Rear swaybar (why not factory installed)?

[jseabolt]

I've put rear Addco swaybars on just about every car I own and bought one for my dad's 98 1500 Express conversion van for Chistmas and put it on back in the winter.

 

I took my family to the beach last week and WOW what a difference. The van is much more stable and doesn't stray all over the road yet doesn't ride any harder.

 

My question is why do car companies not install these from the factory ? I could understand why making the vehicle a 1/2 ton, otherwise a ton would ride harsher or bounce more.

 

Is it a money saving deal? It knocks $200 off the cost of the vehicle?

 

I mean I paid $220 for the swaybar and it was worth every penny, If I were buying a new vehicle and the vehicle wanders because it's so top heavy then that would make me look at something else.

 

Dad used to have a 15 passenger Ford E350 which was a ton yet had a higher center of gravity and was much more stable at highway speeds.

 

The Chevy's 1/2 frame and fiberglass top made the vehicle quite scary to drive in winter weather.

[BlackZ71Silverado]

Money saver for GM. Most people don't have a need for a rear sway bar.

 

 

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[manley]

I've thought about adding one to mine... but honestly, just don't know whether it would be worth the expense.

[jseabolt]

Like I said, it makes anything handle sloppy much more stable. I added one to my 68 Fairlane and it handles like a sportscar now. Too bad it has manual steering because it requires three times the turns to make the same turn as something else with power steering due to gear ratio making it easier to steer.

 

Also my Yugo used to eat tires every 4k miles and would squeel around turns. Now it doesn't.

 

It is definetley a worthwhile investment.

 

If Dad sells me his van, my next mod will be ton springs in the rear to make it even more stable.

 

I'm not trying to make this van handle like a sportscar, just trying to make it be more stable at highway speeds. I'm serious there have been times I thought the van was going to flip over due to high winds.

[MB2008LTZ]

I've thought about adding one to mine... but honestly, just don't know whether it would be worth the expense.

 

 

Its worth it you are not a hardcore offroad person. I had my truck about a week before i started looking at adding a rear sway bar. My truck rarely goes off the pavement and I didn't care for the body roll/lean while taking the on/off highway ramps at speed (merging is key around here). Went with a Hellwig brand sway bar, cost about $350 and an afternnoon in the driveway. Money well spent, the truck handles alot better.

[waumo1]

I put one on my 98 K1500 because it was terrible without it. Made it handle much better. I don't think my 2011 Sierra needs one, I don't know why the big difference. I think one reason they don't put them on trucks is so the customer will not overdrive the vehicle's capability. The massive lean in turns tells the average person to slow down.

[Doug_Scott]

There are lots of parts that they stopped using to save a dime. I doubt the rear sway bar would cost GM any more about $20 for materials at the volume they sell.

Back when radial tires first came out, cars with sway bars could be converted to radial tire, but, no sway bars and the reputable tire dealers would not sell radial tires to vehicles not having them. GM called it Radial Tuned Suspension.