Rear Anti-Sway Bar

[Opticon]

See these? They are simple bent chromoly bars with mounting hardware made of U-bolts, washers, universal poly bushings with lube, angle stock, nuts and bolts. They sell for around $225 a kit.

TurboMopar guys bolt these to the chassis and beam axles of their 80s/90s econoboxes to promote neutral handling and throttle-off oversteer. They work perfectly and I have never seen them break or wear out.

Who would put one on their Sonic?

 

[corbetts67]

i would!

 

[Opticon]

Anybody near Coos Bay Oregon that doesn't mind having their Sonic measured?

 

[slitzell]

Dont like the ideal of the ddmw rear brace?

Not saying im not interested, i just want to hear your thoughts

 

[Opticon]

I've never really liked the idea of beefing up the center of a torsion beam then relying on the welds and stamped steel at the wheel end to cope with the increased tension. I also believe that additional chassis mounting points help prevent lateral movement of the factory axle on it's (so far) rubber bushings.

 

[Eric Smit]

wish I wasn't in Mexico. :/


-Eric Smit

 

[mitdr774]

Hard to tell in that pic, but the J-Body rear bar is similar to the ones posted above.

 

[007CobaltLS]

Cobalt/G5/Ion/HHR rear sway setup...and of course a pic of the best products on the market...Powell Race Parts...John Powell...genius...works with Corvettes and Cobalts. Trying to get him to start on the Sonic, but I don't think he has time with it with all the demand for his other stuff still.

 

[cndctrdj]

Cobalt/G5/Ion/HHR rear sway setup...and of course a pic of the best products on the market...Powell Race Parts...John Powell...genius...works with Corvettes and Cobalts. Trying to get him to start on the Sonic, but I don't think he has time with it with all the demand for his other stuff still.

I've got his bar on my cobalt and love it

 

[Opticon]

Still no additional chassis mounting points... but I like the fact that it stretches the whole width of the torsion beam. It appears much less likely to fracture the beam.

 

[rdss]

It's still only bolted onto the beam and when you start twisting on it you come back to your same problems of over stressing the stock torsion bar. Maybe you get more purchase under the spring mounts which might help disperse the torque better.

 

[007CobaltLS]

I'll let this info speak for itself:

About Us :: Powell RaceShop.com

Without going into too much non-related info, he's the best at what he does and has the best products out for the Delta platform cars...if you want handling/performance you buy Powell's products, pure and simple.

I can't comment for sure on the mounting point part, but I don't believe you need any more mounting points. He researched and designed the best bar.

It's hard to just type without wanting to link numerous threads from CSS...but his products trump anything offered by anyone...whether it be a vendor developed product or something that was designed by Eibach or Suspension Techniques.

 

[rdss]

I'll let this info speak for itself:

About Us :: Powell RaceShop.com

Without going into too much non-related info, he's the best at what he does and has the best products out for the Delta platform cars...if you want handling/performance you buy Powell's products, pure and simple.

I can't comment for sure on the mounting point part, but I don't believe you need any more mounting points. He researched and designed the best bar.

Okay...... I guess I hit a tender spot..... I'll make sure to not talk about a design by the suspension god known as Powell's. What does he make for the Sonic again?!

 

[007CobaltLS]

It's still only bolted onto the beam and when you start twisting on it you come back to your same problems of over stressing the stock torsion bar. Maybe you get more purchase under the spring mounts which might help disperse the torque better.

It isn't a problem with his, some of the other brands have actually twisted and warped, but his don't. Other bars are hollow, some are different metal. Most others use a bar that is welded to flat pieces that bolt through. Causes problems to the welds. Some use poor materials and the bars themselves flex to the point they bend.

His uses a solid bar all the way around...bolt through design. No welds to worry about.

A quote from the man himself: "OTT copied it but didnt do it exactly, so its not the same. ZZP did the flange deal and thats the way it is. Yields at the flange. It is entirely possible ,the vendor that copy but do not understand roll center changes and the torsional reaction of a twisting beam and its shear point. So the make up of the bar, the wall thickness, the source of the material and the bending and welding is all important. Fortunately, we do understand some of these things, up north."

 

[007CobaltLS]

Anyway, I'm off topic because my only point to start with was that I have contacted him a couple times to see if he would have any interest in designing something for the Sonic platform...and not just a rear sway, but many products.

Products for Cobalt as example:
Springs (made by Hyperco, but his specs), rear sway, rotated motor mounts, under car rails, harness bars, tow hooks, and much more.

His prices are generally higher than anything else, but not outrageous and he has hundreds if not thousands of loyal customers in the Cobalt community.

 

[rdss]

I'm not doubting his bar quality. I am going along the lines of Opticon's initial worries about DDM's bar putting extra stress on the stock components. I think you miss understood me.... I am saying that the bar is still mounted to the stock rear torsion bar "reinforcing" it as it the same way as the DDM, just different mount location, and the same/similar loads are still being applied to it. Where I complemented your boy Powell's is when I said choosing the spring mount area to mount his bar (a high stress portion of the suspension) he might have alleviated the stress problem. I am more than sure he "tuned the suspension for the cars he has already built this bar for.

 

[007CobaltLS]

No, no tender spot...trying to explain his level/quality/attention to detail/whatever.

Best analogy I can come up with is...Powell is to suspension what Trifecta is to tuning. If that makes sense.

 

[rdss]

No tender spot...just want you to understand that he doesn't just throw stuff together. It's much like how DDM, ZZP, etc build their performance parts...they design, test, make the best. He does the same thing with suspension.

This is why I would be interested in him working on the Sonic.


Side note:
The Cobalt also all ready has 2 holes on each side near the spring mount so nothing has to be drilled at all and all of the aftermarket bar makers use those mounting points.

Okay, but, Powell's isn't building parts for the Sonic. I still never said a single thing about Powell's "products", just the mounting location and the structural integrity of the stock part. YOU'RE STILL MISUNDERSTANDING MY POINT and clearly stuck in your mind set..... Maybe one day they might consider it but from what you (Their BIGGEST FAN) has stated is that they do not plan on it due to their other vehicles is supporting their business well enough and giving them a good enough life. But, this is about Opticon's universal kit he found and maybe you could bring DDM's bar since they are actually bringing it to the market but not a company that makes "Great Parts" but not for the car that this forum is based off of. It's a moot point until you buy a Sonic and can get them to actually consider building it for our cars and I'm done arguing semantics with you, enjoy your day....

 

[Opticon]

HEY! Hey. Calm down now. Just tell me if you're interested in a more traditional anti-sway bar that uses poly-bushings and a chassis mounting points.

 

[rdss]

I would be, I'm not interested in fitting a "universal" kit though.