meangreenburban

^ this.

Torsion is carried by the OD of a tubular member, hence aftermarket bars that are stiffer are a larger OD. Tubular vs Solid really comes down to weight. In a torsion application, a hollow bar will do the same job OD for OD as a solid bar and be lighter.

Think of it this way, driveshafts are hollow. And they carry a lot of torque (torsion). A 6" OD d/s is going to be able to hold more torque than a 4" OD, same material. And since steel is stronger than aluminum, a smaller OD steel d/s is just as good in torsion as a larger OD aluminum d/s.

But not to confuse things, since there are no aluminum sway bars

TURBHOE

iTrader: (4)

yeah but your torsion bars are solid. if it didn't matter wouldn't they be hollow too. could you imagine the weight of a solid drive shaft. hahahha it wouldn't be able to be turned.

TURBHOE

iTrader: (4)

good read, http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c4/vad...bardesign.html

meangreenburban

I'm saying solid vs tubular comes down to cost, in more ways than one. GM can probably make a cheaper bar out of solid steel, since, as stated before, they can buy the very expensive tooling once and make thousands of them. A smaller aftermarket place would be better off to invest in a better steel, buy tubes and bend them to spec.

Put it this way, if I could afford it, I'd run a large OD hollow sway bar.

edit: that's a REALLY good page on sway bars, nice find!

TURBHOE

iTrader: (4)

i like the hellwig's the best so far. they are made of 4140 chromoly and 1 3/8"(front) solid. and 1.25 adjustable for the rear. so you can shorten the lever arm and make the rear even stiffer.