I want to tighten up the steering on my car, but have no idea how large of a sway bar to get, what brands to be looking at, or any other info. Please educate me!

 

what do you mean by tightening up the steering?

the swap bar will only change the body motion during a cornering

 

the more accurate name is anti-sway bar

they reduce roll

 

Understood that, but they are more commonly referred to as sway bars. And by tighten up the steering I meant to better the handling, I know the steering ratio is unchanged. At any rate, I guess I'm just looking for appropriate sizes and manufacurers.

 

Thicker bars reduce traction and thinner bars add traction. This follows the concept that having a thicker bar will make it harder for the suspension to follow the irregularities of the road.

In other words, if you go for a thicker bar on the rear you will alter the balance towards getting more oversteer (loose rear end). If you go for thinner on the front you will also alter the balance towards getting more oversteer (loose rear end).

On the other hand, if you add bar to the front of the car, you will get more understeer (the car will push). Similarly, if you put a thinner bar on the rear, the car will understeer as well (will push).

In conclusion, its a compromise between front and rear traction.

EDIT: I'm not sure if this is the answer you were looking for. The bottom line is that you select the combination that suits your driving style/abilities. IMO, there's no such thing as a universal setup.

 

Is there any kind of rating system used for sway bars? Kinda like they rate springs kg/mm.

 

Usually they go by thickness in mm.

 

that doesnt seem very accurate, I mean theres 100 different metals that all act differently then theres thickness of the metal, too many factors for them to just say 25mm sway bar, hmmmm oh well.

 

right - alloy, and the design of the bars

the thickness is just for relative comparison between same design bars from same manufacturer. besides, even if the stiffness was given in si units, it would be irrelevant to many people

 

I found that informative, thanks, more input please.