How hollow are the sway bars?

[Tom F&L GoR]

Howdy. I'm trying to figure out front and rear roll stiffness to design a pair of replacement sway bars. But to know where I'm starting from, I need to calculate the factory sway bar stiffness. Since they are hollow, and I don't know the inside diameter, I can't. Anybody ever cut one open? (<-- dumb, huh?) Maybe there's a bent one from an accident that someone has, or even if someone could weigh them, that might give me some clue. Or if anyone has put one on a bench and measured the stiffness directly? Gladly accept any donated parts

Appreciate any comments or help.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

I didn't know they were hollow!!!

 

[GTS Dean]

Tom,

Pull the wheels off. Look at the ends of the bars where the links connect. The tubes are flattened, then punched for the links. You should be able to measure the wall thickness there.

Bars have varied in strength between model years.

 

[JonB]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Chuck 98 RT/10:
I didn't know they were hollow!!! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Team Viper was building a race car for the street, so went with a lighter bar!

{Commercial: PartsRack offers a 1-1/8 solid bar, +5lbs,and 3/16" fatter, which averages "10% stiffer" than the hollow bars. For Gen 1 or 2. Tapered mounting holes to mount w/ stock links. Urethane bushing kit avail too. Or, use stock rubber bushings. Only $275 for both !}