View Poll Results: whats better solid or hollow sway bars
hollow bar
27
84.38%
solid bar
5
15.63%
Voters: 32. You may not vote on this poll
sway bars solid vs hollow
Senior Member
Joined: 03-26-08
Posts: 3,420
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From: Somewhere, MI
Hollow, material is more effective the further out from the center it is placed, in solid bars the inner material does not contribute much to overall torsion resistance.
Max torsion resistance:
Solid Cylinder Shaft: (pi/16)*max_stress*D^3
Hollow Cylinder Shaft: (pi/16)*max_stress*(D_outer^3 -D_inner^4/D_outer)
So for the same diameter and same material, solid shafts will have a higher torsional resistance by the factor of pi/16*max_stress*D_inner^4/D_outer over a hollow shaft. However the hollow will be significantly lighter, you make more efficient use of the material, thus for a given torsion resistance desired hollow shafts will be lighter.
Max torsion resistance:
Solid Cylinder Shaft: (pi/16)*max_stress*D^3
Hollow Cylinder Shaft: (pi/16)*max_stress*(D_outer^3 -D_inner^4/D_outer)
So for the same diameter and same material, solid shafts will have a higher torsional resistance by the factor of pi/16*max_stress*D_inner^4/D_outer over a hollow shaft. However the hollow will be significantly lighter, you make more efficient use of the material, thus for a given torsion resistance desired hollow shafts will be lighter.
Solid has more torsional rigidity. Hollow is not far behind, and is lighter.
A hollow 1.25" bar with a wall thickness of .25 would be the same as a 1.207" solid bar, although it would weigh much less.
A hollow 1.25" bar with a wall thickness of .25 would be the same as a 1.207" solid bar, although it would weigh much less.
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