drsubie
Active Member
What p/n for that rear Hellwig sway bar?
I also wondered why Hellwig didn't make a front sway bar for RAM, and here's what I found out via their FAQ:
"
Why doesn’t Hellwig manufacture aftermarket Dodge pickup front sway bars?
We often get customers asking why our truck sway bar line has front and rear sway bars for Ford and GM trucks but only rear sway bars for the majority of the Dodge trucks. It really comes down to an easy answer, they don’t need them. Sway bars are a torsional spring that decreases body roll and sway in a vehicle. From the factory, vehicles are often set up with soft sway bars and with an understeer bias. By making aftermarket sway bars with larger diameters, we increase the stiffness of the bar to decrease body roll even further and bring the vehicle more towards a neutral steer balance. We determine the correct diameter for the bar from a series of calculations, test fit and test drives. The trick is to make the bar stiff enough to decrease body roll and sway and improve handling while not too stiff to hurt handling. Remember, a bigger bar is not always a better bar. After a point it will actually hurt more than help, which is why you don’t see companies making 3” diameter sway bars. In our testing with the Dodge trucks, they do not follow the industry trend of soft stock front sway bars and usually have a very stiff front bar that does not need improvement. While we would love to sell you something for the front of the Dodge trucks, our goal is to make products you need, not just something for you to buy since it is available. For comparison, a 2012 Ford Super Duty 4×4 has a factory 1-1/8” front sway bar which we increase to 1-5/16” on our aftermarket bar. A 2012 Dodge 3500 4×4 comes stock with an 1-7/16” front sway bar which is already 1/4” bigger than our aftermarket bar for the Super Duty. Obviously there is no need to increase this bar even more. We will keep testing the Dodge trucks as they come out to see if any of them need a front sway bar (for instance we found the 2009-2013 Dodge 1500 2wd could use a stiffer front bar so we make one for that model) but if you have a Dodge and we don’t make a bar, it is most likely because it is not necessary. And remember, while Dodge trucks have a strong front bar, they often have a soft or nonexistent rear bar so you will feel a large improvement with the upgraded Hellwig rear sway bar whether you’re towing, hauling or just daily driving you truck!"
Hellwig front sway bar?
That said, I wonder if Hellwig is still R&Ding a new rear sway for the 5th gen RAMs, and whether it would be any different from what you put on...
I also wondered why Hellwig didn't make a front sway bar for RAM, and here's what I found out via their FAQ:
"
Why doesn’t Hellwig manufacture aftermarket Dodge pickup front sway bars?
We often get customers asking why our truck sway bar line has front and rear sway bars for Ford and GM trucks but only rear sway bars for the majority of the Dodge trucks. It really comes down to an easy answer, they don’t need them. Sway bars are a torsional spring that decreases body roll and sway in a vehicle. From the factory, vehicles are often set up with soft sway bars and with an understeer bias. By making aftermarket sway bars with larger diameters, we increase the stiffness of the bar to decrease body roll even further and bring the vehicle more towards a neutral steer balance. We determine the correct diameter for the bar from a series of calculations, test fit and test drives. The trick is to make the bar stiff enough to decrease body roll and sway and improve handling while not too stiff to hurt handling. Remember, a bigger bar is not always a better bar. After a point it will actually hurt more than help, which is why you don’t see companies making 3” diameter sway bars. In our testing with the Dodge trucks, they do not follow the industry trend of soft stock front sway bars and usually have a very stiff front bar that does not need improvement. While we would love to sell you something for the front of the Dodge trucks, our goal is to make products you need, not just something for you to buy since it is available. For comparison, a 2012 Ford Super Duty 4×4 has a factory 1-1/8” front sway bar which we increase to 1-5/16” on our aftermarket bar. A 2012 Dodge 3500 4×4 comes stock with an 1-7/16” front sway bar which is already 1/4” bigger than our aftermarket bar for the Super Duty. Obviously there is no need to increase this bar even more. We will keep testing the Dodge trucks as they come out to see if any of them need a front sway bar (for instance we found the 2009-2013 Dodge 1500 2wd could use a stiffer front bar so we make one for that model) but if you have a Dodge and we don’t make a bar, it is most likely because it is not necessary. And remember, while Dodge trucks have a strong front bar, they often have a soft or nonexistent rear bar so you will feel a large improvement with the upgraded Hellwig rear sway bar whether you’re towing, hauling or just daily driving you truck!"
Hellwig front sway bar?
That said, I wonder if Hellwig is still R&Ding a new rear sway for the 5th gen RAMs, and whether it would be any different from what you put on...
