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Lets talk can am sway bars..

riverroyal

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I'm tired of the cluck, clank, thud of the front sway bar.
It's all OEM, sway links etc.

Options...
Full shock therapy sway bar and links? Con is about 600 bucks.
It 'could' distribute the forces to the car frame. Which could crack things.
- will it elimate noise? Lateral movement gone?
I've read it's too stiff for chop and wash bumps.

Next, just links? Under 200 but im not sure theses do anything when alone. Sway bar noise might be better?

Next. Sway bar stop clamps. Such as the one in this pic. Then leave the oem links?

I dont want to throw money at this with no result

I do understand the full sway bar kits help cornering. Which is not a huge issue for me

Screenshot_20230219_173349_Chrome.jpg
Screenshot_20230219_173318_Chrome.jpg
 

PlanB

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I just did ST sway bars (already had links) on my X3. I also did the suspension at the same time, but the car is very quiet now. The handling is night and day difference.
 
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riverroyal

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I just did ST sway bars (already had links) on my X3. I also did the suspension at the same time, but the car is very quiet now. The handling is night and day difference.
Did the links make any difference? Other than stronger
I have not broke a stock link
 

LargeOrangeFont

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Did the links make any difference? Other than stronger
I have not broke a stock link

Links are not going to do anything for noise if yours do not have slop in them and are functioning properly.

Check the diameter of your sway bars to see if they are still within spec. If they weren’t lubed, dirt can get in and grind the bar smaller, and it will be loose even with the new OEM bushings.

Stiffer bars are going to make the ride worse, especially with the shock damping you have.

Get the internal shock work done. I would not put bigger bars on at all if all you do is drive around Havasu. It’s just going to make the car ride worse. Sway bars with the shock work will be a more performant setup, but it won’t ride quite as nice as a car with stock bars and dialed in shocks.

Stock bars and keep the bushings lubed and they will stay silent.

Upgraded sway bar mounts with grease fittings are a worthwhile upgrade. I forgot if the stock ones on a Can Am are greasable, or if they are a weak area of the car. If they are greasable and strong, just get new sway bar bushings, and if your sway bars aren’t ground down, you will be good to go.
 
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riverroyal

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Always greased. No issue there.
I did read the shock therapy sway bar will make the ride rougher.

I'm interested to hear from peeps about full removal? It's better? What about cornering, do you get excessive front dipping?
Havasu has 50-60 mph areas but its not always going that fast.
 

pronstar

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General speaking…
You need to drive with extra care in anything without swaybars.

Especially on pavement.

But it’s gonna ride way better for impacts that only hit one wheel, which is most impacts.
 

LargeOrangeFont

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Always greased. No issue there.
I did read the shock therapy sway bar will make the ride rougher.

I'm interested to hear from peeps about full removal? It's better? What about cornering, do you get excessive front dipping?
Havasu has 50-60 mph areas but its not always going that fast.

Pull one endlink off and see if you like it.

The front bar on a Can Am is pretty small, and many people break it and don’t even know it.

If you aren’t attacking corners, you might like it without them. Just be careful on the street. It will lean more after you get the shock work done, so reevaluate after that if you end up liking it without the bars.

Personally I’d try it with no front but leave the rear for the high speed stability.

Do you already have Walker links or an equivalent?
 

DLC

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I have links on my car w/ stock sway bar, the stock Sway bar has some slop in it to move side to side. That might be the nouse.

just unbolt one side or remove one link and give it a try!

The drives side gets broken w/ moderate to heavy usage. Grab hold of the sway bar on drivers side and give it a little tug out ward, if it’s broken it will pull right out.
the broken bar stays in the stock location, so it could actually be broken now….

one guy had a broken sway bar and He didn’t even know it… I gave it a tug and it pulled out! Then pushed it back in and said Look I fixed it for ya!
 

rivermobster

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A sway bar on an independent suspension off road vehicle never made Any sense to me.
 

