What rear sway bar to use with MM arms ?

[at_the_junkyard]

I have done lots of reading on the threads regarding rear suspension upgrades etc...so recently I jumped in and installed a set of MM heavy duty adjustable rear lower control arms on my 1980 cobra.

The MM arms are very nice units as described (and should be for the $$$) and are perfect for adjusting the ride height which is mainly what I wanted. My only beef is the stock 86 sway bar hangs quite a bit lower at the MM arm where they mount vs inside the stock lower arm etc. I should mention the rear end was upgraded to an 8.8 out of an 86.

The stock 86 sway bar does fit to the MM arms but I would prefer more ground clearance if possible etc. It seems that if the rear sway bar was bent a bit differently it could fit much better at the ends etc.

Anyone run into this before or know of any aftermarket sway bar option that will fit these arms but give better ground clearance ?

Cheers,
Todd

[mcfairmont]

I have the Maximum Motorsport "Extreme Duty" non adjustable lower control arms on my 86 LX, with a 8.8 rearend, and I am using the rear sway bar from a 90 Mustang GT. I can`t say that I have ever noticed any ground clearance issues, but my car just sees dragstrip duty, and has not been lowered, and runs on 29" tall slicks.

[at_the_junkyard]

Yeah, the clearance at the diff cover is good but where it comes off the arm is lower. Seems like I need to get a bar that is pretty much straight across but angled to clear the arm etc. I was looking at the Hellwig 6801 or the Steeda bars, they look like they are straighter to me than the stock or the Eibach bar.

A pic or two is worth a thousand words...




Curious to know what people running these MM arms are using for swaybars and how they fit ?

[jjltthomas]

I used a rear sway bar out from under a 94 up gt they are straight with no dip. If Im not mistaken and I could be so dont take this as complete fact. I think the swaybars are bigger in diameter which is better.


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[wraithracing]

Mustang rear sway bars should be interchangeable from 79-04 on solid axle vehicles.

With that said, the 94-04 rear bars may have a slightly different shape to them compared to the 79-93 bars, but I haven't actually compared them side by side so I am not 100% on that. The SN95 rear bars may gain you some ground clearance, but not sure how much without looking at them side by side.

Also keep in mind that changing the rear bar diameter can affect the handling on your vehicle and going with a larger rear bar may adversely affect your handling. Larger bars can improve the handling of the vehicle, but too large a rear bar on a Mustang with a small or too small front bar is not a good thing. Balance is the key! Good Luck!

[84StangSVT]

Mine are not MM LCA's but they are aftermarket.

As seen here, I have the same basic issue you do.



While it looks a bit odd at first, I have had no issues with mine dragging or hanging up on anything.

Until I can get a good matched set of aftermarket sway bars, I intend on retaining this one to match my factory front swaybar.

[at_the_junkyard]

Good points all.

I think the fit with the stock U shaped arms is better since the bar ends mount inside the arm which gains an inch or so clearance in my opinion. This is probably why the stock bar has the bend that it does...so with the MM arms the clearance is more noticeable. I kinda agree that its a street car and shouldn't see much in the way of rough terrain so the reduced clearance is probably not as big a deal as I originally thought and also better it hangs down near the wheels than in the middle.

I might be willing to purchase a reasonably priced aftermarket bar if I was sure it would fit better. It is tough to tell from some of the pictures online. Otherwise I am thinking the stock bar is probably fine. I looked if MM made such a bar to match the arms for a 79-93 and nothing jumped out at me.

[at_the_junkyard]

Did some more research and the MM adjustable rear sway bars look interesting although they are twice the price and some work to install. Other cheaper adjustable types also look to have the clearance but seem to be used in conjunction with the stock bar.

Interesting the MM type clamp the axle tubes and fasten to the frame with the bar sitting level to the bottom of the differential. Looks very solid and does not look like it would interfere with my dual exhaust either.

I am no expert on suspensions and am not building an all out race car here but I am curious if anyone is using an adjustable rear swaybar setup with and opinions on them, especially the clearance etc ?

Thanks

[cb84capri]

This might be bothering you, but I have had my stock sway bar on my lowered 84 Capri with Maximum lowers for the last ten years and it hasn't hit the ground. I have hit the exhaust off the ground plenty of times, but the rear bar hasn't been an issue.

Cale

[Unclesams_SVO]

My only issue with the sway bar that low when I swapped my rear control arms on my SVO, was when I was trailering it. I found the sway bar was more in the way then anything else when strapping the car down using the axle. But other then that I never hit anything or drug it on the ground. My solution was an IRS swap but the MM rear sway bar would have been my other choice.

[at_the_junkyard]

Yeah, I decided to just leave it "as is" for now and keep my eye out for any later model bars that may fit with a more desirable bend when I'm at the junkyard.

Thanks all for the comments !!

