Have you guys seen the hollow 1 1/2" front sway bar offered by Hotchkis? Largest I've seen so far for a Mopar A body and kind wondering what y'all think of it.

Logic would dictate that it offers a better torsional resistance than a 1 1/8" bar and thus better handling, but the Hotchkis piece is hollow vs. most others being solid so there is that variable element.

I've used the solid Hellwig 1 1/8" front bars on other Mopar A, B, and E bodies I've owned, love the improvement in handling and drivability and was wondering the larger Hotchkis bar would be an improvement even over the Hellwig bar.

The Hotchkis piece carries a hefty price tag, too, but it does include all the hardware, down to the tabs that weld to the control arms. Hellwig had a decent k-frame attachment but the control arm end was sketchy and vice-versa of the Addco front bar.

Wondering if there was a really noticable difference between the two swaybars, and what everyone else thought overall.

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Scott - waywardgarage.com
Why is the rum always gone?

I assume you mean this:

http://www.hotchkis.net/6772_dodge_abod ... y_bar.html

Hard to say without knowing the wall thickness. It is probably a bit stiffer than your 1 1/8" bar and about 1/2 the weight, but you should check with them. The only reason to have this is weight savings (7-12 lbs savings is my guess) and possibly better mounts than other brands.

I doubt you would notice an improvement over the Hellwig bar, unless the mounts are more rigid or better geometry on the Hotchkis. I've never used a Hellwig, and have custom fabbed mounts that don't break and are a bit better geometry to mount my Addco bars.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

I'm putting a Hellwig tubular bar on a car right now. It is a very nice piece of hardware and the mounting kit is very heavy duty. We're putting it on for the weight savings. 6 lbs off the nose of the car is really important on this car.