LargeOrangeFont

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A sway bar on an independent suspension off road vehicle never made Any sense to me.

They need something if you plan on driving them at speed.

I ran my old car with Walker Links on the rear bar and it had no front bar. That took some getting used to and you could not take corners fast.
 

ArizonaKevin

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They need something if you plan on driving them at speed.

I ran my old car with Walker Links on the rear bar and it had no front bar. That took some getting used to and you could not take corners fast.

I think this is a bigger conversation related to overall setup, driving style, predominant terrain etc and not as simple as bar vs no bar.

From what I've seen, the majority of trophy trucks and class 1 are not running a front bar, they drive at plenty of speed.

I don't run a front bar on my car, when I had the suspension tuned, the tuner said he prefers setting up cars that don't have a front bar. He likened it to a boat that has a steeper entry at the bow allowing the boat to cut through shit better. He feels like having a front bar upsets the rest of chassis on asymmetric hits and when you have bumps mid corner.

Does this mean that I will be slower on flat, smooth roads with corners? Maybe?

The guy that has had the most success racing a wildcat xx (Mario Gutierrez JR) doesn't run a front bar on his car, there wasn't a front bar on Max Gordon's car for Baja1k.
 

LargeOrangeFont

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I think this is a bigger conversation related to overall setup, driving style, predominant terrain etc and not as simple as bar vs no bar.

From what I've seen, the majority of trophy trucks and class 1 are not running a front bar, they drive at plenty of speed.

I don't run a front bar on my car, when I had the suspension tuned, the tuner said he prefers setting up cars that don't have a front bar. He likened it to a boat that has a steeper entry at the bow allowing the boat to cut through shit better. He feels like having a front bar upsets the rest of chassis on asymmetric hits and when you have bumps mid corner.

Does this mean that I will be slower on flat, smooth roads with corners? Maybe?

The guy that has had the most success racing a wildcat xx (Mario Gutierrez JR) doesn't run a front bar on his car, there wasn't a front bar on Max Gordon's car for Baja1k.

That comment was in reference to no bars at all, as the comment before was asking why sway bars are there in the first place.

These are consumer grade products aimed at the lowest common denominator of drivers so they don’t kill themselves

As you rightly indicate, it is all in the setup and driving style. You can use a spring or an anti roll bar to control chassis roll. You can absolutely make a case to not run a bar on one end or the other, but it’s very rare to find someone that removed both and wants to drive fast, aside from the crawler guys, who aren’t driving fast

If you remove both bars, unless you have upped the spring rates, it is going to be pretty unstable cornering at speed, particularly if you’ve softened the initial damping to ride well, as many of us do to get the cars to work better.
 

ArizonaKevin

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That comment was in reference to no bars at all, as the comment before was asking why sway bars are there in the first place.

These are consumer grade products aimed at the lowest common denominator of drivers so they don’t kill themselves

As you rightly indicate, it is all in the setup and driving style. You can use a spring or an anti roll bar to control chassis roll. You can absolutely make a case to not run a bar on one end or the other, but it’s very rare to find someone that removed both and wants to drive fast, aside from the crawler guys, who aren’t driving fast

If you remove both bars, unless you have upped the spring rates, it is going to be pretty unstable cornering at speed, particularly if you’ve softened the initial damping to ride well, as many of us do to get the cars to work better.

I think we are saying the same thing, you'd have to be a lunatic to remove the rear bar and do anything besides crawling. The front bar is where there is more variability about whether or not it's necessary
 

Tooned Up

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I have full MTS suspension on my X3 Max and don’t run a front sway bar out in the dirt on hard pack. I tried no front bar at Glamis where we do a lot of quick tight turns and I definitely had to be careful. The next time I go back I will try having it hooked up to see if there is a notable difference. This being said, I didn’t have paddles and was in 4WD so I couldn’t make the car slide which I’m sure had a ton to do with it.
 
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