Summit Sway Control Review

[viper500hcp]

SWAY CONTROL is part number SUM-720004

to be clear with my review. its a stock height 2000 4dr 4x4 with a
-polyeuro bushing kit and edelbrock shocks up front
-and polyeuro axel bushings and and edelbrock shocks out back
-along with that, the tires are 235/70/15 Toyo Open Country A/T's on stock rims
and thats it for my current suspension mods.

REVIEW TIME!!!. ok, first, i have no pictures- dont have the camera at my house- thought i did-

installation was easy, just jacked the truck up- dont HAVE to take the tires off but you can if you want- i didnt

front ubolt went on the proper way- the rear was put on inverter (kit comes with an adapter plate- if it was not inverted it would make sweet love to the frame cuz the nuts would be to high

i tighten the front nuts down to spec, with the rear- for now, i made it so the second set of nuts were just about even with the end of the ubolt. i will try making it progressively tighter to find a sweet spot.

ok with that said- WOW! FANTASTIC!
with the setting i had them on. they was very little roll. but was still there at times. but so much better, like, virtually flat. i took curvy roads atleast 10+mph faster with no issues right off the bat- very confident in my truck. then went turning 90degree corners , id brake like normal but i could give it throttle earlier to pull out of the turn.

the ride feels better too. bumps are just a quick up and down. no more than that.

-I havent tried highway ramps yet. maybe later for those

any more questions, just ask here or PM me. so like i said ill try make them progresively tighter and report back.

THESE Sway control peices are your friend!!! and I am so proud of my 4300 pound beast and entirely worth the anger towards UPS and the 40+s/h

------Mike

[bg's]

Yep will have to try a set and see if it improves body roll on my old ride.

[994.3sportside]

I've heard nothing but good things for the full size guys about these. Everybody loves them.

[viper500hcp]

well, my first update. i tried tightening the rear bolts to various lenghts with no luck. it seemed to roll more the tighter they were- i didnt go very tight though, only about 1 inch farther down the bolt.

my guess is that, while stiffer, it never lets my sway bar do its job. (a guy on the Fullsize forums stated a similiar event) so just having the lock nuts be even with hte end of the ubolt is the best for me. i guess its the best balance of extra strength while still letting the sway bar do its job. and since they are working happy together at that point, i get much less body roll and still have the smooth ride- tightting the summit bars made the ride harsher.

so i found my sweet spot the first time- lucky. but i promised updates, and this is my first

[llawmaster]

I just ordered a set myself................can't find zq8 parts around here so no rear sway.........I hope it helps like it helped you!

[viper500hcp]

good luck man, i hope they help you out. oh, and i took the wheels off today to make sure verything is tight. and it is much easier to do stuff to it with the wheels off
i was dicken around in my truck today, and found that it was much harder to get my tires to break loose on a launch. I did my normal launch and i just went with very little spin. so my traction has improved also

[bg's]

Ordered a kit today. We'll see how they work on a lowered x-cab.

[viper500hcp]

bg, how is your truck lowered in the rear.cuz by looking at mine, there is a fair amount of gap between the frame and highest point on the swaycontrol. but a vehicle lowered with leaves might MIGHT have a clearence issue

[bg's]

Its lowered with 2.5 blocks and one leaf pulled ea side. I may have to turn one of the
u-bolt assy upside down or downside up. Be here Thursday and will try to
get em on Fri. The clearance issue was my main concern. We'll see..

[Daveman2]

I'd buy the Roadmaster Active Suspension myself, it's the shizznit y'all.

[98 SS]

cant hurt to try for 40 bucks, i picked up a set when i ordered my poly cab mounts and poly swaybar stuff. we will see how good the cal tracs, zq8 suspension and summit bars all work togeather

[bg's]

I've read where if the ride has a rear sway bar, the kit will be limited, but for the money....

[patpatpat]

so how is it?

[llawmaster]

Weather changed, so I am going to wait until Saturday to put them in. I will provide an update then............

[bg's]

Got my package tonight from UPS. The box's side was torn out and the parts were missing !
Only thing I got in the box was a bunch on stickers and a Summit Racing hat..So pissssed !
Called Summit and they are shipping out another package Friday. Called UPS and told
it'd be nice if they could deliver ALL MY PARTS, just not Summit stickers and a sample
of Degree anti-deodorant along with a funky a$$ cap..

Freakin' morons.

[llawmaster]

What's up with summit giving you deodorant, a cd for AOhell and flyers for this and that............

