Hellwig vs. Hotchkis sway bars....

[Fun Guy]

Going to upgrade the sway bars in my Avalanche and wondering which way to go.

 

Hotchkis has the following:

Front: 1-7/16" hollow bar

Rear: 1-1/4" hollow bar

 

Hellwig has the following:

Front: 1-5/16" solid bar

Rear: 1-1/4" solid bar

 

Anyone have experience or recommendations?

[99Silver6.0]

I dont know anybody running Hellwigs.... But everybody I know loves the Hotch sways!!

[hvac1000]

Added Hellwig to the rear only of 2002 Silverado 4x4 Exc cab. Made a huge difference in handeling. Front bar works just fine. I do not expect the truck to handle like a Corvette but for a truck it works just fine.

[2001 HD]

I had a set of Hotchkiss on my "old" 2000 1500. The fit was very good, however I did have a problem with the front sway bar shifting to one side. Center it back up and the darn thing shifted again and again and again. I may have had my end links to tight, but I did experiment with different torque settings. Less torque allowed more body roll.

Also the hotchkiss are not available separately, you have to buy front and rear "kit", at least when I bought mine they were ($500.00). The Helwig is available seperately, but the fitment looks kind of "universal".

Adding a rear bar, whichever brand you chose, should really help the body roll, but if you do any off-roading, you may have to temporarily disconnect them or you may experience "axle lifting."

 

[bigdogs]

I ran the Hellwig ones on my Camaro and they are very sturdy. Tested how much they control sway one day when some @$#&% slammed on his brakes in front of me..

[Axxlrod]

Went down to my local speed shop yesterday to order some sway bars (Hellwig) for my Yukon, and the sales guy talked me out of it. He looked under my truck and said since I already had front and rear sway bars from the factory, installing new sway bars wouldn't really give me any benefit. He said that the after market sway bars are intended to be put on vehicles that don't have a front or rear or both bars to begin with.

 

 

Is he right? Or like most things, the factory-supplied equipment pretty much sucks. In which case, the new bars would make a definite improvement.

 

Anybody out there experience the same dilemma?

 

Advice?

 

Thanks

[Fun Guy]

Went down to my local speed shop yesterday to order some sway bars (Hellwig) for my Yukon, and the sales guy talked me out of it.  He looked under my truck and said since I already had front and rear sway bars from the factory, installing new sway bars wouldn't really give me any benefit.  He said that the after market sway bars are intended to be put on vehicles that don't have a front or rear or both bars to begin with.

 

 

Is he right?  Or like most things, the factory-supplied equipment pretty much sucks.  In which case, the new bars would make a definite improvement.

 

Anybody out there experience the same dilemma?

 

Advice?

 

Thanks

Though I'm sure your speed shop guy means well, I don't think he is correct. The way I understand it, there are two main factors comprising how effective sway bars are: (1) Bar diameter, and (2) bushing composition.

 

All other variables (i.e. bushings, springs) remaining constant, a larger sway bar would be stiffer, decrease yaw and roll, and contribute to a more level ride - ANY increase in OD (outside diameter) would in fact increase the sway bar's effectiveness.

 

So right now if you have 1" sway bars fore and aft, increasing the OD of either/both bars (i.e. to the Hellwigs or Hotchkis' above) would make a difference in how your car handled, since the bars above are minimum 1/4" larger. This would make a difference. Not as much of a difference as NOT having a sway bars to start with, of course, but would definitely make a difference.

 

Now, most sway bar manufacturers also include polyurethane bushings with their bars, which adds ADDITIONAL stiffness. This means that in addition to what stiffness a larger bar might add, poly-u bushings add to that stiffness.

 

One (inexpensive) alternative to replacing sway bars is to simply replace the bushings on the stock bars from rubber to poly-u. This alone will change the ride, making it stiffer. Be aware, however, that poly-u bushings have a tendency to squeak. Higher-end sway bar manufacturers (i.e. Hotchkis) have Zerk fittings so you can grease them, ameliorating this added noise.

 

Here are sample links to bushings:

Sway Bar Bushings

Sway Bar End Link Bushings

 

I haven't yet decided what I'm going to do. I have a friend who used to work on race suspensions who has committed to looking at my stock bars. He has calipers and we will measure the stock bar diameters and also look at the bushings while we're at it. I'll let you know what we come up with.

[Black02Silverado]

I did some research on sway bars for my Impala and I was stunned to find out that most companies don't use "spring" steel for their sway bars. Hellwig is the only company that does from what I understand. I don't see how a hollow bar can work as well as a spring steel solid bar, but then I'm no physics major.

 

I would go with the Hellwig. As for replacement of factory bars, lets just say it would be an impovement if you went to a larger bar, that is my understanding. If it wasn't the case then why put all the other aftermarket stuff on. Your factory radio works right? why put an aftermarket one in? Hellwig and others research and develop a ton of money into their products to produce a quality piece that works.

