Wrong, send the guru back to the mountain cave for some more internal
reflection on the matter!
Swaybars are cornering springs. Spring rates are force per unit of distance,
not just force alone. Your friend isn't considering that you will have two
different length lever arms by only adjusting one side; one side will
generate a different spring rate than the other. For a given diameter, the
longer the lever arm the lower the swaybar spring rate and vice versa. You
could potentially use this to your advantage if the car handles significantly
different turning in one direction vs. the other. Generally speaking though,
you want to adjust both sides of the bar.
One item that doesn't get discussed much is the use of adjustable length
swaybar end links. This can be a tool to allow a form of corner weight
control for classes that lack any other such method; i.e. front end links for
SCCA Solo2 Stock classes. However, having the adjustment on only one end
tends to limit how far a corner weight situation can be corrected, if at all
depending on the particulars. Pre-loading the bar in this way doesn't
necessarily have to be accomplished with threaded connections. Bending a
non-adjustable end link can also accomplish the same, but the bending method
lacks the finess of a threaded connection.
M Sipe
|