Make your rear sway bar more effective with heim joints.����by Ben Ogle

Yeah, its a pretty commonly known fact but I thought I'd share how I did it and show you some pics.

Fred Puhn said this in "How to Make Your car Handle":
"Replacing rubber anti-roll-bar bushings with solid bushings at the frame and suspension can have more of an effect than a bigger bar. In an actual test of anti-roll-bar stiffness, a 0.80-inch diameter bar using solid bushings gave the same effect as a 1.00-inch rubber-mounted bar."





I got some (2 male 2 female) 3/8 heim joints (22deg.) from a local bearing company for $20. Then I ripped out the rubber bushings on the ends of the sway bar and substituted my own steel bushings for those flexy dont-use-the-sway-enough rubber guys. Next I bolted the heim joints to the bar, put the bar on the car and went to drive the bitch.




Now, if you look at the pictures, you will notice that I am using a bolt through the control arm for the end link mounts. This is the only reason why I can use 3/8" heim joints. If you have control arms with regular sway link threaded holes you will need to get 10mm heim joints. The metric stuff is a lot more expensive. The cheapest I have found is at McMaster Carr for $9 a piece.




These little guys actually do help a lot. The turn in is definitely quicker and the car is more prone to rotate. Good mod for pretty cheap.


The bushing:
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