Hellwig rear sway bar opinions
 

Is it a worthy mod? Notice any improvement in handling?

I've got both front and rear Hellwig bars. Put the rear one on first and it made a huge improvement. Added the front one later and it helped a little more, but not nearly as much as the rear. Going around curves is night and day different with the bars.

hey there i have a rear sway bar on my yukon denali.. cause i love handeling as well as power i went with it.. i got it from eibach.. anyways ive seen a difference in goin round curves , lowering a bit also helps.. u wont feel that the car is high and almost going to flip lol u feel that ur intacked with the road.. ill upload the picture tomorrow cause its in the garage getting the headers installed.

I have the factory "performance" 36mm in the front and the Hellwig 7800 in the rear set to its stiffest setting.

BMW X5s and TBSSs hate me now. The limitation is now the tires. Expressway travel with a heavy crosswind is much more enjoyable.

It smoothed out the transitions going into driveways also... with the giant front swaybar it dictated where the whole truck went so it would wildly roll side to side turning into a driveway. The rear swaybar smoothed this out by giving the front swaybar something to fight against.

hmm ive been thinking of installing something along the line of this on my truck. its a 1/4 mile/roll racer so i dont want to give up that just to put a rear sway bar

I just had the standard front bar on mine, which I think was 32mm (1.25"). The Hellwig 7685 front bar I put on is 38mm (1.5"). Also have my rear end links at the stiffest setting, although I couldn't tell any difference from the middle or softest settings. Don't know if I'm ready to challange a BMW, but the truck is now quite nimble instead of being a wallowing understeering pig.

I put the Hotchkis set on my YD and there was a SIGNIFICANT improvement in handling compared to the stock sway bars.

Don't think for a second that a rear swaybar won't help with a launch. It will help. It will aid to resist chassis twist, which can cause the left rear to lose traction, basically helping you have more traction to both rear tires.

def wnat to see some pics i didnt know they made a rear sway bar kit for the new GMT900 trucks....

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The swaybar also helped a little with wheelhop. With video you could see that first one tire would bounce then the next. Now it's more in unison and ever since I pulled the block and put on bags it just spins instead of bounces.

http://gmt900.wrath.org/img/2009_11-...nsion_05_S.jpg

will these sway bars work with a flipped rear axle? Or only stock height.

What kind of height difference are we talking? Mine is at the maximum length of the threads and it already has its lift block removed (but my truck starts out taller due to different axle tubes than a regular half ton). You can also cut the tubes and threads to get it shorter.

I've got my end links at max length also and with the 1" blocks removed, the trailing ends of the sway bar are still about 1" above level. The end links are threaded and can be adjusted about 3" shorter, so I'd guestimate you could go about 5" lower than stock with the Hellwig 7800 bar. As Wrath said, you can always modify the end links and get a little more if you need to.
Here's the installation instructions so you can see the end links and how it all goes together. http://www.suspensionconnection.com/...tions/7800.pdf

anyone running one of these on a crew cab? I bought one for mine but haven't installed it yet, any results on a crew?

def gunna have to invest in some of these thanks for the pics were did you order them from and how much ?


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I got mine both from suspensionconnection.com. The rear was around $250 + $20 shipping. I just googled hellwig 7800 and found the rear for $211 + $10 shipping for thepartsbin.com. Never dealt with thepartsbin so can't vouch for them. Suspensionconnection was a good experience.

I have Hotchkis front and rear sway bars on my 2007 Avalanche and enjoy the improved handling. It is well worth the money and time spent.

From the pictures it looks like it won't fit with a dual exhaust. The driver's side end links and mount would definately not fit with my Magnaflow catback with dual rear exit.
I put the Hellwig rear bar on my dually cube van and it made a world of difference. Crosswinds and passing semis no longer rock it, and it doesn't lean in the corners anymore.

will these sway bars work with a flipped rear axle? Or only stock height?

I also have an '09 with a 4/7 drop. Has anyone put this on with the axle being flipped?

guys I need help big time...I have the Hellwig front and rear bars...I have found sways bars are the best bang for the buck upgrade to any vehicle for handling, but this has been a nightmare.

First I have an 08 Sierra Denali and it's got the front leveling kit, but the suspension and exhaust are all stock otherwise.

Well they never sent the spacer kit required for 6 speed automatics...so that delayed install a week...then the bolts that come with their kit are too short b/c of the spacer kit but luckily the oem bolts are long enough so the front is done as of yesterday, but the rear....

With a Sierra Denali the exhaust is larger in diameter than the regular pick ups and their is a resonator beyond the muffler on the passenger side....and this is right where the Hellwig rear bar mounts so my mechanic said there is no way to do it.

