1. What does an anti-sway bar do?

2. Why would I want an anti-sway bar on my vehicle?

3. Will there be any adverse effects when I add a bar?

4. What is a helper spring?

5. Why would I want a helper spring on my vehicle?

1. What does an anti-sway bar do?

An anti-sway bar is designed to reduce body roll. It keeps your vehicle flatter in the turns by transferring the pressure exerted on the outboard wheels and applying opposite pressure on the inboard wheels. In this way weight is more evenly applied to all four wheels, helping the vehicle stay more level with the road.

Odds are that you already have an anti-sway bar on the front of your car or truck. In some cases this is sufficient, but often it can be improved upon. A greater diameter bar will give you more resistance to body roll. Adding a rear bar will make an even greater improvement. By keeping the vehicle more level in a turn you will have significantly more control, giving you better handling. A good combination of front and rear bars can also keep your motor home or heavily loaded truck more stable on the open road.

Any time you alter a vehicle's ride height you change its center of gravity, and a good suggestion to compensate for the handling change is to upgrade the anti-sway bars. As a good general rule, any time you add an anti-sway bar or upgrade an existing bar you will receive a noticeable improvement in the way your vehicle handles.

No. An outstanding feature of anti-sway bars is that they have virtually no adverse effects when the bar is properly designed for the vehicle.

A helper spring is a spring that works with an existing spring to give it more support. The amount of extra support depends upon the length, width, thickness, arch, and number of leafs in the unit. Typically the helper spring attaches to the existing spring pack by means of a u-bolt and crossbar, and tension is adjusted by how closely the end of the helper spring is drawn to the spring pack.

When a vehicle has a load, whether due to hauling or towing, the back end tends to set down, which in turn brings the front end up. This can cause a number of problems. When the nose of the vehicle is drawn up the alignment usually changes, causing unusual tire wear. Often there is less tire surface on the road, meaning reduced traction, poorer braking, and diminished steering control. Headlights are no longer aimed at the road, but more likely into the rear view mirror of the car in front of you.

Helper springs help correct this condition by leveling out the vehicle. This gives you the benefit of hauling your load, but still retaining control of your vehicle. (It is important to note, however, that while a helper spring will assist you in hauling your load level, it does not increase the gross vehicle weight rating (G.V.W.R.).