suspension upgrades

[sprjenkins]

ok, so i've got pedders sports ryder springs and shocks for my AU Forte, aswell as 18's with some good tyres. My question is what else can I do to improve the handling of my falcon. Are there other suspension upgrades?

Any help would be appreciated, cheers joel.

[sprjenkins]

oh and I know that there is a sticky for performance mods, but I was also interested in what affect the changes actually have

[bodes-sh]

you can put bigger/more solid sway bars in it, and put nolathane bushes in also, these can all help the handling

[JC]

Yep, nolathane/urethane bushes give the same effect as uprating the swaybars - if you do both, she will corner like it's on rails, but you run the risk of cracking the swaybar mounts/welds. Just put the nolathane link bush kit in, and you will immediately notice the difference. It's actually a more effective mod than lowering the car. Lowering controls height and therfore helps to reduce bodyroll, but a swaybars only job in the worl is to minimise body roll anyway. So stiffening up the swaybar by installing a larger diameter one, or by installing nolathane bushes, helps to control bodyroll even further.

The addition of a rear swaybar would also be helpful (whiteline have kits for this, but as I understand it, it's only for live axle rear and not suited to IRS).

[Futura01]

agree with jc totally !!!

[sprjenkins]

how hard is it to install sway bars or the nolathane bushes, is it something I can do my self without specialist tools? Also how much do these parts cost?

[The Mighty Red]

A Sway bar link bush kit cost $20 and you will only need two 14mm spanners IIRC to do the job ......It is a very easy job to do yourself

[sprjenkins]

is there a tech article on it?

[The Mighty Red]

Take your front wheel off have a look at the end of your sway bar you will see 4 rubber bushes seperated by washers and held on by two nuts top and bottom of a threaded rod , undo the nuts remove washers and old bushes and replace with new urethane bushes , Its that simple , Just remember the order that the washers and bushes go back in or copy the other side if you forget.

It really is a no brainer...... :lookedat:

[mattp]

Can you get nalothane sway bar bushes at auto shops or ebay or where would you recommend? If they're only $20 I'll be doing this for sure!

[ENVI XR6]

has n e one got an svo way bar, is there any difference to the whiteline sway bar

[The Mighty Red]

Originally Posted by mattp

Can you get nalothane sway bar bushes at auto shops or ebay or where would you recommend? If they're only $20 I'll be doing this for sure!

Auto One, Car Bitz , Autobahn , Repco etc ,etc , they all have them .

[Gianz]

ok, i have just signed up to ford forums. great topics but alot of the time no one really knows what they are on about. i have an au xr6 series II with whiteline adjustable sway bars and bush kit....(and yes its IRS!).... my car is also lowered with herrod/king springs and adjustable koni yellow shock absorbers, but nothing compares to the difference in handling and vehicle responsivness the sway bar kits have made. svo sway bars are exactly the same size as what whiteline offer so i would say there would be no difference. the good thing about swaybars is that they are also cheaper than a set of springs and shocks. once you have installed the sway bars make sure you keep on top of your wheel alignments or you will go through tires like never before.

[NeishaXR8_347]

Hey does anyone know what size the std AU front sway bars are? is it 24mm or bigger. With the bushes you can change are these just the 2 D bushes? because the AU2 has only got the d bushes from what i can see because the link is like to little balljoints.

Shaun

[mattp]

Yeah I was going to ask the same question, I was at supercheap today, and wasn't sure whether it was the 2 D bushes or the 8 round bushes (sway bar link kit)? As above, I need to know the standard AU1 size swaybar if anyone knows? Thanks!

[JC]

Originally Posted by Gianz

ok, i have just signed up to ford forums. great topics but alot of the time no one really knows what they are on about. i have an au xr6 series II with whiteline adjustable sway bars and bush kit....(and yes its IRS!).... my car is also lowered with herrod/king springs and adjustable koni yellow shock absorbers, but nothing compares to the difference in handling and vehicle responsivness the sway bar kits have made. svo sway bars are exactly the same size as what whiteline offer so i would say there would be no difference. the good thing about swaybars is that they are also cheaper than a set of springs and shocks. once you have installed the sway bars make sure you keep on top of your wheel alignments or you will go through tires like never before.

What you have said is what I already said in about the second or third post. And I was talking rear swaybar on IRS - do you have one? If so, was it easy to fit?Where does it mount to?

Neisha/Matt - it's the 8 round ones (link bushes) that give the best result, but the D ones can't hurt (these are the ones you need the diameter for). A set of verniers will get you the measurement - just slide un der the car and measure the bar. I can give you AU2 Forte (24mm) and AU1 XR8 (28mm) sizes.

Oh, and the link bushes are different between AU1 and AU2/3, so make sure you get the correct ones. The things that look like little ball joints on the AU2 are in fact link bushes.

Actual Nolathane brand parts numbers are as follows:

AU from 9/98 to 02/00 (so that's AU1)
Link bush Part #42002


AU from 02/00 to 09/02 AU2/3
Part # 42711



Chassis bushes (D style) for 24mm bar Part #42417 AU1 to AU3



Chassis bushes (D style) for 28mm bar Part #42418 AU1 to AU3


There are also 22, 26 & 27mm sway bars, so for other bits and pieces, check out:
http://www.redranger.com.au/proc_selection.php

[mattp]

Thanks JC, I suspected you might know the answers!

