w22 sway bars

[sal avitabile]

does a 2005 w-22 have sway bars frt and rear as standard equipment
thanks Sal Avitabile

[sal avitabile]

does a 2005 w-22 have sway bars frt and rear as standard equipment
thanks Sal Avitabile

[Tom N]

No rear bar is standard unless you order the SS package.

The front bar is standard but Workhorse came out with a larger diameter front bar. I don't know the cut off between the old and the new bar. Some with the old smaller front bar have upgraded to the new large bar.

[suspension_engineer]

All W series chassis have a front and rear stabilizer bar attached to the leaf spring. The rear bar looks exacly like the front and is located on the rear portion of the leaf spring.

[Tom N]

Oh, is that what that thing is back there!

[DriVer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Tom N:
Oh, is that what that thing is back there... </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Un Huh!

[Brazels RV Performance]

Sal,
Workohorse does not have REAL sway bars from the factory,they have a box tube that connects the leaf springs together.If you want REAL sway bars it's gonna have to be Roadmaster or Hellwig.

[surfride]

I agree with Mike, I am not sure how WH can call the metal box tube between leaf springs a sway bar??? I installed front & rear from IPD, completely satisified.

[DriVer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by surfride:
I am not sure how WH can call the metal box tube between leaf springs a sway bar??? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>The actually don't call it an anti sway bar as far as I can tell. They do call it a "Stabilizer Bar" and that's what it does.

The characteristics of the stabilizer bar dampen roll to a great degree but no way near as much as a true anti-sway bar.

[suspension_engineer]

OK, here is my understanding of sway/stabilizer bars.

The goal is to increase the stiffness of the suspension only when the coach is rocking. This is accomplished by linking the 2 sides of the vehicle together via a "bar" that will exert a torsional load when the opposite sides move in different directions.

Suspension input. You want minimum force exerted when the coach has a tire input ie. entrance to a filling station because the stiffer the roll at this point leads directly to body deflections. Too stiff and the box rocks over - very bad.

Body input from wind, cornering, rotational acceleration (g's). This is where you want to concentrate your effort. The key here is to catch the coach early (before too much movement occurs). The torsional stiffness of the square bar is almost 2.5X greater than the current large 2" solid sway bar on the market today. The polar moment of inertia of the square tube is approx 1.9 in^4 but a 2" solid round bar is .8 in^4. This will be meaningless to most but be reassured that the overall stiffness is proportional to the polar moment of inertia.

The math involved is too great to try to plow through here but with the moment arms in the round bar versus the spring flexing in the square tube design, the overall stiffness is at best a push for the round bar. The advantage to the square bar is there is no time or deflection lag due to rubber and/or bushings. The square bar has a plastic lining for squeaks but acts immediately to suspension movement.

So why do you not make the bar stiffer to alleviate body roll? 1 wheel input degrades sharply with higher roll stiffness. Bump steer, wheel tramp, and harshness are just some of the conditions that are hurt by increased roll stiffness.

Whats the solution? To each his own, let every driver figure what he or she needs to be comfortable. The European method is extremely low roll resistance and high shock forces. They want to know when they are in trouble and do not like the North American truck suspensions. Shocks are by far your best method to reduce your feeling of roll.

A cheap 2 cents

[Tom N]

Quoting Workhorse.

FRONT "Body roll is controlled by a stabilizer (anti-sway) tube system that connects the axle indirectly to the frame." "Starting late produciton 2004 model year an integral 2.5" rectangular stabilizer tube with steel-to-steel connection for immediate responsiveness was standard on September 2, 2003, stabilizer assembly Workhorse part no. W0005643. Prior to this date a 2.0" integral rectangular stabilizer was utilized. The stabilizer is attached to the front of each leaf spring running laterally between them and providing stabilization through the torsional resistance of the rectangular tube."

REAR "Body roll is controlled by a stabilizer (anti-sway) bar/tube system connecting the axle and the frame either directly or indirectly."

[DriVer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by suspension_engineer:
OK, here is my understanding of sway/stabilizer bars. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Thanks suspension_engineer your post is exactly the science that I have come to learn and appreciate.

There was a big improvement when I went from a 2" to a 2.5" unit on the front of the motorhome. Koni FSD shock absorbers have also added significantly to controlling roll and pitch isn't even on the radar screen.

Designing the Stabil-Ride suspension to perform as well as it does was a brilliant engineering feat.