***stabilizer Bar***

[EL SUPREMO]

What exactly does the stabilizer bar stabilize?

i just installed coilovers and on the rear, the stabilizer bar link bolts to a bracket on the coilover. i can hear a noise coming from that area when i drive. it sounds like the coilover is wobbling, but its really not. (it only happens when i hit a mild bump)

i reached around my tire and was able to move the bracket a little bit with my hand. if the stabilizer bar isnt stiff could this be the noise i hear?

[RodMillenFan]

The stabilizer bar, or anti-roll bar, is basically a torsional spring, of sorts that ties to two side of the vehicle together. One end of the bar attaches to the left suspension, the other end attaches to the right. If you have vertical movement on one side (for example, the left front wheel travels up) but not on the other, that bar is forced to 'twist'... which a spring resists. So in addition to having the coil spring resisting vertical motion of the wheel independently, the stabilizer bar resists vertical motion if not accompanied by vertical motion of the other side. Does that make sense? Picture it this way...

If you hit the brakes, and both left and right front suspension asemblies compress as the weight shifts forward, the stabilizer bar doesn't come into play. Both sides move, and it's not 'twisted'.

If you take a hard corner, one side will want to compress, the other might actually want to extend. The bar will have to twist for this to happen... and it resists it, which tends to keep the car level.

Not sure about the bracket... I would expect the bracket to be tight...