I checked on the SUVs and b/c they all have OEM rear sway bars that mound completely different than the Hellwig kit does for the trucks that won't work and the only other truck that is out now...IE....2007+ NBS with the resonator is the Vortec Max trucks but even their exhaust diameters are much smaller....but anyway, Hellwig only shows the 7800 part # for every GM pick up in the light duty 1500 series.

I see all over the web in forums that people with Sierra Denalis are running front AND rear Hellwig sway bars...so please fill me in on the procedure.

Thanks so much.

John

bossho...
the quick simple solution is to have an exhaust shop eliminate the resonator.
did it on mine.[6.2, 3.5 inch piping]

I was actually able to make it all work. A member of the GM forum took the time to call my cell live after a PM today and he emailed me 4 pics...despite the fact that he's already traded his SD in...and his pics made the difference. That and me taking charge of reading (actually reading) the directions and walking the mechanic through what to do. $50 of their time, and then I spent about 1.5 hrs in my driveway after adjusting it all and putting on the finishing touches...

Seems to work wonders...I was very impressed with the 4 off and on ramp exercises I did after would.

What does your truck sound like without the resonator on a scale of 1 being stock sound and 10 being Louder?

Can't give you a report on the exhaust sound as I put headers it at the same time.
Glad you got the sway bar worked out, I think I'll order one


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That is the inside of the resonator, no baffles/chambers but a sound cancelling port of some type.
Looks like it wouldn't hurt flow much, removing it on otherwise stock exhaust would make a
small difference in sound.
I used pieces of the tail pipe to make an extension to get my exhaust out behind the wheel, sorry for the dirty truck, it was winter.

Attachment 147132

Good post, used for reference for install on my 6.2 :cheers:

for the 6.2l trucks you do not need to remove the resonator to mount it. just dont use the 1/2" spacer on the pass side cut the bolt and it fits fine. im droped 3" tho
Attachment 126441

Nice. Been itching to get a rear kit

Here is my setup
 

I had to grind about a half inch off the left shock tower mount. Now the Gibson duel exhaust is clearing the brackets. It took some adjusting but it clears. It was about a 2 1/2 hr install by myself! It is always good to have the right tools.;)

Sorry for digging up an old thread but how did the nnbs Sierra Denali guys make out in the long run with these bars? What are the exact part numbers everyone is using? Seems like some searches on the manufacturer sites like Hellwig and Belltech are they have nothing that fits my vehicle?

Side note, to the fella who removed the resonator, any before and after clips of sound difference?

I loved my hellwig rear sway bar on my 2011 AWD sierra denali! made a huge difference, even when towing it helped a ton. I am going to mine up for sale soon though as i just lifted my truck so i don't have it on anymore. Sorry i don't remember the part number either.

Not helpful for your specific question but I've run Hellwig and AddCo rear bars on GMT400's, and I preferred the Hellwig as the install hardware/brackets seem to be better quality, also in my application the AddCo required four 3/8" holes to be drilled in the frame, Hellwig required none.

As another nod to Hellwig, after many years and lots of abuse, some of the end link bushings finally gave up. They weren't standard size so that I could just go down and buy the generic poly end link kit available everywhere, so I called Hellwig and although my bar was discontinued/superceded with a new model, the tech looked up my old part # and sent me new bushings - actually a whole new hardware kit (end links, frame bushings, etc.) - for free! Can't beat that service. I'm not saying this is their standard practice but I fully expected to pay as I'd got my money's worth and more out of the originals.

Richard

I have a 2013 gmc w/ a 6.2. I put a hellwig rear bar on a few weeks ago. Everything cleared just fine. Resonator didnt have to come out, had room for everything. I love mine, it helped in every aspect as far as handling. All you need is a hellwig 7800 bar and an hour or so of your time

Ok i am sold. I am going to make a call into Hellwig and get the proper part number. Thanks fellas

Just look on amazon for a Hellwig 7800 rear sway bar. Good deal and got mine a day & half later and was on the truck a little over an hour after the delivery truck dropped it off. Lol

Same experience here. I've had mine for a year and a half now and zero issues.

I got my 7800 rear bar from a member on here. I paid something like $150 (included shipping) to my door.

I have to say after putting it in and setting it to the stiffest setting, I roll through curves like no tomorrow.

As for wheel hop, this was resolved when I flipped my rear and added just a little negative pinion angle.

Mine works well...I'm quite pleased.

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Old thread I know, but will this work on a regular cab with a 3.5" lift? Or does the lift even affect its operation?

Roll the sway bar brackets up so the sway bar is at the same height as the axle tube centerline. Extend the end links so they're as long as possible (and I suggest adding jam nuts).

I'm on my third truck with the same sway bar (99 GMT800 LM7/4L65e, 09 GMT900 with L76/6L80e, 15 GMTK2EG with L86/8L903) with about 250,000 miles combined and everything is still good except the end links.

Cool, thank you!

im still day dreaming about these bars lol. Can someone just send me one please