[Gianz]

[QUOTE=JC]What you have said is what I already said in about the second or third post. And I was talking rear swaybar on IRS - do you have one? If so, was it easy to fit?Where does it mount to?

JC, what you have said is not the same as what i said. for starters i dont agree that just changing the bushes to nylon based as oposed to std rubber will significantly alter the characteristics/improve the cars handling ability. all nylon based bushes are alot harder compared to the std rubber and only make the car feel "rough" so to speak, a false feeling of improved handling to me..! but thats my view..

As for the rear IRS swaybar, yes i do have one, its a whiteline adjustable blade type and was an absolute process to install, put it this way i wouldnt want to do it again. (partially removing the diff, exhaust and right suspension components) All IRS AU setups should have a swaybar installed as standard so it was just a case of removing the std and replacing. it mounts to the chassis and then to the lower suspension arms via the std ball joints.

Any questions im happy to assist.

[JC]

[QUOTE=GianzAs for the rear IRS swaybar, yes i do have one, its a whiteline adjustable blade type and was an absolute process to install, put it this way i wouldnt want to do it again. (partially removing the diff, exhaust and right suspension components) All IRS AU setups should have a swaybar installed as standard so it was just a case of removing the std and replacing. it mounts to the chassis and then to the lower suspension arms via the std ball joints.

Any questions im happy to assist.[/QUOTE]
Thanks - didn't actually realise there was a rear swaybar on the IRS models, but had heard that fitting one (so I guess this is actually replacing one) was a royal pain, and you have confirmed that, and I have learned something new (that IRS has a swaybar).

As for whether or not nolathane bushes stiffen up the sway bar - your opinion may be that they make things "rougher", but science tells us that they increase the rate of the bar, depending on the size of the bar in the first place. For example, a 24mm bar with nolathane, gives the same "sway protection" (stability) as an approx 27mm bar. 28mm with nolathane is equivalent to 32mm, etc. I'll see if I can find the link to the article that contains this info.
Here's one I found for working out how much stiffer you want to go:
http://www.whiteline.com.au/docs/bulletins/010barup.pdf

The other that talks about additional stiffness/less movement due to nolathane is in tech speak, but basically talks about stiffer bushes giving more resistance to movement over the entire deflection range as opposed to rubber bushes. The example used was deflection control was twice as good when using nolathane compared to rubber. Can't find the link though (damn).

There is a less specific article on calculating the sway bar link compliance here:
http://www.whiteline.com.au/articles..._Link_comp.pdf

[Gianz]

[QUOTE=JC]

Originally Posted by GianzAs for the rear IRS swaybar, yes i do have one, its a whiteline adjustable blade type and was an absolute process to install, put it this way i wouldnt want to do it again. (partially removing the diff, exhaust and right suspension components) All IRS AU setups should have a swaybar installed as standard so it was just a case of removing the std and replacing. it mounts to the chassis and then to the lower suspension arms via the std ball joints.

Any questions im happy to assist.[/QUOTE

Thanks - didn't actually realise there was a rear swaybar on the IRS models, but had heard that fitting one (so I guess this is actually replacing one) was a royal pain, and you have confirmed that, and I have learned something new (that IRS has a swaybar).

As for whether or not nolathane bushes stiffen up the sway bar - your opinion may be that they make things "rougher", but science tells us that they increase the rate of the bar, depending on the size of the bar in the first place. For example, a 24mm bar with nolathane, gives the same "sway protection" (stability) as an approx 27mm bar. 28mm with nolathane is equivalent to 32mm, etc. I'll see if I can find the link to the article that contains this info.
Here's one I found for working out how much stiffer you want to go:
http://www.whiteline.com.au/docs/bulletins/010barup.pdf

The other that talks about additional stiffness/less movement due to nolathane is in tech speak, but basically talks about stiffer bushes giving more resistance to movement over the entire deflection range as opposed to rubber bushes. The example used was deflection control was twice as good when using nolathane compared to rubber. Can't find the link though (damn).

There is a less specific article on calculating the sway bar link compliance here:
http://www.whiteline.com.au/articles..._Link_comp.pdf

Thats EXCELENT JC! Its good to see someone who knows a little more than just guessing around here. I agree 100% on those facts, good research.

[Day-mow]

Originally Posted by JC

Actual Nolathane brand parts numbers are as follows:


AU from 02/00 to 09/02 AU2/3
Part # 42711

just called auto barn $87 for the kit. not bad value if it makes a decent difference. im keen to try it very soon

[Dave_Obsession]

Originally Posted by Day-mow

just called auto barn $87 for the kit. not bad value if it makes a decent difference. im keen to try it very soon

Whilst that does indeed seem like a reasonable price....this is still a 3.5 year threadmine!

[Day-mow]

because it says to look at old threads before posting new ones ;)
and its full of good information.

at the risk of sounding dumb.

found these on ebay. are the what i want?
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Ford-Falcon-A...ts_Accessories

thanks

[frd906]

dont worry