Rear 1LE swaybar question - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

Kaleb49 · 09-20-2016, 02:32 PM

Hey guys I have a question for you, I'd like to get your opinion. I have a 2013 Camaro SS, and I live in West Texas where there is hardly any corners anywhere. That being said I really enjoy taking corners hard, and some buddies and I are planning on going to the hill country a few times a year to enjoy the nice roads down there. So far the only suspension mods I've done are lower control arms. We are planning on taking a cruise to the hills in the beginning of November and I want to make sure I have no problems keeping up with everyone around the corners so I was considering upgrading my rear swaybar to help with the understeer a little. Since I won't be tracking it probably ever, would upgrading to the 1LE swaybar be good enough or would I benefit more from an aftermarket one? I know the aftermarket ones are better but I can get a 1LE swaybar so much cheaper, so I feel like I'd be better off that way. Also should I go ahead and get the front swaybar too? I thought I read somewhere that upgrading to a stiffer front swaybar with the stock tires will induce more understeer...What's your thoughts? And sorry for the long read...

camarosspower · 09-20-2016, 03:15 PM

You can use the 1le rear sway, struts, lowering springs, and most importantly solid subframe bushings

KillboyPowerhead · 09-20-2016, 06:04 PM

Pedders and other companies found that a bias of ~+5 mm works best for these cars, so with the SS front bar (23 mm) and the rear 1LE bar (28 mm) you're set; if you want even less body roll you could go after market - JusticePete here sells 27 mm front and 32 mm rear bars and I can say from experience that they totally kick ass!

With the 245 front tires and 275 rear tires you may still experience some understeer even with the 5 mm bias (depending on how hard you push the car), so to help alleviate that you could widen the front wheels and tires (with, for example, the 1LE/ZL1 wheels and go 285 all around; or a second pair of SS rear wheels up front for 275 all around).

Also as mentioned, if you can spend the money then springs/coil-overs and solid cradle bushings will help a lot too, followed by radius rod/trailing arm bushings, toe links/bushings, upper control arm bushings... and so on until you're broke.

Kaleb49 · 09-20-2016, 06:15 PM

Ok thanks for the replies. I am planning on doing coilovers in the future. I don't really have the money for it now though. Ifor anything I guess for now I'll get the 1LE rear sway then later on I'll upgrade both front and rear sways at the same time.

olblue75 · 09-20-2016, 06:48 PM

Kaleb I did just the rear for awhile an it was some what better with 275's at all four corners and I later added a ZL1 front bar even better and if you want humongous bang for the buck get the JPSS front control arm inserts they are less than 75 bucks I think and it makes the steering so much more precise and make sure you get a alignment afterwards. I did add a set of 1LE shocks and struts but that can be done at a later date. In short do the bars and control arm inserts and as they used to say at McDonalds "you'll be loving it!!"

menendez1293 · 09-20-2016, 07:34 PM

I personally have the JPSS sway bar setup on my V6 and so far I am impressed with it. By no means was the kit cheap (I paid roughly 1200 for everything I ordered that day) but I feel like it was well worth it. Since you have a 2013, the upgrade would be less for you since you do not need new drop links or control arms. I still haven't gotten my car aligned after the install because of some scheduling issues so I haven't been able to really push the car that hard.

I decided to go with Pete for my suspension needs because there really is no one else that knows the 5th gen platform as well as he does and he has been great through my whole upgrade process. He has spent a good bit of time answering all of my questions to ensure I knew exactly what I was getting. When it comes to the quality of the product and top notch customer service, Pete is the best for suspension.

Kaleb49 · 09-21-2016, 09:48 AM

Thanks for the replies. I would love to upgrade the whole suspension but since I won't be tracking it and there's no fun curvy roads close to me it's hard to justify it. So I'm just looking for the small upgrades that will allow me to have more fun. So what my plans were was to upgrade to 1LE/ZL1 wheels and tires, coilovers, swaybars, and some bushings. I think that'd be good enough. What do you think?

olblue75 · 09-21-2016, 11:53 AM

Sounds like a good start but if you want to save a little jingle go with the 1LE shocks and struts.

09-20-2016, 02:32 PM	#1
Kaleb49 Drives: 2013 Camaro 2SS RS L99 Join Date: May 2016 Location: Big Spring, TX Posts: 12	Rear 1LE swaybar question Hey guys I have a question for you, I'd like to get your opinion. I have a 2013 Camaro SS, and I live in West Texas where there is hardly any corners anywhere. That being said I really enjoy taking corners hard, and some buddies and I are planning on going to the hill country a few times a year to enjoy the nice roads down there. So far the only suspension mods I've done are lower control arms. We are planning on taking a cruise to the hills in the beginning of November and I want to make sure I have no problems keeping up with everyone around the corners so I was considering upgrading my rear swaybar to help with the understeer a little. Since I won't be tracking it probably ever, would upgrading to the 1LE swaybar be good enough or would I benefit more from an aftermarket one? I know the aftermarket ones are better but I can get a 1LE swaybar so much cheaper, so I feel like I'd be better off that way. Also should I go ahead and get the front swaybar too? I thought I read somewhere that upgrading to a stiffer front swaybar with the stock tires will induce more understeer...What's your thoughts? And sorry for the long read...