[gnutruk]

Like hvac1000 I added a Hellwig sway bar to the rear of my 2002 1500 4x4, and it very noticeably improved the handling, especially the cornering, which of course is what a quality anti-sway bar does best. I would definitely recommend the Hellwig product. The kit includes high-quality poly bushings. My only tiny little complaint is that the bushings were plain-old black. I was hoping for some sexy-looking red or green or orange ones.

 

At the same time, about a year and a half ago, I also ordered the Hellwig front replacement bar. Being solid, unlike the factory front bar which is hollow, the information I got from others who had replaced their front bars is that it would also made a significant improvement.

 

HOWEVER, (and you might roll your eyes at this) I have not so far replaced the front factory bar with the Hellwig. The reason is that my truck is still in warranty, and I decided against doing the replacement due to the fact that if I had a problem of any kind with the front end, GM might seize on that fact as an excuse to deny warranty work. Even if I won the fight, who needs to go through more hassles. Everyday life is already stressful enough as it is. Indeed, I had the leaking steering box TSB done about a year ago, and who knows if a non-stock sway bar might have gummed up the process?

 

So I’ve decided to forego improved handling until after I pass the warranty period, then on goes the front Hellwig ASAP.

 

Hope this helps.

 

gnutruk

[carguru]

I have the Hellwigs on front and rear of my 2002 excab Z71. It definitely makes cornering much tighter. I recommend the Helwigs, as mentioned in an earlier post, because they use spring steel in thier bars. This makes them less likely to take a set later in life (especially important if you go off roading and end up over stressing the bar). The kits also come prepackaged with polyurethane bushings.

 

The stock front bar on the trucks are hollow. Going with a solid bar will make the truck handle much more neutral. The drawbacks of using the front and rear bars are the fact that if you do any offroading, you will lose some articulation. The solid bars will also increase ride harshness ever so slightly on surfaces that both front or rear wheels are not moving evenly.

 

The only minus I have seen with the Hellwig kit is some of the hardware they use. The paint on the hardware are not as good as the Hotchkiss kit and some of the bolts in the kit are grade 8 and some are not. Overall I've been pretty happy with the Hellwig kits.

 

I've had my set on for a couple of years now, and have no complaints handling wise. Good luck with your choice.

[Hecktorx]

I have the Hellwigs on front and rear of my 2002 excab Z71. It definitely makes cornering much tighter. I recommend the Helwigs, as mentioned in an earlier post, because they use spring steel in thier bars. This makes them less likely to take a set later in life (especially important if you go off roading and end up over stressing the bar). The kits also come prepackaged with polyurethane bushings.

 

The stock front bar on the trucks are hollow. Going with a solid bar will make the truck handle much more neutral. The drawbacks of using the front and rear bars are the fact that if you do any offroading, you will lose some articulation. The solid bars will also increase ride harshness ever so slightly on surfaces that both front or rear wheels are not moving evenly.

 

The only minus I have seen with the Hellwig kit is some of the hardware they use. The paint on the hardware are not as good as the Hotchkiss kit and some of the bolts in the kit are grade 8 and some are not. Overall I've been pretty happy with the Hellwig kits.

 

I've had my set on for a couple of years now, and have no complaints handling wise. Good luck with your choice.

I know on the Hotchkiss bars, for the rear installation, you have to move the tank to mount the bracket, drill holes in the frame, and the bar mounts below the axle. Is this the same for the hellwig setup? I'd rather have a bar that mounts to the top of the axle.

 

Thanks,

Kenny

[Hecktorx]

Never mind, I just read the other sway bar post.

 

Kenny

[carguru]

No holes to drill for the Hellwig kits.

[99GMCZ71]

I have a hotchkis strut tower bar on my Camaro. It's a nice piece. I don't think you could go wrong with hotchkis. BMR makes some nice supension items also, but don't know if they make them for trucks.

[Z71SIERRA]

I've got the Hellwig front and rear bar on my 2002 GMC Z71 Extented cab. There should be no truck built without them. The only disadvantage of the Hellwigs (or most rear bars) is the previously mentioned loss of articulation in the rear suspension. However the Hellwig rear bar has end links that are easily disconected if your going to spend the weekend twisting you frame on some rocky trail and then can be re-connected for the ride back home. While I've never had to exercise this feature I do occasionally take my truck through some fairly chanllenging terrain and I've never noticed any binding of the bar. I also have a friend who has Hotchkis bars on his truck. Aside from the nicer finish his truck handles no better then mine, they were harder to install and they cost a lot more. Get the Hellwigs...tell your wife you bought the Hotchkis and buy something else for you truck with the money you saved