Original 15/16" sway bar vs 1" aftermarket sway bar??

[buening]

My mach has the original 15/16" competition suspension sway bar. Would I really see much improvement by getting a 1" or 1 1/8" aftermarket sway bar? I don't know if one is solid vs hollow or what the deal is. I know many people upgrade their bars but they typically start out with the smaller diameter OEM like the 5/8" bar. Curious what other people think.

 

[Shaun]

Well any increase in dia. increases the stiffness to the 4th power so 1/16th could make quite a difference. I'm not going to comment on how sensitive another mans butt is but you may or may not feel a 1/16th difference but I bet you'll feel it if you went to a 1-1/8" bar.

 

[buening]

Thanks Shaun. Do you know if the construction of the OEM bar is similar to the aftermarket ones? Torsional capacity of a hollow bar is different than a solid bar, and same goes for two hollow bars of different wall thickness.

 

[Shaun]

Good point. 1" of butter is not as stiff as 1" of wood. Without some standard test rig then a 1" bar from one supplier could be totally different than a 1" bar from someone else.