OK I put in new springs this season all around (Moog cargo coils rear, UMI 1" lowering fronts and .5" taller ball joints). Each change made an improvement in handling, without being too stiff. The front springs/ball joint/front end alignment was all at once, but I left the OEM sway bar in place - with the rotted rubber bushings. Until 3 days ago, when I installed a new Hellwig front sway bar (55703). It's 1-5/16" in diameter and hollow, including their beefier end links and all soft poly bushings. Very noticeable improvement, the car now goes immediately and exactly where I point it and stays MUCH flatter, even in fairly hard cornering. Well, my stock rate rear springs with no sway bar out back, and ancient Goodyear 14" tires, now feel like the limiting factor in hard cornering...but I'm not filming any movies nor going to autocross so it's OK. At 1-5/16" diameter it's really fat, it just barley fits. Being hollow but heavy wall tubing, maybe it doesn't weigh any less than the skinny OEM bar. I'm not a big fan of poly bushings (can be noisy and harsh) but the bar bushings were softer and more pliable than I've felt before, impressive. The end link bushings seemed like regular old hard poly, but only the slightest hint of noise from the Hellwig under limited conditions - like corner turn from a dead stop/very low speeds.
Having gained the experience, I think I'd also be happy with a 1.125" or 1.25" solid bar (maybe from a newer F Body, like some on this board have done). And I think new rubber bushings would also be OK, I like rubber. But these poly bushings are also OK and I'm sure "work better" than rubber. With this new bar I feel more "transfer" when 1 wheel hits a big bump or a moderate dip/rise in the blacktop. Not bad, just a little stiffer feeling (I assume both front springs are now getting more compressive action in these cases, vs. only the 1 spring that encounters the bump). Under normal driving/cruising the fat bar feels nicer than the old one, over mild blacktop irregularities, curves in the road, etc. No difference in feel at all on smooth road going straight ahead. I'm not at all sorry that I went for the fancy Hellwig (I got it half price on eBay, $163). I'd recommend just about anybody to use a bigger than OEM front sway bar based on my recent experience. Your car will steer better!
Yes, I can feel that a rear bar would be a good next step. Possibly even stiffer rate rear springs, just a tad...
A factory rear bar with boxed lower control arms will be a pretty big improvement. If Hellwig makes a rear bar that mounts to the differential and the frame rather than the lower control arms, it will be even better.
Thanks, it’s got tubular controls arms on the rear, with greaseable poly bushings (no squeaks!). Square tube bottom, round on top. And it looks like bolt holes to accommodate a sway bar on the lowers. But ya, mounting a bar diff to frame (vs. diff to lower control arms) sounds like a good set up.
