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I recently purchased (used, from a guy on turbobricks) a 28mm drop front sway bar for my 240. At least I think that's what I bought. Today I set out to install it, but it definitely doesn't fit. When I compared it to the iPD 25mm bar that I took out of the car it's maybe 1.5 inches shorter end to end, and the flattened parts that bolt to the end links are angled a bit differently. When I tried to get it mounted up to the car the parts where the bushings sit were too far inside the frame rails and wouldn't line up. They would have to sit on the curves of the bar in order to line up with the holes in the frame.
So, do I have a sway bar for another car? It's definitely 28mm, I measured it, and the general shape looks like the iPD as far as I can tell. Has anyone else had these fitment issues?
Here's a pic of the bar, with a regular iPD bar in the picture: http://i.imgur.com/acn2y0Z.jpg
Just a note: the car isn't a V8 car, I was just excited to get a 28mm sway bar on it.
Thanks for the help!
-Kevin
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posted by
someone claiming to be
on
Wed Dec 31 18:00 CST 1969 [ RELATED]
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If you do some searching around for images, I think what you see will support Greg's thought that the sway bar you've pictured is for a fox body Mustang. Those that have made these work on the 240 usually bend the link eyes outwards. A cold bend is preferable to adding heat and messing with the temper of the spring steel.
--
82 242 5.0L; '10 Cayman S; '15 Honda Fit
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posted by
someone claiming to be
on
Wed Dec 31 18:00 CST 1969 [ RELATED]
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Thanks for the tip, maybe I'll try bending it, though I have no idea how to go about that, especially cold. Any suggestions?
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posted by
someone claiming to be
on
Wed Dec 31 18:00 CST 1969 [ RELATED]
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I'd head on over to the hydraulic press....
--
82 242 5.0L; '10 Cayman S; '15 Honda Fit
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posted by
someone claiming to be
on
Wed Dec 31 18:00 CST 1969 [ RELATED]
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I wish I had one laying around, I'll have to find a shop...
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posted by
someone claiming to be
on
Wed Dec 31 18:00 CST 1969 [ RELATED]
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Based on the picture, it definitely isn't going to work properly on your 240 chassis -- and it definitely isn't an IPD bar (I've had both the older gold versions as well as the newer blue ones, and they don't look quite like the bar you bought.
But why are you going to 28 mm? That's incredibly stiff, but it will only improve your handling if you match it with a proper rear bar as well. The genuine (not yours) IPD bar for a V-8 is thick, of course, but it's meant for the extra weight and higher center of gravity of a V-8; with the ordinary I-4, it's too stiff without an appropriate rear bar. What you'd get, instead, is a severely understeering car.
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posted by
someone claiming to be
on
Wed Dec 31 18:00 CST 1969 [ RELATED]
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Hi Ken, thanks for the response.
Any chance you can tell by eyeballing it if this might be a 700/900 bar?
The hope is to eventually get a V8 in the car. I'm sure many more people have made that statement than have actually followed through, it is just a pipe dream for me at this point in time. That said, I do have a 25mm sway on the rear of the car. From what I have read, that's actually a little stiffer than some of people like when using the 28mm front bar, it seems like 28mm front & 23mm rear is a popular combo. I like my suspension stiff though.
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posted by
someone claiming to be
on
Wed Dec 31 18:00 CST 1969 [ RELATED]
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Hi again.
I'm sorry but I've never owned a 700/900, so I have no idea what it should look like.
I'm glad you already have a 25mm bar in the rear. With your current bar, it might overall be somewhat neutral, which is OK. Actually, the European standard, TUV, calls for being slightly understeering under all circumstances (that means that, whatever happens, those of the "general public" will be facing forward instead of backwards :-); but slightly neutral is what enthusiasts usually prefer, also safe in the right hands :-).
Although I've never had a V-8 240, I vaguely recall* from something I read a very long time ago that the proper front bar for a V-8 not only should be stiffer, but also have a "dip" (for lack of a better term) or U-shape in the middle of the center section to accommodate the oil pan of that kind of engine. [* I could be wrong, but since your ultimate goal is a V-8 installation, I'm just suggesting that you confirm this possibility elsewhere before buying your next bar, just in case I'm right.]
re: "...I like my suspension stiff."
Actually, stiff antisway bars don't make your ride stiff, except when you are on an uneven (i.e., left vs right side) road. Normal dips and rises (that are even on both sides) don't involve the bars because they just swivel on their bushings equally; only when the dip or rise is on only one side will the bars work, and then it could be jarring; or also, obviously, when the car is apt to lean or roll in a turn.
To compensate for these stresses (when the bars are doing their job), I (and I also have IPD's bars) have installed three sets of braces: 1) a brace spanning across the two strut towers, 2) a pair of diagonal braces from each tower to the firewall, and 3) longitudinal braces from the subframe (under the engine) to the unibody channels just behind the "cups" (forgot their name) holding the large, rear bushings of the control arms. Together with poly bushings throughout the front, the car steers very nicely, almost like what I imagine a go-kart should feel like (although I honestly never actually drove a go-kart :-).
Have fun.
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posted by
someone claiming to be
on
Wed Dec 31 18:00 CST 1969 [ RELATED]
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Hi Ken,
You are correct about the dip in the bar, that is exactly what I had thought I purchased.
I have a similar suspension setup to you. Off the top of my head, what's currently in the car is:
25mm front sways
25mm rear sways
poly torque rod bushings
poly panhard bushings
poly trailing arm bushings
Billsteins on all corners
Strut tower brace
braces between towers & firewall
I think the only things on your car that aren't on mine are the poly front bushings (I'll upgrade when the rubber is shot), and the underbody subframe braces (which I just haven't gotten around to making yet).
I do want a beefy 28mm front sway very much though. Hopefully I can find one...
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posted by
someone claiming to be
on
Wed Dec 31 18:00 CST 1969 [ RELATED]
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Saw your post on T-bricks.
Anyways, it just occured to me that it might be some kind of mustang bar. I have heard some people say that they could work, so maybe the person you bought it from thought it might work.
--
My homepage:
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posted by
someone claiming to be
on
Wed Dec 31 18:00 CST 1969 [ RELATED]
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I know that there was a group buy a few years ago for 28mm front bars (for 240) from IPD, but that bar doesn't really look like an IPD bar. All their bars should have either the gold zinc plating (older bars) or the blue paint. Does this bar have that, and it's just worn off?
--
My homepage:
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posted by
someone claiming to be
on
Wed Dec 31 18:00 CST 1969 [ RELATED]
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Thanks for the response. I confirmed with iPD that none of their bars ever had this color. There's no way for me to know if it's been repainted, but I doubt it. it would take a lot of effort to remove the blue powdercoat, and from the scrapes where the paint is damaged I don't see any sign of the gold cadmium plating.
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