Sway bars

[Garrett]

I have 18mm sways front and rear on my car, stock as far as I know just like the rest of the suspension. I just grabbed a 23mm front sway from an E12. The rear was a 16mm. I was surprised that the E12 was that staggered. Wouldn't the car understeer horribly?

I need to beef up my sways. Way to much roll right now. Wondering what will happen if I fit the 23mm on the front without changing the rear. I would still like to find a beefier rear but haven't figured out the donor yet.

Garrett

 

[velocewest]

There's a lot more to handling than sway bar size. Here's a link to a great explanation of all the things that influence understeer and oversteer: http://www.rallylights.com/other/stuning.htm The e12 carries weight in different places than an e9, so you can't assume that the staggered bars will have the same affect on both cars. I have owned e12's and driven many (from stock to Alpina variants), so I can say with confidence that staggered bars create very balanced handling on that platform. My Range Rover has a fat front bar and no rear bar, and for a live axle truck that weighs over 2 tons, the handling is surprisingly neutral.

Sway bars can improve the roll characteristics of the car, but be careful that you don't upset some other part of the equation. The link above should help you with what knobs to turn to maintain the balance you prefer.

Although the e12 front suspension uses the same configuration as the e9, I think you may find the dimensions are not exactly the same. Check the fit on that front sway bar and be sure it clears the frame rails as it bends back to connect to the lower arms.

Cheers,

 

[quarry]

Hi,
I have fitted a E12 M535i front sway bar and it fits fine and car feels ok.
Thanks Neil.

 

[Honolulu]

'Bout them sway bars

If you want less roll, that is less rotation about the long axis, it's stiffer springs you are looking for.

Hmmm.... six degrees of freedom: three translational and three rotational.