Hellwig sway bars install and road test review - '25 Laramie Sport

[70sgeek]

Thought it might be best to post a new thread separate from the main one I've seen (of 29 pages and counting)...

I installed a Hellwig 7794 rear bar a month or so ago onto my '25 Laramie Sport and set it on the farthest forward setting (tightest). Noticeable cornering and general road handling improvement over the OEM bar, so much so that I recently pulled the trigger on a 7787 front bar along with a set of Suspension Maxx end links.

So initially, I was told by Hellwig that the end link mounting holes on the 7787 bar were .65" (16.51mm). - beware, they're not. The holes on my bar were actually approximately .826" (just about 21mm) - so I had to order the end link set p/n SMX-1321 (21mm bolt) instead of the SMX-1319 (19mm bolt) set recommended for the OEM bar.

For the 21mm link bolt ends to fit thru, I had to clearance the bar holes only very slightly. The link bushings come already assembled and pre-torqued so they were a plug & play install.

The bar install took maybe 90 minutes total and would probably have gone faster if my truck had been on a lift instead of the ground. Not a difficult 1-person job in any case, but the limited ground clearance increased my install time due to having to switch sides of the truck a few times instead of otherwise having been able to move freely across the whole underside.

The hollow OEM front bar is much lighter than the solid Hellwig and the OEM end links are laughable compared to the beefy Suspension Maxx replacements. The OEM end link bottom bolts required a two-handed removal effort, with both a wrench held in place over the bottom bolts and 5/16" socket to turn the hex-sided stems protruding beneath them for the bolts to actually be loosened off. You can't just turn the bolts, as that simply causes the entire link shaft to spin and nothing loosens that way.

Installing the Suspension Maxx links is much more straightforward - just the top bolts going thru each bar hole and the bottom bolt going thru each control arm mount. Both ends @ link use nylon-lined lock nuts for added safety.

From the ground, I lifted the Hellwig bar 1 side at a time into place with new end links already loosely in place and loosely bolted the Hellwig sway bushings into place after greasing them. Then I lifted the bar ends and oriented the end links into their bottom holes.

Once I had the bar centered and each end link properly oriented in their mounts, I tightened the bushings and the links in various stages from left to right until everything was evenly tightened in full.

Road test results are significant (in my opinion) - having both matched Hellwig front/rear bars now in place arguably improved the composure of this truck exponentially in the curves and especially in all turns. No more ploughing effect in turns or any uneasy steering input resistence in curves or lane changes.

So in my opinion absolutely worth these DIY investment(s) for both bar assemblies as well as the Suspension Maxx end links up front.

 

[Fastest H-Town Realtor]

Had F/R Hellwigs on my 22 Sport. Complete handling change. Only drawback was that speed bumps had to be taken even, not one wheel on, one off.

 

[dyeguy1212]

Do they effect how the truck soaks up bumps/potholes?

 

[70sgeek]

Florida roads are pretty decent in general but any rough conditions I have encountered since the front install have been uneventful on the suspension. The solid bars seem to offer much greater handling stability than the hollow OEM parts and at least in the case of the front bar, the beefier end links I went with are much sturdier than the skinny OEM link units.

My truck goes into turns and lane changes without any sideward sway drama or steering resistance - in my opinion an exponential improvement totally worth the upgrade cost.

 

[HSKR R/T]

I would probably love the handling of the truck with the front bar, but I do enough off road stuff where I need some suspension articulation that the away bar would take away. I even disconnected the front sway bar the last time I went off roading.

 

[70sgeek]

Yeah, the front bar is definitely not gonna be off-road friendly.

 

[HSKR R/T]

Yeah, the front bar is definitely not gonna be off-road friendly.

I have this, with full Hotchkis Performance suspension on it for fun around corners.

 

[Gren71]

Ive been wondering about the front, glad to hear you had such a positive improvement with it. I’ll add that to my list of need to do.

 

[Ricomann]

Thought it might be best to post a new thread separate from the main one I've seen (of 29 pages and counting)...

I installed a Hellwig 7794 rear bar a month or so ago onto my '25 Laramie Sport and set it on the farthest forward setting (tightest). Noticeable cornering and general road handling improvement over the OEM bar, so much so that I recently pulled the trigger on a 7787 front bar along with a set of Suspension Maxx end links.

So initially, I was told by Hellwig that the end link mounting holes on the 7787 bar were .65" (16.51mm). - beware, they're not. The holes on my bar were actually approximately .826" (just about 21mm) - so I had to order the end link set p/n SMX-1321 (21mm bolt) instead of the SMX-1319 (19mm bolt) set recommended for the OEM bar.

For the 21mm link bolt ends to fit thru, I had to clearance the bar holes only very slightly. The link bushings come already assembled and pre-torqued so they were a plug & play install.

The bar install took maybe 90 minutes total and would probably have gone faster if my truck had been on a lift instead of the ground. Not a difficult 1-person job in any case, but the limited ground clearance increased my install time due to having to switch sides of the truck a few times instead of otherwise having been able to move freely across the whole underside.

The hollow OEM front bar is much lighter than the solid Hellwig and the OEM end links are laughable compared to the beefy Suspension Maxx replacements. The OEM end link bottom bolts required a two-handed removal effort, with both a wrench held in place over the bottom bolts and 5/16" socket to turn the hex-sided stems protruding beneath them for the bolts to actually be loosened off. You can't just turn the bolts, as that simply causes the entire link shaft to spin and nothing loosens that way.

