Best torsion bars

[Zute]

Who makes the best replacement Torsion bars? Or are the mitsu' ones the best?

[Bitsamissin]

The factory Mitsu bars are pretty darn good but like everything they do fatigue and eventually need replacing. I replaced mine as the the drivers side one fatigued so much that even re-indexing couldn't get the same height as the left hand side.
I ended up getting Pedders heavy duty bars about $350/pair and thought they were fine. There are a few brands around TJM, Ironman etc but I reckon there all much of a muchness, spring steel is spring steel

[J Top]

I wouldn't replace my T bars unless they were sagging or I had increased my front weight considerably, the stiffer the spring the less the flex.
J Top

[Suspension Stuff]

I can get Torsion Bars for you for $300. Delivered to ACT for $320.
I don't know much about them but I could find out more if you are interested.
Shane
4WD STUFF

[muttis3LV6]

I kinda had to replace mine when i found that the drivers one was stitting on one of the underbody supports. Decided the product was only as good as the warinty and they all had about the same, pedders were the cheepest and have survived 70km/h into an island (nice jump) so mmmmmmmmm all good

[Zute]

Bitsa' Ihave to dissagree with you on "spring steel is spring steel.
The taper, diameter, make up, heat treatment, etc... all will either give you a great spring or a lump of metal. Other wise we wouldnt have an after market industry.

[burner]

While I don't consider my self an expert, I did find that once I put heavier springs on the rear the vehcile did feel better when I matched it up with a corresponding set of TB up front. The new TB did give the impression that they worked better than the standard mitsu ones, although this was probably due to the suspension being properly set up as oppossed to what mitsu put on as standard. generally speaking you would expect an after market performance products to be a better than factory.

my thoughts......

[grumpy221]

While tring to put some rims on I had a chat to a bloke a the local pedders store and after looking at my paj said "my rear end is low by 40mm and quoted $185.00 for rear springs either standard or lifted. But then said that I need to get new front bars as they were sagging to !!!!!!! shock to him when I mentioned that it's rinding on the upper bump stop as it is ....he just said ummmmm............. so will the bloke at tjm enoggara who told me it was impossible to put 0 offset rims 15X8 on a paj ... COME ON PPL these are the ppl blokes like me go to for good info and parts but if they dont know themselves quit franklly I'm sick of being given the run around and being ripped off (well no because I didnt buy any thing from them) (and probibly never will) but DO YOURSELF a favour and do the reserce where ever u can and dont comment to anything that wont work
ps I'll getsome cheap used gq/gu springs to lift the rear

well now i've had my spit good luck to you

[MrGenius]

I used Ultimate suspension torsion bars in my SWB 93 back when i did it, never had any issues with them.

[Tiny]

I used HD enforcer ones on my rodeo when I put a bar on it and lifted it.....with the new shocks and torsion bars it rode a lot better

[Bitsamissin]

Zute, the reason I say this is there are only 2-3 actual manufacturers of coil springs and torsion bars in Oz. They all source spring steel from the same supplier virtually and heat treating is performed the same way to achieve a 25% increase in spring rate over standard (they all advertise this). You see white, yellow, red, orange, blue etc torsion bars but they are just powdercoated different colors and sold under different names.
The same goes for coil springs.

[Suspension Stuff]

For coils there are 3 main coil spring makers. Lovells, King springs and Dobinsons. They all use the same steel and I am told it is possible to get slightly different qualities in how they manufacture the product. But it is far more important to match the right springs to the load you want to carry. The softer the coil/ride the more it is likely to sag. The stiffer the coil/ride the more it can carry weight. You have to get the coil best suited to your conditions. The same can be said about leaf springs.

There are smaller less known manufactures of springs that don't use the good steel. I don't know who they are??????????????????

I get phone calls of people saying they only want dobinsons coils than the next phone call someone wants Lovells than the next someone will only use King springs. My theory is people have had a coil not suited to thier conditions and it sags or is rough etc etc. Obviously you can get springs that are dudds.

I don't know if it helps much with Tortion Bars. Me not Tortion Bar knowledge. I know I sell Enforcer amongst others(I think).
Good luck on your quest.
Shane

[Zute]

Bitsa, What you say is mostly true, and the main players use BHP steel. Who knows where they get it from these days.But unlike the factory bars, some have a taper or larger diametre. Some like Lovell use a differant heating process.( electric resistance )
Ive been told ( by a old engineer, now pasted on ) that the Jap's cold forge there springs (saves energy I think) .
Some of the smaller manufactors reshape old springs and sell as new. Just look at the Suzuki site, ie jeep springs, Hi lux. Even GQ in PJs. Whoops thats us
But thanks all for the input. Ill collect brochures, turn them into paper planes and the one that flies the best.....