using stock sway bars as an upgrade

[gray_ghost]

Can someone please post a ranking as far as which sway bars are stiffest ? I've read that the cabrio sways are the stiffest. I already have bavauto coils and koni's. I'm going to brace the stock mounts and make more solid endlinks from heimjoints. Any input would be appreciated.

[87-325ic]

cabrios still have small rears. i think its the same size as other stocks, the m3 might have a bigger rear.
im pretty sure the cabrio has a 21mm front and 14 rear.
i could very well be wrong and dont feel like doing your job and searching for the right info.

[87-325ic]

also, the m3 "style" front links provide much more leverage from the strut, rather the control arm like the normal e30 mounts. this is a decent way to "upgrade"

[gearheadE30]

cabrio front bar and iX/M3 rear bar. E30s got 12.5mm rear bars, except for the iX and the M3, which are 14.5 iirc. The cabrio front is 21mm. Apparently the M3 is too, but has different geometry that apparently makes it slightly less stiff with non-M droplinks.

[Wh33lhop]

Cabrio front is 21mm, largest OEM E30 bar.
iX/M3/M-Tech rear bar is 14.5mm, largest rear OEM bar. The Cabrio M-tech had the larger rear bar, but normal cabrios did not.

[gray_ghost]

Thank wh33lhop, that answers my question perfectly. I was looking for a mild junkyard (read: cheap) upgrade until i can get big boy stuff. Any info on the diameter of the rear swaybar from a 318is?

[Voluted]

12mm unless some one bought the mtech (14.5mm) for it.

[rwh11385]

cabrio front bar and iX/M3 rear bar. E30s got 12.5mm rear bars, except for the iX and the M3, which are 14.5 iirc. The cabrio front is 21mm. Apparently the M3 is too, but has different geometry that apparently makes it slightly less stiff with non-M droplinks.

The cabrio has a 21mm front sway bar, the standard 325i has a 20mm and the M3 has a 19mm.

http://www.davelength.net/car/5lug.html

Relocating the mount and getting new links for the longer connection with stock front bar will be leaps and bounds more effective than simply increasing your bar diameter by 1mm.

[Wh33lhop]

http://www.davelength.net/car/5lug.html

Relocating the mount and getting new links for the longer connection with stock front bar will be leaps and bounds more effective than simply increasing your bar diameter by 1mm.

Indeed it will, although you'll need to do some welding during which time your car will be out front struts (unless you get spare strut casings).

[RyanZ06]

Hmm.. i have stock sway bars and my car is perfectly balanced ;)

[gverelli]

Does the strut have to come out for the tab to be welded?
I was going to use the link installed to the bar to locate the mounted point of the tab. Will this way work?

[gearheadE30]

yes, you want the strut insert to be out when you weld it. needless to say, welds get hot, and you don't want all of that heat transferring to the strut and its internal bits.

[gverelli]

yes, you want the strut insert to be out when you weld it. needless to say, welds get hot, and you don't want all of that heat transferring to the strut and its internal bits.

Alright sounds good. Thank you.

[KillaCam]

could you use a e36 rear bar in the back

[Danny]

No, I tried that, didn't work.

Would take some fabricating.