Uprated Torsion Bars

[Guest himbigchief]

I have got a 92 Goodwood, and I live out in the middle of the sticks, so I got lots of mint twisty roads to blat about. Now my question is this, I have been offered some uprated Torsion bars for my car, but I am unsure if they would be worthwhile.

 

The car currently has upper and lower strut braces and poly bushes all round. I also have a full Avo -55mm adjustable suspension kit and some Group N top mounts to fit.

 

My questions are would they be worth buying and fitting?

 

What sort of benefits would they have over the standard torsion bars?

 

What sort of torsion bar diameter would be best for road holding?

 

These bars are the 20mm ones, so I am unsure if they would make any difference on a 309, obviously I am after the best road holding and handling I can get.

 

Cheers

 

James

[fiji bob 0]

they would help keep the car more level but id be worried about the effect on the cars stability especially over mid corner bumps

[C_W 3 1 Cars]

If you have a 309 Goodwood/GTi then you should have 20mm torsion bars anyway.

 

Plus I suspect these "uprated" ones are for a 205 which are shorter bars.

[Guest himbigchief]

I was wondering what diameter the standard ones would be.

 

Yeah, that was the other thing I was wondering. I wasn't too sure if the bars would just fit a 205. I know that the 309 beam is wider, but I wasn't sure if it was because the actually beam part is wider, or whether the radius arms were broader.

 

I would have thought that 205 and 309 torsion bars were interchangable? Would've made sense from Peugeot's point of view as most other parts are similar.

 

Anyone know for definate if the 205 torsion bars are narrower than the 309 ones? Easy way, check the Pug Parts CD! Same part number, same size, different part numbers, probably different sizes.

 

I thought the standard torsion bar thickness was about 17mm?

 

Cheers for your replies though!

 

James

[Guest sillypugger]

the 309 torsion bars max diameter is 20mm and the 205 max diameter is 18.9mm (according to pugparts cd).

 

all the available 205 torsion bar thicknesses seem to be different from the 309 so i suppose the only way to tell if they are the same length is to measure 205 one against 309 one.

 

the arms are different part numbers as well so this doesn't explain what gives the extra track width (beam or arms).

 

i would hazard a guess that because the mounting points are the same that it would be the arms that give the width.

[Guest himbigchief]

But then again, according to Peugeot Sport (www.rallycar.com) you can buy the torsion bars in 20, 21 and 23mm varieties.

 

Is this going to be a worthwhile mod or not? Everyone says that to increase the rear handling, it is always better to fit uprated torsion bars to increase the spring rate on the back, instead of keeping the same spring rate and just lower it a bit.

 

So if the arms give the width, it depends how deep the holes are drilled to accept the torsion bars. If they are drilled different depths, then they could quite easily use the same torsion bars.

 

Only thing is, on Peugeot Sport, it just has 205 next to the torsion bars...

 

James

[Guest sillypugger]

i was showing that the pug parts cd does not clear this matter up cos of the different rates of bar between the 205 and 309.

 

i would expect the arms to get the width from the hub end and not the crossmember end.

 

would you keep the spring rate the same at the front and just lower it?

 

i'm in the 'firm up the back end' camp.

[C_W 3 1 Cars]

I'm pretty sure the beam itself (and therefore torsion bar) is wider and the arms are similar.

[Sam 4]

The tube and bars are longer, i bet these are the same bars i was offered, might get them if he still has them soon, but i bet they are sold...