Re: Rear sway bar for Coupe GT

[audidudi@mindspring.com (Jeffrey J. Goggin)]

>Unless you upgrade the front bar, it is not wimpy.  The roll stiffness of
>the Coupe is very well balanced as is.  I found this out when I installed
>the Addco rear bar on my 87 Coupe.  It acquired a definite two-stage roll
>characteristic after adding the rear bar.  Unfortunately this was right
>at about 7 or 8 tenths which made spirited cornering interesting.  Above
>that it would stay very flat and was very nice, but getting there was a
>bit hairy.  I have had it off for about a year now and don't really miss
>it.  Of course, I'm driving it much less now....

Since the function of an a/r bar is moot once the inside wheel lifts off the
ground, adding a rear bar to a Coupe GT will cause exactly the two-stage
behavior you describe.  Also, don't forget the twist-beam axle is *designed*
to alter toe when it twists and by preventing it from twisting as much,
you're also altering the car's rear-steer characteristics, which further
accentuates the behavior you describe. 

IMHO, given the design of the twist-beam rear suspension on the FWD 4k and
Coupes, it's probably best not to mess with the rear suspension much, if at
all, unless you're prepared to do a complete redesign.  Besides, I don't
think the rear wheels on these cars really do much except keep the bumpers
from dragging on the ground ... focus your attention on the front end
instead.  BTDT...

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