How to Dial in the Perfect Handling Setup for your Vehicle
During a turn, inertia and centrifugal force cause the chassis to roll or sway to the outside of the turn, causing the outboard suspension arm to move up, and the inboard arm to move down, relative to the chassis. A sway bar (also known as an anti-sway bar or anti-roll bar) reduces chassis roll when cornering by linking the left and right arms. As the outside arm goes up, the sway bar transfers some of that motion to the inside arm, counteracting the chassis roll. This helps the chassis stay “flatter” in turns and allows the model to carry more speed through the turn (but be advised, this comes at the expense of traction). The sway bar is made of spring steel, so it can flex and allow the suspension to remain independent.
#6898 sway bars fit all 1/10 Slash 4X4-based models.
Kits include front and rear sway bars in two thicknesses.
With the shocks removed, it’s easy to see how the sway bar transfers suspension movement from one arm to the other.The stiffness of the sway bar determines how much anti-roll effect the sway bar contributes to the suspension. The stiffer the sway bar, the greater the anti-roll effect. In addition to installing sway bars of different thicknesses, the flexibility of any sway bar can be adjusted by changing the position of the links that attach the suspension arms to the sway bar. Sliding the links closer to the ends of the sway bar will increase flex for reduced anti-roll effect, and moving the links farther onto the sway bar will make it stiffer, for increased anti-roll effect.
Changing the position of the links along the sway bar will adjust its stiffness.Front Sway Bar, Rear Sway Bar, or Both?
A high-grip track will give you the most opportunity to exploit front and rear sway bars. The roll-reducing effect also reduces traction, and can help your model feel less “tight” and carry more speed in high-grip conditions. Sway bars also make it easy to fine-tune front and rear traction independently to compensate for understeer (pushing) or oversteer (fishtailing, spinning out).
When less grip is available, you’ll need to adjust the sway bars for increased flexibility, or even remove the sway bar from whichever end of the model requires maximum traction. In very severe terrain that requires maximum suspension movement, removing both sway bars will allow fully independent suspension action and deliver best bump-absorbing performance. Here’s a quick reference:
That’s a wrap on our suspension tuning guide. We hope this has inspired you to experiment with your model’s settings, and helps you appreciate the adjustability engineered into your car or truck. You can always find your model’s factory settings in the owner’s manual—and you can always find your owner’s manual here at Traxxas.com. Just visit the Model Showroom, select your model, and click Support for your model’s manual, parts list, and exploded views in PDF format.
That marks the end of the final installment. Click on the links below to see other installments of our Suspension Tuning Guide series
- Click here to see part 1: Camber & Toe-In
- Click here to see part 2: Shock Absorbers
- Click here to see part 3: Shock Position and Roll Center
