View Poll Results: What front sway bar do you use?
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STR Prep - Sway Bars
Registered User
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 558
Likes: 24
From: littleton, CO
Serious question and im not trying to throw stones. What is the cost of just the bearings themselves? for 1.25" bar.
And Bill has always been great with his products, i just havent talked myself into $240+ for these mounts. why the high cost? is the bearing a large percent of that?
its not a complicated piece, its not milled from aluminum, what am i paying for? and why is this part worth my money
And Bill has always been great with his products, i just havent talked myself into $240+ for these mounts. why the high cost? is the bearing a large percent of that?
its not a complicated piece, its not milled from aluminum, what am i paying for? and why is this part worth my money
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 354
Likes: 0
Serious question and im not trying to throw stones. What is the cost of just the bearings themselves? for 1.25" bar.
And Bill has always been great with his products, i just havent talked myself into $240+ for these mounts. why the high cost? is the bearing a large percent of that?
its not a complicated piece, its not milled from aluminum, what am i paying for? and why is this part worth my money
And Bill has always been great with his products, i just havent talked myself into $240+ for these mounts. why the high cost? is the bearing a large percent of that?
its not a complicated piece, its not milled from aluminum, what am i paying for? and why is this part worth my money
I'm sure they're top quality, but the prices are staggering. The top big bar for the Miata is $170.
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 2,246
Likes: 1
From: Atlanta
Yep, simple supply and demand. You want that stuff? Buy it or build it and only one guy is building it.... besides Ankeny but that stuff is wild. Bill's a good guy and the parts are designed pretty well. I'd say more than adequately... over designed which is alright by me.
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 635
Likes: 0
Additionally, you pay for Bill's ability. If you are in any kind of job where your abilities/knowledge/expertise is what keeps you paid, this should strike a chord with you.
You don't pay for the hammer, you pay for knowing how to use it.
You don't pay for the hammer, you pay for knowing how to use it.
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 750
Likes: 9
Originally Posted by rrthorne8' timestamp='1328501897' post='21386801
problems with rubbing.
gendron bar with oem mount. arms rub steering boot and i am now replacing steering boots on both sides.
Was looking to order new bearing mounts from Bill, but now i am hearing the mounts rub too?
any solutions, anyone running bar and not having any problems?
gendron bar with oem mount. arms rub steering boot and i am now replacing steering boots on both sides.
Was looking to order new bearing mounts from Bill, but now i am hearing the mounts rub too?
any solutions, anyone running bar and not having any problems?
BB mounts are nice, but they add almost 5lbs. to the nose (just a guess - has anyone weighed them?). I probably wouldn't do it unless I needed the extra stiffness, but I guess it could be worthwhile if you want to eliminate bushing compliance from your roll stiffness equation.
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 1,881
Likes: 6
From: Near Philadelphia
Serious question and im not trying to throw stones. What is the cost of just the bearings themselves? for 1.25" bar.
And Bill has always been great with his products, i just havent talked myself into $240+ for these mounts. why the high cost? is the bearing a large percent of that?
its not a complicated piece, its not milled from aluminum, what am i paying for? and why is this part worth my money
And Bill has always been great with his products, i just havent talked myself into $240+ for these mounts. why the high cost? is the bearing a large percent of that?
its not a complicated piece, its not milled from aluminum, what am i paying for? and why is this part worth my money
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 303
Likes: 0
From: Winnipeg
You can buy the bearings for $70 (from Bill) or less, I assume, if you find a bearing supplier. The brackets are pretty simple, but it's a low-volume endeavor and Bill has to earn a living.
Registered User
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 558
Likes: 24
From: littleton, CO
Seems reasonable i suppose. maybe i can make a low cost alternative for all of us that matches or gets close to oem weight.
does anybody have the weight of bills BB assembly and part number of the bearing?
does anybody have the weight of bills BB assembly and part number of the bearing?
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 354
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by jeffjanzen' timestamp='1328546424' post='21388089
[quote name='rrthorne8' timestamp='1328501897' post='21386801']
problems with rubbing.
gendron bar with oem mount. arms rub steering boot and i am now replacing steering boots on both sides.
Was looking to order new bearing mounts from Bill, but now i am hearing the mounts rub too?
any solutions, anyone running bar and not having any problems?
problems with rubbing.
gendron bar with oem mount. arms rub steering boot and i am now replacing steering boots on both sides.
Was looking to order new bearing mounts from Bill, but now i am hearing the mounts rub too?
any solutions, anyone running bar and not having any problems?
BB mounts are nice, but they add almost 5lbs. to the nose (just a guess - has anyone weighed them?). I probably wouldn't do it unless I needed the extra stiffness, but I guess it could be worthwhile if you want to eliminate bushing compliance from your roll stiffness equation.
Definitely seems like these are overbuilt. 22 lbs altogether? Are these bars worth the added cost/weight over any possible cheaper/lighter alternatives?
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 369
Likes: 0
ok everyone did a few rough calculations.
Using the formula on pg 5 to calculate sway bar stiffness: Here
I decided to try and find the difference between the hard top and soft top MX5 Front Sway bars.
Josh Owens had these variables for the Soft top FSB
Bar Dimensions
d = 0.82677165 in (this is 21mm)
t = 0.1023622 in
R = 8.5 in
L = 32.374 in
r = 1.25 in
C = 8.9 in
Then using the formula in the document
S = 128.7649 lbs/in
I found online that the hardtop bar is 0.8661417in (22mm) on some miata forum, so using the above formula, holding the other variables constant (no new info to suggest they would be different.)
S = 150.629155 lbs/in
so the hard top bar is approx. 16-17% stiffer then the soft top bar.
Using the formula on pg 5 to calculate sway bar stiffness: Here
I decided to try and find the difference between the hard top and soft top MX5 Front Sway bars.
Josh Owens had these variables for the Soft top FSB
Bar Dimensions
d = 0.82677165 in (this is 21mm)
t = 0.1023622 in
R = 8.5 in
L = 32.374 in
r = 1.25 in
C = 8.9 in
Then using the formula in the document
S = 128.7649 lbs/in
I found online that the hardtop bar is 0.8661417in (22mm) on some miata forum, so using the above formula, holding the other variables constant (no new info to suggest they would be different.)
S = 150.629155 lbs/in
so the hard top bar is approx. 16-17% stiffer then the soft top bar.