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Old 08-10-2021, 11:50 AM   #1
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Hellwig Sway Bar on 2012 E150

Anyone else add this sway bar to this year or close? Reading a few stories of PITA installs on E150s, but they seem to be from much older vehicles.

https://realtruck.com/p/hellwig-rear...bars/hwg-7642/

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Old 08-10-2021, 01:25 PM   #2
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It’ll work fine. The 2007+ E150s are really an E250. Only issue is interference with airbag brackets, but trimming the hellwig bracket is an easy workaround
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Old 08-10-2021, 08:22 PM   #3
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I put one on my 2011 E250 and it was easy. Only thing is that the end link bolts hang down further than I like [emoji853]
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Old 08-11-2021, 05:41 AM   #4
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Good to know...thank you both.
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Old 08-11-2021, 08:23 PM   #5
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I installed the Hellwig rear sway bar Part Number: HEL-7085 on to my 2006 E350 EB.
It is 1 1/2 inches thick.

The van handling when going straight did not change at all. I would never know it was there.

But when turning, at any speed, the van handles like a Ferrari. Well maybe not a Ferrari but the body roll is gone. My van is not heavy unless it is packed for a dry camping adventure. Then I carry everything low in the van, plus 40+ gallons of water.

There is a 2 mile down hill swervy paved road I drive several times a week. With the sway bar installed, I can do this road with control at 65+ mph. Without that sway bar, the van handled poorly and wanted to oversteer. The control was just plain scary.
Every van I have owned, since 1970, I have installed a rear sway bar.

The drawback is that when having one wheel at a time going over a hump or in a going in to a low spot, and driveway approaches, the van rocks hard side to side. I have learned to navigate these slowly and carefully.

95% of my driving is on the paved street so the sway bar greatly benefits me. If I was driving off road 95% of the time I would not use this sway bar.

There may be other model sway bars that have a smaller diameter and may be more forgiving.

When driving Off road I have to be really careful and be sure everything inside is tied down and packed securely or it will end up on the floor.

I hope this helps.
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Old 08-15-2021, 11:33 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by longboardguy View Post
Without that sway bar, the van handled poorly and wanted to oversteer.
This caught my eye. In performance apps, adding a rear swaybar or increasing its diameter (stiffness) will typically result in increased oversteer due to increased roll resistance in the rear relative to the front. In other words, the rear tires will lose traction first because the weight transfers more rapidly in the rear than the front during a roll input. Taken too far, you'll end up with snap oversteer (speaking from experience).

Perhaps it's different with a big top heavy roll-prone vehicle like our vans, but I can't imagine why that would be?
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Old 08-15-2021, 04:42 PM   #7
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I had both front and rear on my 06. Removed rear as it was overly stiff. If you do any off pavement or off camber, the rear will simply lift the high side wheel in the air....Ground doesn't cooperate with that setup off camber. Front only helwig works well and is quite stiff.....at least mine is....installation of either is very straightforward.
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Old 08-16-2021, 07:07 AM   #8
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This caught my eye. In performance apps, adding a rear swaybar or increasing its diameter (stiffness) will typically result in increased oversteer due to increased roll resistance in the rear relative to the front.
You are correct from a true vehicle-dynamics stand-point, but a stock extended E-series (or any E-series with a high cG) without a rear sway-bar feels "over-steery" because of the body-roll-induced bump-steer. Basically the body-roll causes more steering-angle than the driver is inputting, which makes it feel like over-steer.
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Old 08-16-2021, 12:42 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by carringb View Post
You are correct from a true vehicle-dynamics stand-point, but a stock extended E-series (or any E-series with a high cG) without a rear sway-bar feels "over-steery" because of the body-roll-induced bump-steer. Basically the body-roll causes more steering-angle than the driver is inputting, which makes it feel like over-steer.
My van without the rear sway bar corners ok. I use a 2 stage cornering approach: initial understeer until the van rolls out, then more neutral steering around the corner. Transitions and bumpy roads make this more challenging. Figured it was the front outside coming up against the bump stop. Either way, I'm going to try new tires and then shocks before thinking of a rear antiroll bar.
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Old 08-16-2021, 02:28 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by carringb View Post
You are correct from a true vehicle-dynamics stand-point, but a stock extended E-series (or any E-series with a high cG) without a rear sway-bar feels "over-steery" because of the body-roll-induced bump-steer. Basically the body-roll causes more steering-angle than the driver is inputting, which makes it feel like over-steer.
Very interesting! So in theory, a front track bar with poor geometry would exaggerate this bump-steer effect?

Our vehicle has only a front bar. It definitely rolls a bit due to the lift, high cG, and soft springs, but otherwise it feels pretty neutral. I'm hoping that aftermarket shocks will help it feel more planted with better low speed damping, especially compared to the 187k-old OEM shocks. I'll get there eventually, just so many things to spend money on...
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