Anti Sway Bars 101 (LXi and LX)

[davidbrady]

Hi Ross,

It could be that the Spartan recall is addressing the issue of a sway bar failure in the midst of a turn. Imagine vehicle suspension transients when the sway bar lets go during a high-g high-speed turn.

I'd say yes, the M380 and M450 would do well with a front anti-sway bar. What you have now is a coach where the lateral load transfer isn't balanced according to fore and aft weight distribution. You have a very biased situation where close to 100% of your lateral load transfer is taking place at the drive and tag axles. The front flops over but the air spring pressures equalize resulting in little to no roll resistance or weight transfer. The rear of the bus is holding up the front, the chassis is twisting, and the front tire contact patch orientation is probably less than ideal.

Your situation with IFS is markedly different from the 43'LXi with it's Ridewell stick axle. The 43'LXi has a level and high roll axis whereas yours is inclined - low at the front and high at the rear. In a turn the 43'LXi has instantaneous lateral load transfer thru it's panhard rod attachment points. The front and rear load transfers are relatively balanced with respect to front/rear weight distribution. There's very little roll because the lateral loads are applied geometrically thru the panhard rod; hence, no need for a steer axle anti-sway bar, no excessive roll, little chassis twist, and balanced front/rear lateral load transfer.