Rear Swaybar

[95Grand-Am]

Could someone with a rear sway bar on a Beretta or Grand-am or related plat-form car post a pic for me. I'm thinking about intalling one on mine and just want to see what it looks like before I do.

[Azrael]

Here's an old thread over at gaownersclub.com that details the install with a few pics: http://www.gaownersclub.com/forum/sh...threadid=46957

I only just got around to ordering one too.

There's also a thread somewhere here with a pic of just about every rear suspension and brake upgrade from mantapart for an N/L body.

[95Grand-Am]

Thanks for the photo that is just what I was looking for. Are there any swaybars that attach to the body and the rear end? A sway bar like that would only prevent the rear axle from twisting, and not the body rolling on the rear springs. In the aritical it said to prepare for under steer, I have a hard time beliveing that it would make that much differance. But I have yet to try it, and would like to hear form people who have installed rear swaybars and their opion about it.

[weba]

Addco rear swaybar definitely makes huge difference atleast on L-body, most likely best upgrade for that platform when it comes to price-advantage, even on FE7 cars

I'v been wondering the lack of Body to Rear axle bar too, most cars with solid rear axles do always have those.

[ixion]

Sorry to bring up this old thread, but ...
With the poor business reputation of "Mantashart", I did some investigation regarding any other possible options for 95-96 L-body or 95-98 N-body rear sway bars. Unfortunately, I found none. However, I did find something interesting.

While browsing different vehicle sections in the GMpartsdirect catalog, (96 Beretta/Corsica, 98 Grand Am, etc.), I kept coming across this same illustration:


As you can see, it shows the rear axle assembly used in the above models. But there is a sway bar depicted! There is no link to the part for reference, no GM part number, and the mounting brackets/end-links shown are dead links (no longer or never available). I came across an old thread on the GAOC forum stating the possibility that it was intended to be a GM option, but for some reason was dropped.

I know that people have been using the older Addco bar for 87-94 Beretta (and similar GA) by drilling holes in the lower spring perch in order to mount them. That's all fine and dandy, and it does work. But I'm of the opinion that it be much better to have a sway bar that is designed to work with the later axles, that bolts directly below the lower shock mount (instead of slightly off to the side)? Arguably,this would be a much more effective design. Am I wrong?

A sway bar is a relatively simple design that I'm sure can be made inexpensively in a small shop.
1. Several feet of steel rod
2. Measure a specific distance
3. Bend in one direction at a specific angle
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until final bend
5. Measure a specific distance
6. Cut

See what I'm getting at? If I had the resources, I'd be all over designing and selling one. Unfortunately, I don't, and I'd really like one on my 96 Beretta.

Questions/Comments greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Azrael]

I rememeber seeing that swaybar being listed for 94-98 N-bodies on gmpartsdirect. It was never in stock and I doubt any of the dealerships would still have any in inventory if they did exist. The one mantapart sells is a oneoff that's made to fit. I ended up using the addco #446 swaybar. It was very simple with just 4 bends. Unfortunately it didn't line up perfectly and makes contact with the trailing arms (or maybe my suspension's a little bent?) and didn't line up with the existing holes. Since I was already drilling holes it wasn't a big deal.

If it were a little longer with an extra bend on each side for clearance it would've been perfect.

Edit: Also, in my 95 n-body service manual, no rear swaybar is mentioned or shown in the diagrams.

[ixion]

I rememeber seeing that swaybar being listed for 94-98 N-bodies on gmpartsdirect. It was never in stock and I doubt any of the dealerships would still have any in inventory if they did exist. The one mantapart sells is a oneoff that's made to fit. I ended up using the addco #446 swaybar. It was very simple with just 4 bends. Unfortunately it didn't line up perfectly and makes contact with the trailing arms (or maybe my suspension's a little bent?) and didn't line up with the existing holes. Since I was already drilling holes it wasn't a big deal.

If it were a little longer with an extra bend on each side for clearance it would've been perfect.

Edit: Also, in my 95 n-body service manual, no rear swaybar is mentioned or shown in the diagrams.

Interesting (re: your edit).
Also, the Mantapart one shown in the install pics from the GAOC forum looks to have similar bends as those in the GMPD illustration. Maybe a group buy to Addco would entice them to design one. It doesn't appear to be that much different than the #446.
For the record, I have a #446 installed on my 94, but it's designed for it and bolts on. I'm selling the car with it on rather than do a half-@$$ install to transfer it to my 96. You're install experience is not uncommon.
I understand that improvement is noticeable on newer axles by drilling mounting holes in the spring perch and using a #446, and I'm not saying a bar with ends mounted directly below the shocks instead would be better by leaps and bounds ... Maybe just more noticeable.