09-20-2016, 06:15 PM	#4
Kaleb49 Drives: 2013 Camaro 2SS RS L99 Join Date: May 2016 Location: Big Spring, TX Posts: 12	Ok thanks for the replies. I am planning on doing coilovers in the future. I don't really have the money for it now though. Ifor anything I guess for now I'll get the 1LE rear sway then later on I'll upgrade both front and rear sways at the same time. Last edited by Kaleb49; 09-21-2016 at 09:43 AM.

09-20-2016, 06:48 PM	#5
olblue75 Drives: 2010 2SS/RS Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Clarksville Tennesse. Posts: 6,063	Kaleb I did just the rear for awhile an it was some what better with 275's at all four corners and I later added a ZL1 front bar even better and if you want humongous bang for the buck get the JPSS front control arm inserts they are less than 75 bucks I think and it makes the steering so much more precise and make sure you get a alignment afterwards. I did add a set of 1LE shocks and struts but that can be done at a later date. In short do the bars and control arm inserts and as they used to say at McDonalds "you'll be loving it!!" __________________ Orange Krush II 1LE Front sway bar, Splitter, shocks and struts, Z28 dual mode mufflers, Intake, UCA Bushings, and Toresen 3.91 Diff. 1 piece DSS Drive Shaft, ZL1/C7 Calipers, and 32mm JPSS Rear Bar. ASC race spec splitter and wicker. 6th Gen M017 Wheels. Stainless Works 1 7/8 LTs. DSE and PAFDT Suspension components.

09-21-2016, 11:53 AM	#8
olblue75 Drives: 2010 2SS/RS Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Clarksville Tennesse. Posts: 6,063	Sounds like a good start but if you want to save a little jingle go with the 1LE shocks and struts. __________________ Orange Krush II 1LE Front sway bar, Splitter, shocks and struts, Z28 dual mode mufflers, Intake, UCA Bushings, and Toresen 3.91 Diff. 1 piece DSS Drive Shaft, ZL1/C7 Calipers, and 32mm JPSS Rear Bar. ASC race spec splitter and wicker. 6th Gen M017 Wheels. Stainless Works 1 7/8 LTs. DSE and PAFDT Suspension components.

09-20-2016, 03:15 PM	#2
camarosspower Drives: 2010 camaro ss Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Port Arthur, Tx Posts: 2,383	You can use the 1le rear sway, struts, lowering springs, and most importantly solid subframe bushings

09-20-2016, 06:04 PM	#3
KillboyPowerhead Drives: 2015 Z/22 Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 931	Pedders and other companies found that a bias of ~+5 mm works best for these cars, so with the SS front bar (23 mm) and the rear 1LE bar (28 mm) you're set; if you want even less body roll you could go after market - JusticePete here sells 27 mm front and 32 mm rear bars and I can say from experience that they totally kick ass! With the 245 front tires and 275 rear tires you may still experience some understeer even with the 5 mm bias (depending on how hard you push the car), so to help alleviate that you could widen the front wheels and tires (with, for example, the 1LE/ZL1 wheels and go 285 all around; or a second pair of SS rear wheels up front for 275 all around). Also as mentioned, if you can spend the money then springs/coil-overs and solid cradle bushings will help a lot too, followed by radius rod/trailing arm bushings, toe links/bushings, upper control arm bushings... and so on until you're broke.

09-20-2016, 07:34 PM	#6
menendez1293 Emerald Coast Camaros Drives: 2010 Camaro 2LT/RS M6 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Tallahassee FL Posts: 9,687 View My Garage	I personally have the JPSS sway bar setup on my V6 and so far I am impressed with it. By no means was the kit cheap (I paid roughly 1200 for everything I ordered that day) but I feel like it was well worth it. Since you have a 2013, the upgrade would be less for you since you do not need new drop links or control arms. I still haven't gotten my car aligned after the install because of some scheduling issues so I haven't been able to really push the car that hard. I decided to go with Pete for my suspension needs because there really is no one else that knows the 5th gen platform as well as he does and he has been great through my whole upgrade process. He has spent a good bit of time answering all of my questions to ensure I knew exactly what I was getting. When it comes to the quality of the product and top notch customer service, Pete is the best for suspension.

09-21-2016, 09:48 AM	#7
Kaleb49 Drives: 2013 Camaro 2SS RS L99 Join Date: May 2016 Location: Big Spring, TX Posts: 12	Thanks for the replies. I would love to upgrade the whole suspension but since I won't be tracking it and there's no fun curvy roads close to me it's hard to justify it. So I'm just looking for the small upgrades that will allow me to have more fun. So what my plans were was to upgrade to 1LE/ZL1 wheels and tires, coilovers, swaybars, and some bushings. I think that'd be good enough. What do you think?