My package came fine though..........sorry bout yer luck

[viper500hcp]

oh man, im so sorry to hear that dude. but atleast you got the hat(i like the hat) and it was free, so even better. hopefully the next package is better

and Llaw, since yours came. i hope you have as much an improvement as i did

[llawmaster]

I will be installing tomorrow. Since I have thought about specifics, I might have a clearance problem with the bars. I have a custom dual setup and the clearance between the spare and springs is tight (the pipes are right there) If there is a problem, I guess I'll have to get turndowns or something.

Any suggestions???

[viper500hcp]

hmmmm, the sway control really ends right above the rear leave clamp thingy. so are there any issue from on top of that clamp to the axle- with the exhaust? have you tried just placing them yet to to get a feel for the fit?

[llawmaster]

I installed them today. Ya, the clamp is sort of in the way.........as far a functionality goes.

With the rear end jacked up the end of the bars scrape my pipes. With it down though there are no issues.

I can notice a difference, not a big one. I haven't really tested it though. The only oppurtunity I had to drive after was with the wife........so no taking corners for me tonight.

It has definately tightened up the rear suspension, not as much bounce.

It's worth the money, I just hope it reminds me day after day.........

I have more info after I drive alone...........hehehe......

[viper500hcp]

well, after a "long term" test. ive come to notice, thatm, taking corners at my normal speeds feels very similiar to what it used to b4 the bars. but if i push it, it is much better than if i pushed it without the bars.. thats why the first day i wrote how great they were, i didnt take one corner like normal. so i feel like i might have missled some people.

so in other words- pushing the corner is much better. but normal corners are similiar to without the bars
and im glad to hear that there were no clearence problems when fully installed

[llawmaster]

Didn't you say that you tightened them to the "full" amount and it was worse than the recommended amount???

I think I'm going to tighten them down another 1/4" and see if that helps any...............

I think the bars are worth it as far as a rear sway alternative option goes............

[Daveman2]

I still <3 My Roadmaster Active suspension :-D

[viper500hcp]

yes, idid say that i tightened them the full amount, and then some maybe? but yea, they were worse, since them, i put them to a tad tighter than reccomended and havent touchem since.

[bg's]

I think there might even be a more postive feel with the bars installed and carrying a load
in the bed. I can understand how with an empty bed or very light load, one couldn't
tell too much of a diff, but I believe with a load that does affect body sway, that's where
they will come into play.

[bg's]

Went to install the set I got and found the rear leaf pack clamp is right square dead center in the
way. I'll have to cut em off to make clearance for the adjust u-bolt assy. No big deal.
Just wonder if anyone else had to do this..Might be ST's are a lil diff, but I wouldn't think
so. Also found that having the jack under the pumpkin to lift the truck and support along
with jackstands won't work unless the jack is pulled and the rear end/springs drop down
supported by the jackstands on the front spring hanger.

I just hope after getting theses on that the back section where the "T" and the adj u-bolt
goes won't hit the frame once on the ground. I have one leaf pulled out of each
spring pack. Guess I'll find out Sat..

[viper500hcp]

yo, umm, i really hope they line up ok, with no rubbing and such. im just hoping its not just a 4x4 mod or the like. it would be cool if it were nice cheap helper for the slighty lower trucks as well

[bg's]

Finally got the kit installed. I had to go opposite the instructions. Large clamp went
closest to the axle and small clamps went to the "T" section and back of leaf
pack. I had a leaf pulled from the OE pack. I had to cut the back part of the
plastic separators in order to get the rear clamps to line up right and still maintain
some clearance between the "T" section of the Summit leaf and the bottom of
the frame. I adjusted the leafs to 3/4" and went for a ride.

Right off I could tell it handled a lot smoother. Bumps/dips were pretty tame,
and handling around a corner was more crisp. Still had some roll, but could
tell it wasn't as much as before. I'll try adjusting down to 1" and see if it
improves a bit, but as far as the kit I think it was worth it.

Now the bad part, I lost close to 2" in drop. I run a 2.50 block with a leaf pulled
so that brought me down close to 4", but with the sway leafs that is gone.
I will take another measurement after I install some 4" blocks I have here at
the house and see where I'm at.

So if you have a stock ride this kit will help you with cornering and handling.
Not the best answer to slot car racing, but for $40.00 you could do worse.
You'll have to do a bit of work to modify the separators on the back, but
a small hand saw can have it done in less than 5 minutes. You have to
remember you'll lose some drop when these are installed so it's best to
measure before and after at the corners. One things for sure, it rides
better, and I don't grit my teeth as much when going over a pothole, bump
or dip. That's worth close to 40 bucks right there.