GTO, Grand Prix, Lemans, and Tempest Rear Sway Bar 1 inch Part # SB-690

Global West manufactures 1 inch sway bars for GTO, Grand Prix, Lemans, and Tempest--model years 1964,1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, and 1972.

Sway bars are tuning devices and should not be considered the whole suspension. Oversized sway bars are not the answer. Suspension geometry, springs, shocks, tire and wheel combinations and driving styles all affect cornering capability and should be addressed accordingly. (Without going into detail about each component and its effect on the performance of the vehicle. We’ll stick to the basics.)

Cars with poor handling at high speeds generally have a lot of corner entry understeer. This is generally due to using too soft of a front spring rate. Large sway bars are now installed to reduce body roll and understeer. However, the vehicle will still have some understeer. So what do you do? The consensus would be to install a rear sway bar. The rear sway bar will again reduce body roll but will also reduce the amount of traction at the rear. Less traction at the rear allows the car to rotate after the apex (oversteer). The bigger the rear sway bar the less traction during corner exit you will have.

Our approach is different. We fix the geometry in the front and make the car turn into the corner, so traction isn’t reduced in the rear. Depending on the front-end’s capability, installing a rear sway bar in some cases will give the car less grip in a corner.

Tech tip: Global West Suspension’s catalog suggests sway bar usage. Suspension geometry, spring selection and components all play a part in balancing the suspension. Certain sway bars are not always required.