Video Transcript for Hellwig Big Wig Rear Anti-Sway Bar Manufacturer Discussion

Hello neighbors, it's Brad here at etrailer, and today I'm with Vern from Hellwig, and we have some sway bars here and I've put sway bars on my own personal vehicles for kind of more of a motor sport feel. And so something like this makes a world of difference. First turn, just everyday driving. But I've also installed larger ones. This is for an F53 RV chassis and you wouldn't expect an RV to make a huge difference with sway bars or think about performance, but they're top heavy. And the first thing you notice as soon as you put one of these on, just stabilize it.

So what exactly does a sway bar do You know, a sway bar really works to keep a vehicle level at all time. And a level vehicle is a safe vehicle. So you have, when you go into a corner or hit a curb, going over a curb, your vehicle wants to go side to side. And that sway bar actively works to bring you back to level every time. So how does one take a sway bar and get it mounted up to their vehicle So typically, it's a pretty simple.

It mounts in four places. So you can see here, here is the sway bar, it mounts to the axle and then at the end it mounts with end lengths to the frame of the vehicle. So for instance, the end link would attach to the end of the sway bar and this would attach to the frame. So at that point it's mounted in four places, it's secure and it works, the sway bar moves with the frame rolling on the vehicle. So how does this have movement As the vehicle rolls, the sway bar is really a giant spring that wants to return to levels.

So as the vehicle rolls from side to side, it works to bring it, the spring action works to bring it right back to the level place. So is it squeaky at all or is there any road noise that comes from it You know, they come from the factory with rubber bushings. Every vehicle is a front sway bar. It comes with rubber bushings. Rubber bushings are great for when they're brand new, but rubber deteriorates.

Hellwig supplies in every kit. Urethane bushings with bushing grease. And when you mount it on there, the biggest problem with polyurethane bushings is when they dry out, they squeak. When have a hammer tone finish here and it really has little divots in it. And when you grease these up and put the polyurethane bushing on it, they really do a great job of holding that grease in there forever. You should never have to re-grease it there. So there's a rhyme and reason to our hammer tone finish. Brad So it creates little pockets, basically, to hold that lubricant in rather than pushing it out and drying out. Vern Correct, a smooth finish would, it just washes out of there pretty fast. So that's why we do the hammer tone finish. Now sway bars, I'm a big fan of them, but many people want to use jounce bumpers or airbags to kind of counteract that sway. What's your take on that We still helper springs and one thing that a jounce bumper or a helper spring can do is they can help limit sway. So what they do is they bring it to it and they come to a stop. So it does limit the sway, but only a sway bar actively works to bring it back to level. We wish we had a product that did both, but you really need a sway bar to bring it back to level. So a sway bar's actively always there fighting against it whereas your downs bumper you do have to close that gap before it engages. And really, I mean it does limit how far the vehicle will sway over. So they can still use jounce bumpers or airbags in conjunction with an aftermarket sway bar. Yeah, absolutely. And if somebody wanted to run SumoSprings or even our helper springs, they work well together. Now Hellwig also offers the Big Wig series. What is that The Big Wig series is a larger diameter sway bar really designed for the 3/4-ton and one ton truck crowd. The Big Wig really shines when you have a cab over camper or anything that creates a vehicle to be top heavy and sway more so it's really designed for a working truck. You can still use the Big Wig even if you don't tow or haul loads too. It's our adjustability. Let's use the Big Wig for that. In fact, anytime somebody has a one ton truck, I always recommend the Big Wig. So adding sway bars, just kind of to wrap everything up. I've seen the difference. I've seen the reviews I've gotten to install sway bars and see before and after. It makes a world of difference. Hard to quantify. It's something, a feel that only the driver feels and it really makes a world of difference. So if you have that top heavy feel, whether it be from a muscle car and you just want a little bit better turn in, a little bit more tight feeling and just kind of a nice planted car for more grip, or you wanna make your RV just a better driving experience and everything in between, Hellwig probably has a product for you. You know, the one thing we hear over and over is when somebody puts on a sway bar, the difference is night and day. It truly is. And once you get one installed, you'll see we're not just talking. This is truly an awesome product. And the great part about suspension additives like this is, once it's installed, there's really no real maintenance and you get the benefits of it every time you drive. So Verne, thank you so much for coming out here and representing Hellwig and giving us a little bit of a insight into sway bars. Well, we appreciate being here and look forward to taking care of your neighbors.