Re: Bars ??

[Matt Zajac <MTZajac@beloit.com>]

Thank you Tom, any information is greatly appreciated.

>>> Big Jim <cyng@lamere.net> 07/13 9:48 PM >>>
>Question to the list.
>Please excuse my ignorance in this matter, but can somebody tell me what 
>are those 'sway bars' and 'stress bars' and do they actually improve 
>anything so they are worth installing????
>Thank you in advance for any kind of enlightment.

Matt:
   Stress bars and sway bars are something of a misnomer. They ought to 
be called "anti-stress" and "anti-sway" bars. What they do is stiffen 
your car's frame. They tend to be metal connecting rods of various 
alloys, thicknesses, and designs which, in general, are screwed to 
various high-stress portions of your car's subframe to increase rigidity. 
For example, there's an upper stress bar which is made by many 
performance manufacturers (Neuspeed, Autotech, etc.) which is basically a 
big, metal rod which gets screwed on to the tops of your strut towers in 
the front - above the engine. There are others (such as a lower stress 
bar, which goes, as you would guess, below the engine, and a rear 
swaybar, which, aptly, attaches to the rear strut towers of the car) 
which go elsewhere. What they do is, essentially, stiffen the frame so 
that it can handle higher stresses and torqueing when you're whizzing 
through the curves. The effects that this produces are pretty noticeable, 
including less frame torque (which allows the frame of the car to safely 
handle more abuse, which, in turn, allows for harsher, flatter 
cornering), better overall handling (especially in the curves), and, of 
course, a "tighter" feel to the car. They are a must for autocrossers. 
One cool thing about the Jetta is that it has an integrated rear stress 
bar. If you open your trunk and look at the underside of the rear deck 
you'll notice that it's actually a big, metal plate under there, painted 
the same colour as your car. That big, metal plate is connected to the 
tops of the rear strut towers (where your shocks and springs are 
secured), essentially forming a stress bar. That's the basic idea, 
anyhow. Jettas have always had this piece, while the trunkless Golfs and 
Rabbits do not. Some folks add rear stress bars to their Jettas anyhow, 
but it's certainly not necessary.
   Hope this helps.
-T
'95GLX
'84GLi

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