TrboDslHD Posted June 29, 2006 Report Share Posted June 29, 2006 Has anyone bought a set of the Frederico Performance sway bars on thier SS? Would like to know the difference between thiers and the Hotchkis bars?? Jimmy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
04CHASE Posted June 29, 2006 Report Share Posted June 29, 2006 well i know the frederico bars have a bad rep for customer service, but the physical differences are the hotckis are a bit bigger in diameter and mount a bit differently, the hotckis are also a hollow design( im not sure what the federico's are) but the frederico are adjustable for ride heights! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r8rs4lf Posted June 29, 2006 Report Share Posted June 29, 2006 well i know the frederico bars have a bad rep for customer service, but the physical differences are the hotckis are a bit bigger in diameter and mount a bit differently, the hotckis are also a hollow design( im not sure what the federico's are) but the frederico are adjustable for ride heights! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The customer service sucked is definately an understatment! I have the Federico sway bars and they are a great product. They are not adjustable for ride height, only for stiffness in 5* increments and only in the rear. The bars are not hollow, they are a solid bar. Like I said though, THE CUSTOMER SERVICE SUCKS!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenKey Posted June 29, 2006 Report Share Posted June 29, 2006 Hollow bars are stronger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrboDslHD Posted July 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2006 Hollow bars are stronger. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I have no idea how hollow bars could be stronger than something solid. r8rs4lf: Thanks for the feedback about the bars, I wanted that adjustability. I read about the drilling and stuff on the Hotchkis stuff. Don’t want to drill the truck. And again can’t see how hollow bars could be stronger than something solid. While roaming the internet and reading other forums saw people writing about the Hotchkis bars breaking at the rear. Wasn’t on the Silverado SS but other vehicles. I called Speed Inn today who I guess now owns or distributes the Frederico Bars. r8rs4lf who did you talk to when you got bad customer service?? The new guy/owner Les was great. Said he had e-mailed the admins here and wanted to do a GP. Sold me a set of bars for both my Silverado SS and my 2500HD Duramax. Sold me the Silverado SS set for $389 out the door. Even gave me free shipping and said it was the GP price he was going to offer. Within an hour and a half I received 4 tracking numbers. So I assume the bars are on the way! Just wanted to pass along my experience, Thanks again for the heads up on the bars guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r8rs4lf Posted July 1, 2006 Report Share Posted July 1, 2006 Hollow bars are stronger. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I called Speed Inn today who I guess now owns or distributes the Frederico Bars. r8rs4lf who did you talk to when you got bad customer service?? The new guy/owner Les was great. Said he had e-mailed the admins here and wanted to do a GP. Sold me a set of bars for both my Silverado SS and my 2500HD Duramax. Sold me the Silverado SS set for $389 out the door. Even gave me free shipping and said it was the GP price he was going to offer. Within an hour and a half I received 4 tracking numbers. So I assume the bars are on the way! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I dealt with Tom Federico. There was a post here a while back about a change of ownership so I guess maybe it got better. That's great to hear because the customer service before was really, really, bad and that is putting it nicely. You will be happy with them. I also can't figure how a hollow bar is stronger than somethng that is solid, but who knows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
04CHASE Posted July 2, 2006 Report Share Posted July 2, 2006 tubes are stronger andf lighter. i remeber readunt that hollow was supoerior to solid bars, hopefully one of our resident suspensin/chassis fabs can tekk us exactly why! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSmoothSilSS Posted July 2, 2006 Report Share Posted July 2, 2006 Guys I have the B-Body Performance bars on my Impala SS and they are great and will be getting them for my Silverado SS I know Les at Speed Inn and I have had great service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenKey Posted July 2, 2006 Report Share Posted July 2, 2006 Hollow bars are stronger. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I have no idea how hollow bars could be stronger than something solid. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Absolutely true, regardless. Your stock bar is solid and actually gives pretty easily. On my last truck I installed my front bar about a week before my rear because the rear bar was for a lowered truck and I hadn't done that part yet, but I could tell the difference just from that change in how well the truck handled. If you took two bars, one rectangular hollow bar and one solid and say 20ft long, (1" size) the solid bar would flop in the center if you supported the ends. The hollow bar will for the most part stay rigid because of the strength differences. Take the same bars and make them 6" long and you can bend the solid with your hands, but not the hollow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrboDslHD Posted July 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2006 I thought the stock front bars were hollow?? We will soon find out. I will cut the front bars in half, find out then post the pictures. Jimmy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
