Thnks2u

My suspension has passed through many iterations and I'm now "ready" to try running
at NHIS on Monday "without" the rear bar. My question is can I safely run with the end
links disconnected? It appears that even with the end links removed, the ends of the
bar might interfere with the lower control arms. I would rather not completely remove
the bar until I've decided that I like running without it.

A related question...Can the bar be removed without dropping the rear end of the
exhaust?

TIA, Cal

pantyraider

You can run safely with the endlinks disconnected. I've done it and so have many others. I'm pretty sure you can drop the bar without removing the exhaust, but haven't been down there in a while

rlaifatt

Remove just one endlink so it wont droop, yet won't function.

twohoos

I've swapped the rear bar in and out several times and you pretty much have to drop the mufflers. But it's easy - a little WD40 on the hangers and they pop right off.

Race Miata

Like Richard said, remove just one endlink. Theoretically, there's a very slight chance that at extreme body roll, the side with disconnected endlink may have the swaybar end touching the lower spring perch so it's best to remove the side that's most likely to be the outside corner (i.e. for CCW track remove right side).

Note that although this band-aid solution helps prevent oversteer and perhaps one-wheel spin, the car will understeer on tight corners and the overall roll-stiffness is much reduced such that the overall improvement is not that great.

twohoos

It can be a big help, depending on what else he's done to his suspension.

At Sears a couple years ago I had a slightly loose car that was getting severe inside wheelspin. Disconnected the rear bar and it became just slightly pushy but powered out of the turns much harder. Result: my lap times dropped by 1.5 sec immediately. Haven't run the rear bar since.

Nobody

Everyone running no rear sway bar is also running stock front, yes? Problem is I've got a saner front and want to try this setup but i'm afraid my lap times will increase because of the stiffy between the front wheels.

Scot

i ran almost all of 2005 without my rear sway bar and with my Saner on full stiff..... i suck at describing my driving experiences or what the car was doing, but i ran faster in 2005 than i did in 2004, even with a 50lb increase in the car weight (due to rule changes).

i personally may have been just driving harder or maybe the removal of the bar helped that much.... ???

Race Miata

You're right. I was assuming in my case where everything else was stock. So, removing rear sway made my car lean A LOT.

drewchie

You do have to drop the mufflers to get it out, but try disconnecting it first to see what you think. I run less of a tire stagger, so I really prefer it with the rear swaybar out. The body roll on stock suspension can be pretty severe though, especially on R-comps. I do find that there's a slight understeer tendancy now, but the rear usually comes around eventually. (A slight lift or gentle tap on the brakes will definitely encourage it.)