New Bilstiens and Helwig Anti-Sway Bar

[Wiredawg]

Thought I would share with y'all I just replaced the stock shacks with Bilstiens and installed a Hellwig anti-sway bar on my wife's '03. Sure does make a great difference in the ride. The truck has 106K miles and I was surprised how long the stock shocks lasted. As a bigtime Rancho shock advocate, I have to say these Bilstiens are sweet. the 1 1/8" Helwig sure does take the turns well too.



Take care all,



Wiredawg

 

[Jeremiah]

I could not agree with you more, Wiredawg, although I didn't do the Helwig thing. To be truthful, I installed Bilstiens, 19. 5" wheels and 245 R 70 commercial tires at the same time. 1000% improvement in the ride and handling, although I'd be hard-pressed to say what percentage of change I could attribute to which addition. All I know is it all came together and it's stayed that way. Maybe I should design Dodge trucks!

 

[TimothyLong]

I agree too. The factory shocks on my '03 pretty much sucked. They gave you a nice ride, but had ZERO handling or performance ability. I initially went with Edelbrock IAS Performers and they made a ton of difference. However, when I installed my SuperLift 2" leveling kit, I switched to the Bilstein 5100's because Edelbrock doesn't make the IAS Performers for Rams with a 2" lift. The Bilstein 5100's are a bit stiffer than the Edelbrocks, but I like added handling and performance over the Edelbrocks.

 

[DaveHess]

I replaced the stock shocks with 5100's at about 30,000 miles. I love'em. I also installed the Hellwig Sway Bar at the same time. Couldn't tell the sway bar was back there or not. I pulled it off and haven't looked back. Anybody want a Hellwig sway bar cheap... ...

 

[Wiredawg]

Dave,



Just curious: Why do you think the anti-sway bar didn't work on your truck? it is 1 1/8" thick steel. My wife's truck hardly leans now in some pretty tight curves. I have one on my '02 that I upgraded from the stock anti-sway bar and it is awsome curves/turns, especially w/ my 17K Lb 5th wheel.



Just a side note: As I recall, Dodge rep told me at the September 2002 TDR ralley in Indiana that the 3d Gen trucks did not need an ant-sway bar because of the longer rear springs.



Anyway, looking foward to hearing your thoughts.



Cheers, Wiredawg

 

[DaveHess]

Hey Wiredawg,

I guess the short of it is I was hoping to "stiffen" the truck up a little if that makes sense. This is my first 4x4 and the last one I remember riding in was when I was 10 or so years old. An old '70s something GMC Sierra Grande 3/4 ton and it rode like a truck. Anyhow, the way I drive my Ram (like a panzy), I wouldn't know if it was leaning, swaying, or whatever. I just don't drive it hard... at all. The second reason I bought the Hellwig was I tow a 29 foot Travel Trailer and when it is windy, which is almost always here in ND, I thought that in combination with my weight distributing hitch and sway control, would make the tow a little more manageable. My "seat of the pants" feeling is I felt no benefit to having the bar back there. I left the frame mounts on the truck in case I change my mind but it has been off for about a year and I don't feel the need to reinstall it. Now, your message begs the question from me, did I set the bar up correctly to get the benefits from it? I followed the instructions to the letter. I also used a 2 foot square to make sure the axle mounts were at 90 degrees to the ground and that both were the same. The instructions said the "arms" if you will should be parallel to the ground from the axle to the frame mounts. There I used a 6" torpedo level and tape measure to be sure. All fasteners were torqued to specifications. It was a pup to install by myself. I don't know what else I could or can do to reap the benefit of having the sway bar back there. This trucks gets about 7,000 miles a year on her with about 4,000 in the summer pulling the Jayco.



I would love to hear your thoughts back on this one as I may be looking at this all wrong.....



Dave

 

[Wiredawg]

Dave,

There is one thing about the install... Hellwig says to install bar w/ loop pointing down. There is a slight orientation of the bar that, if you lay the bar flat on the ground, the loop actually bends slightly down. I don't know a lot about steel, but if it were installed wrong side up, it could affect operation.



Take care,



Wiredawg

 

[DaveHess]

Got that and the loop was down. I had also read an article about rear facing sway bars and how the frame rails to the rear may flex negating the effects of the sway bar as opposed to the forward facing factory bar on the 2nd Gens. No idea if thats true or not. BTW, I noticed on your initial thread you are Retired USAF. So am I although only 20 years 3 months 9 days worth. I'd still be there but my Bride of 19 years finally found a great job here in ND and the kids were entering grade school so we decided 20 was enough. It was a great 20 years!!! 1 Feb 03.

 

[DaveHess]

Also Wiredawg, how did you get 349. 9 out of your '03??? What mods worked for you? My last dyno run netted me 299 RWHP and 643 lb/ft. Check my signature for mods. Been thinking about a Smarty JR. Waiting on BillVo to get back to me.

 

[Wiredawg]

Dave,



Congrats on retirement from the AF... it's a great, but sometimes tough life, especailly on family.



The combination Edge E-Z on high setting, AFE intake, and Aeroturbine muffler deliver this HP rating.



Take care, Wiredawg

 

[BILLVO]

I think that the swaybar would benefit the shortbox guys more than the long wheelbased rigs. I have been wanting to add a swaybar to my 05 shortbox because it is really squirlly in the rear end with any type of trailer on it.



Dave I replyed to your e-mail.

 

[DaveHess]

Got it Bill and I sent you a return!

 

[JSimmons]

How cheap?