04CHASE Posted July 3, 2006 Report Share Posted July 3, 2006 I thought the stock front bars were hollow?? We will soon find out. I will cut the front bars in half, find out then post the pictures. Jimmy <{POST_SNAPBACK}> i dont think thyey are hollow im 99% sure they are solid. but after thinking about it it does make sense, the hollw bars have two walls . that would make them stronger and lighter, plus if you have ever got a hollow metal tube and a solid one you see the solid one bend more with legnth thean a hollow one! it makes sense and doesent make sense all the same time. I just know my hotckis bars are loved!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenKey Posted July 4, 2006 Report Share Posted July 4, 2006 I thought the stock front bars were hollow?? We will soon find out. I will cut the front bars in half, find out then post the pictures. Jimmy <{POST_SNAPBACK}> They are solid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver LT Posted July 4, 2006 Report Share Posted July 4, 2006 (edited) I thought the stock front bars were hollow?? We will soon find out. I will cut the front bars in half, find out then post the pictures. Jimmy <{POST_SNAPBACK}> They are solid. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> My stock 2004 bar was hollow. Think of it from GM's view point, a hollow bar weights about 40% less than a solid bar. Every pound counts toward CAFE fuel standards. A hotchkis 1 7/16" bar (with .25" wall thickness) has about the same torsional resistance as a 1 5/16" solid bar. Remember, the stiffness comparision formula (if the bars are the same shape) simplifies to the bar diameter to the fourth power. Here is the full formula: Formula for sway bar stiffness of a solid steel bar K (lbs/in) = 500,000 D^4 / (0.4244 x A^2 x B) + (0.2264 x C^3) A| \________/ C .............B A - Length of end perpendicular to B (torque arm - inches) B - Length of center section (inches) C - Length of end (inches) D - Diameter bar (inches) Edited January 14, 2007 by Silver LT (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenKey Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 So what did you say here? My '03 bar is solid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redimpss5 Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 Our take on the Hollow vs. Solid discussion Hollow vs. solid Based on SAE roll stiffness calculations, a hollow sway bar is approximately 10% “softer” than a solid sway bar of comparable diameter and geometry due to increased bending in the arms which lowers its rate. The hollow sway bar can be made in a larger diameter to compensate for the bending in the arms and has a definite weight advantage over the solid bar. However, the solid bar has an advantage in that it can be heat treated while the hollow sway bar cannot. Why Heat treated material? The tensile strength and fatigue strength of heat treated 4140 Chrome Moly Steel is 72% stronger than a cold drawn 1045 steel. (see below) This is important because aftermarket sway bars are significantly larger than a stock bar but have to fit in the same package constraints as the stock bar resulting in higher stresses. Using a high quality material allows the sway bar to be worked at its limits without durability concerns. Frederico manufactures sway bars for off road applications (such as the U.S. Border Patrol) where the customer fatigues and breaks a non-heat treated sway bar. Using heat treated steel eliminates the breakage issue because of its higher fatigue strength. Anywhere the limits of the suspension are repeatedly tested (such as in autocross, racing, off-road, and on-road performance pickups, lifted, and lowered applications) requires the use of a high quality material to avoid fatigue failure. 4140 with 1550 deg Quench 1000 deg Temper Tensile Strength, Ultimate 1075 MPa 156000 psi Tensile Strength, Yield 986 MPa 143000 psi Elongation at Break 15.5 % 15.5 % in 50 mm Reduction of Area 56.9 % 56.9 % Modulus of Elasticity 205 GPa 29700 ksi 1045 Cold Drawn Tensile Strength, Ultimate 625 MPa 90600 psi Tensile Strength, Yield 530 MPa 76900 psi Elongation at Break 12 % 12 % In 50 mm Reduction of Area 35 % 35 % Modulus of Elasticity 205 GPa 29700 ksi Les Brown Speed Inn owner 510-259-1464 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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