stiffness of ahc bars.

This jives pretty well with my experiences thus far.

So, working backwards, assuming you want your new bars to be, say 135% the stiffness of the AHC bars:

( (x^4) / (25.5^4) ) * 100 = 135

(x^4) / (25.5^4) = 1.35

(x^4) = (25.5^4) * 1.35

(x^4) = 570813.8344

x = 27.4867mm would give you a torsion bar that is about 35% stiffer than stock AHC bars.

The suggested 27mm bars would you about 125.7% stiffness. I think either of these is in the right neighborhood.

Based on the above math and some calculations involving my rear springs, I think I'll ask sway-a-way for bars that are about 27.23mm, which should equate to right around 30% stiffer than the AHC bars, and 35% softer than the non-AHC bars.

YMMV, accuracy not guaranteed, rounding errors may have occurred, and everything I just said may be completely wrong. All characters the work of fiction. All rights reserved.