badvette74

hello i have a 1974 Corvette with a stock 13/16 front sway bar,is it ok to use a 5/8 at the rear?thank you guys!

CaseyJones

I wouldn't without putting the larger factory bar up front.

pauldana

agree with caseyjones... i have one, but if not properly set up you will have major over steer.... which sucks..... put the biggest one you can find yo front from VBP, and the second on down in size they have for the rear... don't remember the sizes off hand...

dochorsepower

Any rear sway bar of a decent size will put bending in the frame. Use a 1-1/8" bar up front and you will be surprised at the difference.

badvette74

does a bigger front sway bar effect the ride height?

CaseyJones

Not at all.

TheSkunkWorks

Chassis Tuning Rule #1: Anything that alters the relative difference between front and rear roll stiffness, whether done by spring and/or bar changes, ALWAYS changes a car's understeer/oversteer balance characteristics.

And, no, bars don't affect ride height.

pacecar620

Correctomundo! A decent guideline would be to look at the pre-packaged sway bar kits to see what the manufacturer recommends as a "balanced" set. Addco's set consists of a 1.125" front bar combined with a .750" rear bar. Adding just a rear bar will throw your corner handling totally wackadoo. Add a set of stiff-ish shocks such as the Bilstein Sports (if you haven't got 'em already) and you should be more than happy. Happy cornering!!

scrappy76

I am confused at the answers given compared to the question asked. I am reading the op already has a stock front sway bar which is 13/16. He is asking if he can put a 5/8 sway bar in the rear.

I wouldnt see any problem with adding a 5/8 swaybar in the rear. should be helpful. on your cornering.

bashcraft

Been there, done this. Back before I knew any better, I added a 3/4" rear bar to my '69. It had the stock 13/16" front bar. The car was relatively neutral before doing this. The rear bar introduced massive over steer. Replacing the front bar with a 1-1/8" bar brought it back close to neutral again.

77C34SPD

You can put a 5/8" in the rear...But you would be better off with the oem 7/16 set up

ignatz

5/8" bar WILL induce oversteer. My other comment is beware the aftermarket attachment clip arrangement to the trailing arm. My experience is continued flexing on the TA sheet metal eventually tore through the TA. Then what? Weld it back together? And the bigger the bar the worse the stress. Go with the stock mount setup..

Sayfoo

What I have learned on my 69--put a large (1 1/8") bar on the front, and then use the rear bar to get the handling you want. EVERY car/tire/preference is different. Rule of thumb and/or package deals may or may not be what you want, but are a starting point. I tried the origional BB bar and another bigger bar on the rear, and I ended up with no rear bar at all, as the best for me.
I also put on alot heavier springs, front and back, as recommended by one of the "expert" vendors and some of the members here. The car is great on mountain roads, but a little rough in town. I would go a little softer if I had it to do over again.
Back to your answer--I think you will increase the oversteer substantually with only this addition, but then again, it is a hit or miss proposition and YOU may like the results. If you are trying to inprove on the body lean, I would replace the front bar first.

mmesa005

I have a 74 that I am doing a frame-off resto on. I have the VBP max performance suspension kit. The front sway bar size is 1 1/8", the rear sway bar size is 7/8".

Here is a pretty good explanation of suspension tuning with photos and pics.

http://www.rapid-racer.com/suspensio...Anti-Roll/Sway Bars Tuning

mrvette

Over the years I have had largest sway bar in front and in rear, and so have had 17x9.5 C4 rims on the car, 275/50 in rear 255/50 in front....I found that with the front cross support the stock small front sway bar is fine when combines with the smaller rear sway bar....

the car balances just fine, and the ride is decent.....360 glass spring in rear 460 coils in front, Bilstein sports on 4 corners.....

the stiff bars made it feel like a truck.....actually hurt my arthritic neck....

scrappy76

I think my 76 has a 13/16 in the front and my plan since I just installed a 454 big block in my 76, was to put a 9/16 sway bar from a 69 big block, in the rear of my 76. So what your saying is that 9/16 would be too big since the front is only 13/16? please let me know.

bashcraft

That's what I, along with everyone else who posted here, said.

badvette74

i will start with an 1-1/8 front bar and Bilstein Sport shocks

gcusmano74

If you want to keep the 13/16 front bar, and run a rear bar as well, you will have to increase the front roll stiffness by swapping in stiffer springs. Maybe the 460#s. The higher rate springs will oscillate faster, and will require stiffer shocks to control them.
A fatter stabilizer bar will increase the roll stiffness without affecting the ride as much as a stiffer spring set. Mounting the bar in poly will increase it's effectivness.
I would try a 1" front bar to balance a 5/8 rear bar, if your springs are all stock, for street cruising.
Any more than that, and IMHO, you'll be twisting the frame more than you are loading the tires.
It all depends on how you want to use the car. Cruising, racing, autocross? The more aggressively you want to drive the car, the farther you will have to deviate from stock.

redvetracr

I have an extra factory 1-1/8 front and a factory 9/16 rear bar if anyone reading is interested, the rear bar comes with the links to the t-arm...send a PM