kachunk

I was thinking about sway bar bushing solutions tonight. My car is primarily street use, but track days are in the works. I am stiffening up the suspension, but I'm torn about using urethane sway bar bushings for road noise/driveability concerns. So I thought a little more.
Isn't the creaking noise that everyone experiences due to friction and binding against the bar? So even though the urethane is stiffer, it has some drawbacks in driveability and performance. What about bearings? I stumbled upon this article:
http://www.mustang50magazine.com/tec...roll_bars.html

So what about a design like the torque tube bearings which are encased in thin, firm rubber material on the inside and out? Is there enough benefit to pursue this?
I feel it could fix several problems for lots of different drivers:
1. Reduces friction when the bar is under torsion - improving efficiency of the sway bar for a direct feel and reaction.
2. Eliminates noise/maintenance of urethane bushings for street use.

I forsee 2 issues:
1. Installation. How to fit a bearing over the curvatures of the sway bar? Likely would need to be used in conjunction with a Weltmeister or other straight bar.
2. Bearing life. Needle bearings wear unevenly/quickly if not rotated a full 360 degrees in their function.

Is anyone using something like this? Why or why not?

ideola

Any non-OEM bushing is going to squeak if it isn't kept properly lubed...even OEM will squeak. Initial lubrication is important, don't skimp.

The trick with the aftermarket poly/delrin bushings is to install your own zerk fittings. It's somewhat tedious work, but with a dremel, a drill, and a tap set, you can configure a zerk fitting for each bushing that would be encased in metal. Some of the bushings wouldn't need fittings, like the front sway bar drop link bushings. IMO, the people who complain about squeaking poly were just too lazy to do the job right. If you don't want them to squeak, install fittings. There are tons of writeups on the web for doing this.

As for the bearing idea, I think you're right about the design only working with a Weltie or Tarret Engineering straight bar. The other thing I noticed about that writeup you linked to was that the mounting arrangement is quite different, so the transference of torsion into the bar is going to be different on that Rustang setup...i.e. the bar is mounted straight to the frame, whereas on our cars, the parts that bind and squeak are suspended from drop links attached to the chassis and A-arm. I could see the bearings eliminating the binding problem, but they're going to need periodic lubrication as well, and as you say, without continuous rotation, they would be prone to uneven wear.

I'm no expert...it's a neat idea...but I'm scratching my head over whether it would be effective, and whether it would be worth the trial and error vs. installing a couple of zerk fittings. Just my $.02

ideola

Here is one of the writeups over on 924board that I was thinking of:
How to Install Polyurethane Control Arm Bushings and Grease Fittings

Mangonesailor

Your link 404'd for me.

ideola

Try again. It's definitely there, I just checked and force reloaded it. The software they run over on 924board sometimes has some strange issues.

If that doesn't work for you, go here...
http://www.924board.org/viewforum.php?f=16
...and then scroll down...it's currently the first non-stickied thread in the How-to forum because I just updated it this evening.

kens_74911s

Chassis pivot mounts , Delrin or UHMW split two piece double fanged bushings wont squeak and are a lot stiffer and slippery than any rubber or polyurethane, also inherently self lubricating considering they will not be flexing but rather acting as a semi compliant radial bearing. That being said they will eventually have uneven wear some on the ID but even then not displace like rubber . Cheap & easy to make if you have access a small lathe or buddy with access to one...