90-96Q vs 97 sway bars

[Q45tech]

Made some measurements today to shed some light on things

The front sway bar on 90-96 has a right angle arm of 12" the 97 = 21"The rear sway bar on 90-96 has a right angle arm of 6" the 97= 8"

Reverse engineering the equation says 12/21= 0.57 so a front bar on a 97 would need to be^4 or 75% stiffer than a 29mm ~~=33.5mm with a 21" arm.

On rear 6/8= 0.75 20mm rear needs to be a 22mm rear on 97 to equal.

Skipped some of the math but these are pretty close.

Simple observations can fool you.

[maxnix]

Thanks for taking the time to post your observations.

Always noticed that bars on FY33 were more massive, and roll seems better controlled, slightly. Probably because of McPherson Strut front suspension camber changes and the rear is very simlar to the G50 in design.

[Q45tech]

The 97 vs 94-96 is lighter up front due to a lighter front suspension even with the subframe.....................this 120 pounds shows but the roll stiffness is actually lower on the 97-01.........the 16" tires help in sidewall stiffness compared to 15" non performance tires standard on 94-96.

Compared to the light 90Q [3957 lbs] the average 94-96 weighs [4060-4090] without the active option.

A perfect 90 vs a perfect 97 is quite different.The touring variable stiffness shocks do help quite a bit in turning feel.

[DrewQ45]

Thanks for taking the time to post your observations.

Always noticed that bars on FY33 were more massive, and roll seems better controlled, slightly. Probably because of McPherson Strut front suspension camber changes and the rear is very simlar to the G50 in design.

Am I missing something? Based on the math, I thought Tech was saying that the sway bars on the Y33s are of a softer nature than the G50s.

..Drew...

[Q45tech]

They are softer as are the springs due to lower vehicle weight. The more turns lock to lock fools some as to feel. Without the camber gain of the 90-96 the tires wash out way sooner even in 16". The 97 rear sway bar compared to most 90-96 Q WITHOUT one makes the 97 feel better.

How ever I would expect everyone to have added a 20mm rear sway bar by now on the 90-96 without active, due to superior cost performance criteria.Been 14 years since I had a Q without a rear sway bar.

[Falkdesigns]

The ~300 pounds will definitely make a difference, but stock vs. stock, it's probably more rolly-polly. Mine on the other had corners flat and hard. I wonder what Saner Fab. would charge me to make an adjustable front bar, not that I need more cornering out of my car, but he's usually quite reasonable.