Installing the Suspension Maxx links is much more straightforward - just the top bolts going thru each bar hole and the bottom bolt going thru each control arm mount. Both ends @ link use nylon-lined lock nuts for added safety.

From the ground, I lifted the Hellwig bar 1 side at a time into place with new end links already loosely in place and loosely bolted the Hellwig sway bushings into place after greasing them. Then I lifted the bar ends and oriented the end links into their bottom holes.

Once I had the bar centered and each end link properly oriented in their mounts, I tightened the bushings and the links in various stages from left to right until everything was evenly tightened in full.

Road test results are significant (in my opinion) - having both matched Hellwig front/rear bars now in place arguably improved the composure of this truck exponentially in the curves and especially in all turns. No more ploughing effect in turns or any uneasy steering input resistence in curves or lane changes.

So in my opinion absolutely worth these DIY investment(s) for both bar assemblies as well as the Suspension Maxx end links up front.

Coming from years working with Cadillacs which shared their architecture with Camaros later on.

Compared to those, these end links designs are so alien looking.

 

[Ricomann]

Had F/R Hellwigs on my 22 Sport. Complete handling change. Only drawback was that speed bumps had to be taken even, not one wheel on, one off.

My experience with increased sway bars sizes on most cars is the “head toss” experience. And the issue is apparent nowhere more than speed bumps or abrupt/steep driveway entrances.

Cross those obstacles at ANY angle and it just jerks you side to side.

That all said, there’s a sweet spot. OEM is usually waaaayyyy short of that, enough to handle nicely but no more material or cost than necessary with “enhancements” for upgraded models being modest increases, at best.

So, if I wanted to avoid that head-toss experience, I am very curious if the Hellwig rear bar on soft or medium would be the sweet spot.

Also, would like to avoid and be below an amount of rear bar to cause rear axle chatter on rough surfaces while in curves. I recall experiences on the fox body Mustang and 3rd gen F-Body cars, any solid rear axle car really, and have read some talk about that hear.

Without going outside and looking, do these trucks have rear bars at all? (2021 Longhorn here).

 

[HSKR R/T]

My experience with increased sway bars sizes on most cars is the “head toss” experience. And the issue is apparent nowhere more than speed bumps or abrupt/steep driveway entrances.

Cross those obstacles at ANY angle and it just jerks you side to side.

That all said, there’s a sweet spot. OEM is usually waaaayyyy short of that, enough to handle nicely but no more material or cost than necessary with “enhancements” for upgraded models being modest increases, at best.

So, if I wanted to avoid that head-toss experience, I am very curious if the Hellwig rear bar on soft or medium would be the sweet spot.

Also, would like to avoid and be below an amount of rear bar to cause rear axle chatter on rough surfaces while in curves. I recall experiences on the fox body Mustang and 3rd gen F-Body cars, any solid rear axle car really, and have read some talk about that hear.

Without going outside and looking, do these trucks have rear bars at all? (2021 Longhorn here).

2020 RAM with Hellwig rear bar(original) on tightest setting. No "head toss". Hit speed bumps at full speed with no issues. Even take the truck off roading and can hit obstacles at good speed. But significantly improved handling. There is a stiffer rear bar now, that wasnt available when I got mine. And I've been hesitant to get the front hellwig bar, specifically because I do go off roading and don't want to lose too articulation, and do t want to disconnect sway bar any time I want to go play in the dirt

 

[Ricomann]

2020 RAM with Hellwig rear bar(original) on tightest setting. No "head toss". Hit speed bumps at full speed with no issues. Even take the truck off roading and can hit obstacles at good speed. But significantly improved handling. There is a stiffer rear bar now, that wasnt available when I got mine. And I've been hesitant to get the front hellwig bar, specifically because I do go off roading and don't want to lose too articulation, and do t want to disconnect sway bar any time I want to go play in the dirt

Sounds like a solid endorsement!

 

[Fastest H-Town Realtor]

My experience with increased sway bars sizes on most cars is the “head toss” experience. And the issue is apparent nowhere more than speed bumps or abrupt/steep driveway entrances.

Cross those obstacles at ANY angle and it just jerks you side to side.

That all said, there’s a sweet spot. OEM is usually waaaayyyy short of that, enough to handle nicely but no more material or cost than necessary with “enhancements” for upgraded models being modest increases, at best.

So, if I wanted to avoid that head-toss experience, I am very curious if the Hellwig rear bar on soft or medium would be the sweet spot.

Also, would like to avoid and be below an amount of rear bar to cause rear axle chatter on rough surfaces while in curves. I recall experiences on the fox body Mustang and 3rd gen F-Body cars, any solid rear axle car really, and have read some talk about that hear.

Without going outside and looking, do these trucks have rear bars at all? (2021 Longhorn here).

Pre-SN-95 mustangs were horrid on suspension, so really comparing them to anything is unfair. The pronounced head toss is exacerbated by the increased ride height of a truck versus sports car. My money is on your Longhorn having a rear sway bar, albeit about the size of a spaghetti.

 

[Ready Go]

OEM rear swaybars are a puny 22mm. Virtually all aftermarket rear swaybars are 25mm.

 

[troymi]

I'm curious why you used the 7794 rear? That is for the TRX I believe and Hellwig told me the 7709 should be used for non-TRX. Did you get information from them?