DRA911

Any advice on where to buy torsion bars? Restoring my 74 911 for some track use and street use. I want good bars but also looking for the best deal. I am thinking 21mm f and 27mm r. Any advice is appreciated.

Bill Gregory

There are basically two manufacturers in the US. Sway-a-way and Glen Sanders Engineering. Some like Glen Sanders over the Sway-a-way (which are sold by Performance and others), and you can usually find the Sway-a-way's on sale someplace. In some sizes Glen Sanders are the same price as Sway-a-way's on sale. Sway-a-way's come with a plastic coating on the bar and the Glen Sanders bars require painting (I used POR15). Paragon Products in TX sells both lines, and is a good place to do business with, so you might give Jason a call (no affiliation, etc)

21/27 will work fine for you. I used 22/28's on my heavier 81SC. You are probably also, or did already, upgrading your shocks to better match the heavier torsion bars. I like the hollow torsion bars to save a little weight, too. You'll probably want to also upgrade your sway bars to adjustable bars - they're a big help to tune for neutrality vs oversteer/understeer.

Thom Fitzpatrick

I found a set of used sway-a-ways on the rennlist classifieds. The sanders bars are better, but I'm trying to exert *some* sort of budgetary control over this project (yeah, right!)

Bill Gregory

Thing to remember when looking at used torsion bars is that they can sag over time. The Sway-a-ways have a date stamped on the end of each one, the Glen Sanders do not.

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

[quote]Originally posted by Bill Gregory:
<strong>Thing to remember when looking at used torsion bars is that they can sag over time. The Sway-a-ways have a date stamped on the end of each one, the Glen Sanders do not.</strong><hr></blockquote>

With all due respect, I've only seen 2 sets of torsion bars that had sagged since 1975. I've seen and installed a LOT of these since then, too,...

Both of those were Weltmeister/Sway-a-Way ones and were traced to improper heat treatment. The majority of cars that change their ride heights over time are due to bushing degradation and shock problems.

IMHO, there is a world of difference between these aftermarket torsion bars. We only use the Sander Engineering ones as their splines fit the chassis MUCH better than anything else and their spring rates are very consistent.

FWIW, we sell the Sander ones for the same prices as the Weltmeister/Sway-a-Way ones.

t.p.

I 2nd that. Torsion bars typically should only be replaced if you want thicker ones. (Not that Steve's opinions ever need any support)

Bill Gregory

[quote]<strong>I've only seen 2 sets of torsion bars that had sagged since 1975. </strong><hr></blockquote>

Excellent! Must be time to move on to coils