hey guys. this is the only place i could figure to pose this question even though i know i'll probably get quite a bit of negative criticism for it but.....

i'm building a drag and road race car and i'm working on putting my fuel cell in the trunk. to fit the cell flush u must remove the rear sway bar. i could build a steel frame for the cell to raise it up 1.5-2" but i'd prefer it to sit flush.

what i'm wondering is how exactly would removing the rear bar affect the car ? alot more body roll in corners ? could i counter this problem with some stiffer springs on my coilovers ? if yall were in this same position what would you do ?

any info would help. thanks.

 

Are you sure you are talking about the rear sway bar? There is a bar in the trunk that runs across the car, but this is NOT the rear sway bar. That bar is there to add stiffness to the car, basically a strut bar. Adding proper roll cage or roll bar should more than make up for removing it.

 

NO ! i'm talking about the sway bar. i cut the trunk well out to hold the cell. if your familiar with underside of our cars then you'll know that the sway bar is quite close to the trunk well. as it stands my fuel cell is sitting on the sway bar. so, i'm asking for an educated answer to my problem.

 

yes to compensate for the rear bar removal you will need slightly stiffer springs. But I am not sure if you will need that.....dont know much about drag cars, but in theory and the physics behind it is as I mentioned.......less rear sway, need more rear spring (coils) to compensate.

 

step away from the crack pipe.

Why are you putting the fuel tank in the trunk? Are you only planning to go straight?

 

Turn-R-Us - thanks. i ended up just deciding to raise the cell 1 1/2" and keep the sway bar in place.

krazik - i'd like to hold on to my crack pipe for future use. i'm mainly using this as a straight line car but also going to street track it too. i'm putting it in the trunk for a. easy access and b. set the weight a little farther in the rear (this should both compensate for the loss of weight from taking out the heavy stock tank and put the weight more on the rear tires so i will hook a little better)

 

what's street track?

 

From a handling standpoint having the fuel tank in the trunk is questionable because as you use more fuel the weight distribution will change significantly which will throw off your polar moment. And you would also not be able to compensate suspension wise unless you kept the tank at a constant level or constantly varied your suspension settings.

 

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showforum=34

 

there's a reason why racers love the the potential of the Honda FIT chassis (for turning lol): Honda put the fuel tank in the middle!

I say follow their example or try to stay as close to possible.

They know what they are doing