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Date:         Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:38:14 -0700
Reply-To:     Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject:      Re: rear anti-sway bar - Info and Pictures
Comments: To: Ed McLean <email99@BELLSOUTH.NET>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="Windows-1252";
              reply-type=original

Darn good report Ed. very thorough.

one would not think that a bar say 8 % thicker would be 4 times as stiff though. Not that I doubt you there. Now I want some. and first I've ever heard that various 2WD vanagons had different front anti-sway bars. I'm sure my 85 Adventurewagon could benefit from a proper set, front and rear.

on the non-sporting feel of HD Bilsteins.... I agree with you there..........found them to 'work' but not be crisp, sharp, or magic in any way on a vanagon with 14 inch tires. When I went to 15 inch steel SA wheels and Micheline Agilles 205/65 R 15 C tires , I felt the Bilsteins were closer to that 'magic crisp but still subtle' feeling that HD Bilsteins give me on my turbo volvo sedan, and an older mecedes car. So a 'little better' magic-wise. I've been wanting to try some Koni's too. Is that the one Van Cafe sells ? thanks scott www.turbovans.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ed McLean" <email99@BELLSOUTH.NET> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM> Sent: Monday, March 15, 2010 4:13 PM Subject: Re: rear anti-sway bar - Info and Pictures

> Here's a little more information on Vanagon sway bars. > > I put pictures of front and rear Addco sway bars to the Spare List Photo > section in the folder Addco Vanagon Sway Bars. > > The Vanagon parts software indicates Vanagons came with either 19mm, 20mm, > or 21mm front sway bars. > It appears that Campers came with 21mm front bars. > > I measured my old front sway bar (from my '86 full Westfalia) and it > appears > to be a 21mm bar. > > Some Type 2 vehicles (1988 German Ambulance, for instance) came with 19mm > rear sway bars in addition to front sway bars. The actual bar is the same > part number (251 411 025c) as the 19mm front bar. The end links are > different, however. > > Addco makes 1" (25.4mm) front sway bars and 7/8" (22.2mm) rear sway bars > for > Vanagons. > I know from experience that the rear bars for the early Vanagons (1980 to > 1986) are different from the bars for the later Vanagons (1987 to 1992). > My > 1986 Westfalia, delivered in Germany, required the 1987 and later bar. > > I have also seen Addco bars relabeled as other brands. > > Whiteline Automotive makes a 22mm rear bar for Vanagons. I know nothing > about this product. I would, however, suspect it is of similar strength > to > the 7/8" rear Addco bar. I have not found a Whiteline Automotive front > sway > bar. > > Comparison of sway bars: > It is difficult to compare the strength of sway bars if their geometry is > not exactly the same. > For comparing the strength of Vanagon front sway bars with the same > geometry, their strength is proportional to the cross sectional diameter > of > the torsion bar, raised to the fourth power! > From this it follows a 1" front sway bar is 2.1 times as stiff as a 21mm > front sway bar. > > My old front sway bar (21mm diameter) appears to be the same design > geometry > as the Ambulance rear sway bar (19mm diameter) but the lever arms are > shorter than my Addco rear sway bar (22.2mm diameter). they also connect > to > the Vanagon rear trailing arms in slightly different places. You can't > compare the strength of the Ambulance rear bars directly to the Addco rear > bars but since a 22.2mm bar is 1.86 times as strong as a 19mm bar OF THE > SAME GEOMETRY I think we can assume the Addco bar is somewhat stiffer. > > There are several web-based sway bar calculators available on the > internet. > > When I installed my rear Addco sway bar I thought the end of the bars was > quite a bit lower than necessary so I located the bracket for the link on > the rear trailing arm above the seam instead of below the seam. I also > used > a shorter link to raise the rear end of the sway bar. This has worked > very > well. Installing Addco bars is not difficult but does require being > careful > while drilling several holes. > > > From my own experience: > I purchased my first Addco sway bars in 1972 for a BMW 2002tii and I have > used them on several vehicles since. I have found the bars themselves to > be > of excellent quality. The mounting hardware has always been serviceable > and > has never given any trouble but it has always seemed to me to be a little > less refined than the actual bars. Addco has always given me good > customer > service. When I was shipped the wrong bar by one of their distributors > (an > 1980 to 1986 rear Vanagon bar for my 1986 Vanagon that actually required a > 1987 bar), they didn't have a 1987 bar in stock so they made one and > shipped > it to me within less than a week. I couldn't have asked for better > response. > > Performance of the Addco sway bars: > Putting the Addco front and rear bars on my 2.5L Subaru powered 1986 > Westfalia with Michelin Hydroedge 216/65x16 (load range 98) tires was a > very > welcome addition. At the time I installed the Addco bars, I had Bilstein > HD > shocks. I always felt the Bilstein HD shocks controlled the springs very > well and gave a very comfortable, but not sporty, ride. I really > preferred > a stiffer ride with tighter control of suspension motion. I recently > replaced the Bilsteins with Koni Red adjustable shocks and the handling is > now much firmer. I am continued to be amazed by how well it drives. > > That's about it. > > Ed McLean > Raleigh, NC


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