Go Back   EcoModder Forum > EcoModding > EcoModding Central
Register Now
 Register Now
 

Reply  Post New Thread
 
Submit Tools LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 10-08-2015, 01:26 PM   #1 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
orange4boy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: The Wet Coast, Kanuckistan.
Posts: 1,275

The Golden Egg - '93 Toyota Previa DX
90 day: 31.91 mpg (US)

Chewie - '03 Toyota Prius
90 day: 57 mpg (US)

The Spaceship - '00 Honda Insight
Thanks: 100
Thanked 306 Times in 178 Posts
Maintaining Momentum: Insight Sway Bar Fab and Mod.

I have been reading too much Autospeed lately and decided to upgrade my anti sway bar / stabilizer bar / anti roll bar situation. The Nugget handles fairly well the way it is but it bottoms out easily around corners and seems to lose a lot of momentum through wheel scrub from understeer. These mods should make it even more fun to drive and may save a little gas too.

My goals:
1) Mod the front bar to be stiffer and adjustable as there does not seem to be an aftermarket front bar.
2) Make an adjustable rear bar. There are some aftermarket choices out there but I want this to be really easy to adjust.
3) Stiffen up the rear springs.

__________________
Vortex generators are old tech. My new and improved vortex alternators are unstoppable.

"It’s easy to explain how rockets work but explaining the aerodynamics of a wing takes a rocket scientist.



Last edited by orange4boy; 10-08-2015 at 01:37 PM..
  Reply With Quote
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to orange4boy For This Useful Post:
Joggernot (10-09-2015), MobilOne (10-08-2015)
Alt Today
Popular topics

Other popular topics in this forum...

   
Old 10-08-2015, 07:46 PM   #2 (permalink)
Carbon Abuser
 
iamnotahippee's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Texas
Posts: 78

Olaf - '03 Honda Civic Hybrid

Sven - '06 Volvo Xc90 2.5t

Work Truck - '04 Chevy Silverado 3500
Thanks: 0
Thanked 16 Times in 13 Posts
Good thoughts! I used to have an older 4 cyl 5 spd cavalier. It had a rear sway bar, stiffer springs, strut brace, etc. That car handled GOOD! It wasn't the fastest, but it could out handle most vehicles. In the powered and fuel miserly, it is all about the baby!
__________________
1986 Chevy C-10 10mpg Grandpa's Truck
2004 Chevy 3500 diesel 10mpg The work Truck
2003 Honda Civic Hybrid 5 spd ?? Mpg My Carbon Pentance
  Reply With Quote
Old 10-09-2015, 01:03 AM   #3 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
orange4boy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: The Wet Coast, Kanuckistan.
Posts: 1,275

The Golden Egg - '93 Toyota Previa DX
90 day: 31.91 mpg (US)

Chewie - '03 Toyota Prius
90 day: 57 mpg (US)

The Spaceship - '00 Honda Insight
Thanks: 100
Thanked 306 Times in 178 Posts
So far all is going well but there are a few snags that will need unsnagging.

First, the rear. My design deviates from the typical bar with bushings and linkages because with a torsion bar suspension, they are redundant. The existing torsion bar suspension already has arms built in so all we need to do is stiffen it. I have decided to do a bottom mount for ease of access and installation. I'm trying to come up with a design that can be removed and adjusted without jacking up the car.

I have a couple of ideas for making it adjustable. My first one was having nesting tubes that can rotate freely or be fixed together to increase or decrease resistance. They would have tabs that can be locked or bolted together somehow. This has some disadvantages. Moving parts are always less desirable as there is always the possibility of malfunction. I'm now thinking of moving the bar instead.

My prototype rear bar is a 19mm hollow bar with a .113 in. wall. The installation requires only two holes drilled in the bottom leaf of the torsion bar. I have placed it at roughly the same distance from the pivot as an inside bar would be to keep bending to a minimum. I like the simplicity of this because it has no moving parts and it is readily accessible for adjustment and inspection. I will increase the bolt size later once the position is finalized. That way I won't weaken the bar unnecessarily. It has reduced roll and understeer nicely and reduced bottoming on bumpy corners. Once I stiffen the front a bit I might want to increase the resistance of the rear bar even more to keep it that way.

Here's the prototype:


__________________
Vortex generators are old tech. My new and improved vortex alternators are unstoppable.

"It’s easy to explain how rockets work but explaining the aerodynamics of a wing takes a rocket scientist.


  Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to orange4boy For This Useful Post:
Joggernot (10-10-2015)
Reply  Post New Thread






Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.5.2
All content copyright EcoModder.com