[2nd chance cobra]

for what it's worth this is a 95 going onto my 79 cobra

[erratic50]

Have a MM bar that frame mounts and clamps to rear diff that I bought from a friend that ran his 86GT in SCCA. It clears duals even with a MM panhard. I am not real impressed with the MM setup for all but a few use cases. Not drag and not mild street - just full on stuff corner carver.

It's too stiff relative to the front but the front is already plenty stiff for my purposes. Out back its a bit stiff and seems to limit weight transfer to the rear even on its loosest setting but does help keep the back to level side to side if you can get it to hook fairly well.

I suggest heating up a stock bar and reshaping it to suite ya, then spend the money elsewhere.

I actually like the street manners of a stock 86 GT bar up front with stock GT coils and 4cyl LX springs in back with NO rear sway bar. Feels good with spirited driving. I haven put in my panhard bar yet - no sway with soft springs seems to reduce rear axle upper arm bind a little bit.

braking seems end a little better too actually.

Try it and see, you might agree. Installing the rear bar at the track takes about 5 min. That's really the only place it is particularly useful in my experience.

[wraithracing]

I have to respectfully disagree with heating up a swaybar to alter its shape. You can weaken the swaybar and cause failure.

As stated before, many people have used the stock rear swaybars with MM adjustable rear control arms without any issues. I wouldn't be too concerned with it myself. I have the exact same setup on two of my Mustangs with no issues in regards to the bars hitting or catching on anything. Good Luck!

[erratic50]

Wraithracing - I understand and respect the comment about weakening it, and agree- it may. Anyone who decides to heat and bend would want to be aware of that risk first - so thank you for the way you respectfully brought this up. I omitted that part of the decision making process in my previous comment.

Well - so let's say someone decides it's a good idea any way..... If someone does do any bends.... do know from bending some stuff on purpose a time or two in the past that the cooler you can keep it while applying steady human with pipe wrench level force necessary to do a bend the less the metal will harden. there is a balance as bending metal too cool can also more or less snap or tear it in some cases. Spring steel won't go anywhere without a lot of force unless it's relatively hot at least in the area near the bend. Definitely have to use a torch. You can use water soaked rags to try to isolate the heat a little bit.

Not sure where the breaking point would be heated or stock, etc. probably depends upon car, conditions, and variables like springs and shocks, front sway, etc. and the loose cannon behind the wheel? Lol. For me, I've definitely got myself into situations during spirited driving that my driving could barely get me out of!


I've observed that the stock ones are definitely well built to start with. Would have to check rates while looking at bars too. , I know they differ fox GTs vs SN95. One may compliment your spring rate front and rear a lot more than another.

I've never needed to do anything parts performance wise with the one on my 86 with over 400K, my wife's 89 very that we sold at 120K, or my sons 86 vert with 100K. Mine was even in great shape when I removed it during my SN95 rearend swap last spring.

If I reinstall mine it will get left stock, not bent. I do not see an issue with where it will end up with tubular control arms. Personal preference I guess.

[vxr500]

I have an 84 GT with an 8.8, MM fixed lower arms and an Eibach sway bar. It does hang down more than stock, but I've never had any clearance issues. Plus I have Motorsport springs

[Jack Hidley]

From 1978-2004 the factory rear swaybars have had many different bend designs. They are all going to result in different amounts of ground clearance. The clearance issue shown in the photos virtually never causes an actual problem. The reason is that the location of minimum clearance is placed nearly in the same fore/aft plane as the rear axle. This means that when a bump is encountered, the rear tires lift the car up before the swaybar ever has a chance to hit the bump.

I don't understand the comments about the MM adjustable rear swaybar being too stiff. We make nine different rear adjustable bar sizes. The softest one is about the same stiffness as a 0.5" rear swaybar which is slightly stiffer than a coathanger.

[brianj]

Plastic or steel coat hanger? Tech on said coat hanger? Lol

[Jack Hidley]

Plastic coated steel, the best kind

[qtrracer]

Did some more research and the MM adjustable rear sway bars look interesting although they are twice the price and some work to install. Other cheaper adjustable types also look to have the clearance but seem to be used in conjunction with the stock bar.

Interesting the MM type clamp the axle tubes and fasten to the frame with the bar sitting level to the bottom of the differential. Looks very solid and does not look like it would interfere with my dual exhaust either.

I am no expert on suspensions and am not building an all out race car here but I am curious if anyone is using an adjustable rear swaybar setup with and opinions on them, especially the clearance etc ?

Thanks

I have one of the MM adjustable rear bars on my 86 (.75" solid bar). Install wasn't nearly as complicated as the PHB. The instructions are very clear. Both the axle and chassis mounts are more than sturdy enough. I also run a rear girdle and the bar clears (cannot use a gasket - just RTV). Adjustment is a bit tricky because you have to avoid pre-loading the bar, but once your do it a couple of times, it's simple enough. Be sure to use anti-seize on some of the hardware.

[qtrracer]

Double post