That's right-  I guess I perceived that I went though an impassable road without any negative effects- which is too say it wasn't any worse than without the bar in this experience.  

 I won't take this Westy on roads any worse than my example because it's to valuable to me to crunch up the undercarriage as I used to do with my old bug and busses. So the extreme test I'll have to pass on.   

The goal of getting rid of body roll on highway driving has been reached  after driving this 82 Westfalia for 6 years I can say that the sway bar really helps as well as the power steering does that I installed 3 years ago.  

Robert
1982 Westfalia
1987 Wolfsburg

----- Original Message -----
Wrom: SCRTN
Sent: Friday, May 17, 2002 11:39 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: anti-sway bar

>When the body leans over to one side, the bar is lifted up. This
>pulls down the high side and the weight is more evenly distributed
>on all four wheels.

This may be your *perception*, but the fact is that a (anti-) sway
bar works to keep the wheels at the same level. If your left one is
down the bank, the sway bar is pulling down (trying to) on the right
one, which pushes *up* on the right side of the vehicle.

The sway bar's job is to keep the vehicle level with the surface. If
that is a sloped surface, the vehicle will lean with that surface
more so than without the bar. We are most familiar with the good job
a sway bar does at reducing lean on a flat road in corners because of
this very trait.

You will still have full wheel travel, it's just that they will not
operate *independently* as much as they used to, which is more
important off-road than on.

Dave
--
Dave Carpenter

Whatever you wish for me,
May you have twice as much.

"Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and sometimes I think
we're not. In either case the idea is quite staggering." -- Arthur C.
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