[TR] TR-3 rear anti-sway bar

[Randall]

> If
> the rear sway bar eliminates the tendency of the rear end to "skip
> sideways in a high speed corner near the limits of adhesion", how would
> removing it improve the performance on a tight track where it's "more
> important to keep the wheel on the ground as much as possible". I have
> never raced a TR3, or any other four wheel vehicle on any kind of road
> course but have enjoyed high speed curvy roads and thought adding sway
> bars front and rear would improve my TR3's performance in tight corners,
> or curvy roads.

I have no evidence beyond what the seat of my pants told me; and I will
freely admit that most people do not agree with me.  So I'm just reporting
my own experiences, with my own car.  I was also running TR6 wheels, with
low profile, relatively high performance tires; so your results might vary.
Pretty much all of the racers run without one AFAIK, even though some of
them use various kinds of limited slip differentials.

As I see it, without the rear bar, the inside rear wheel stays on the ground
longer; right up until the frame hits the axle and bounces it up in the air.
With all of the forces suddenly transferred to the outside tire, it loses
traction and starts to slide.  With the loss of traction, the suspension
unwinds and plants the inside tire back on the ground and the cycle repeats.
The result is that skipping motion I mentioned.  The problem can be really
bad if there is a bump in the middle of the turn (as there is on one of the
freeway transitions on my way to work).

With the bar, the axle doesn't hit the frame (at least not right away) and
more gradually lifts the tire.  Still results in oversteer at the limit, as
the other tire gets more load; but it's a smooth transition and hence easier
to control.

IMO the best course is probably to make all your other modifications first,
and then see if the skipping is a problem for you.  The rear bar is easy
enough to add later (and take off again if you are so inclined).

As a side comment, the kit I got from ADDCO first did not fit.  They had
only tried it on a TR4 and assumed the TR3 was the same.  When I contacted
them about it, they listened to my description of the problem and promptly
sent me the modified mounting brackets along with instructions on how to
bend the bar slightly.  I assume (but don't know) that they've solved the
problem by now, though.  (That was over 30 years back, my how time flies.)

FWIW, I actually bought both bars through JC Whitney.  You might check with
them, they might still offer any bar that ADDCO makes even though they don't
carry much else for TR3s these days.

-- Randall