Does anyone know if there are any thicker rear sway bars available for a W123, or any larger ones from a newer model that would fit in a W123? I just think its odd that the front sway bar is as large as an exhaust pipe where the the rear sway has the diameter of a cigarette and think it would handle better with a bigger rear sway. Are the ones from the W115s larger perhaps? I have heard stories of the W115s cornering flatter, I know they are lower to the ground but perhaps their sways are thicker.

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1985 CA 300D Turbo , 213K mi

Ive read here that a rear sway bar from a w123 wagon is 1 mm thicker.

I don't find the sway bar on my wagon to be robust at all...when I saw mine my first thought was "what could that do/help"? I live in Hill Country, lotta nice curves...but this wagon has some pretty good body roll and it is rear wheel drive. You just can't slam the wagon into a curve and pull through them like the front wheel drive Impala will...the wagon just wants to float in the curves.

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Mark
1983 300TD Wagon
Even a broken watch is right twice a day

I also have a wagon, and for over one year now i rode it WITHOUT the rear bar. Yes, now its like a boat in corners. And yes, the rear bar from a wagon is also not very thick.

But maybe, if you put it on a sedan.... with less weight at the rear, and also less weight on top.... you'll feel a difference.

When you want more difference, you probably have to make a custom bar yourself.

Now do yall really think that the MB engineers never thought about that? There has to be a reason it is like it is, but heck if I know........

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Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

I have no idea what the MB guys were thinking about a lot of things...like 9 fastners to hold on the air fliter and only 4 for the valve cover!!?? Heck, just look at the dadgum glove box, must be 20 parts on the door, crazy....enough vacuum lines to blow up or suck out a horse.

That sway bar is wimpy. Now, maybe in the Motherland, they don't need it as stiff because they bank their curves when they build the road.

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Mark
1983 300TD Wagon
Even a broken watch is right twice a day

The engineers were thinking about understeer for the old farts who would buy their cars, says I.

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1985 CA 300D Turbo , 213K mi

Ara T...I think I figured it out! It is a SWAY BAR, and they work, because these cars do sway real good. Maybe we oughta talk to MB about anti-sway bars!

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Mark
1983 300TD Wagon
Even a broken watch is right twice a day

I heard they're called stabilizer bars now

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1985 CA 300D Turbo , 213K mi

If you have too much stabilizer bar, you tend to lose independence between the suspension members on both sides of the car. When one wheel hits a bump, the stabilizer bar transmits the bump to the other side of the car as well, which is not what you want.

technical Article

Sway-bar chart

There is a nice left turn 90* curve out here in "rural" colorado that I've used to test myself and a few cars. It is posted as a 25mph curve. In in old '87 pos Chevy pickup, I can safely take the curve at 45mph every time when it's dry. In my 240D I can only do 35mph because body roll will cause understeer.