Your mission, should you decide to accept is,.....

[Jims 86LXI HB]

.... is to grab a cresent wrench and use it to measure your sway bar size. All you do is place the sway bar inside the jaws of the cresent wrench and clamp the jaws shut. Then remove the wrench and measure the distance between the jaws. Not metric measurements, please.

I'd like to hear what size sway bars are on our cars, especially the LXI 86-87 and 88-89. So if your kind enough to check for me, please tell me your year and model.

[accordlx]

4 inches thick !!!!!!! The ANTI swaybar.

Seriously though. I'll take a set of calipers to it tomorrow when I have a little sun to work with...

[Jims 86LXI HB]

ok I get 13/16" in the front and pretty much 1/2" in the rear.

[RCracer]

Hi
I get the same measurements as you Jim.

Anti Roll Bar Sizes

1/2 inch rear
13/16 inch front
That is on my 1989 AERODECK ex

[AccordEXI]

No metric?!! Come on, everything on these cars is measured in metric!! Anyways here's the "real" diameters!!

fuel injected 86-87 front 20.5mm = 0.8070"= approx 13/16"
fuel injected 86-87 rear 12mm = 0.4724"= approx 15/32"
fuel injected 88-89 front 22.5mm = 0.8858" = approx 7/8"
fuel injected 88-89 rear 13mm = 0.5118" = approx 1/2"

[Jims 86LXI HB]

Originally posted by AccordEXI
No metric?!! Come on, everything on these cars is measured in metric!! Anyways here's the "real" diameters!!

fuel injected 86-87 front 20.5mm = 0.8070"= approx 13/16"
fuel injected 86-87 rear 12mm = 0.4724"= approx 15/32"
fuel injected 88-89 front 22.5mm = 0.8858" = approx 7/8"
fuel injected 88-89 rear 13mm = 0.5118" = approx 1/2"

Of course no metric, the aftermarket bars for our cars are not sold that way. And it's easier comp. stock to aftermarket when your looking at the same measurement system. But thank you for providing both, I admire the sprit with which you did it.

Ok, your post confirms what I'd seen on one of the previous boards. That the 86-87 and 88-89 cars do have different size sway bars. I just didn't know how much of a difference. Now I know, darn I was hoping it was a bigger diff. But it does help me be more informed on how I might go larger and where. Thanks!

[CARBurn]

In regards to your sway bar question this is what I have:

On my car 87 Accord LX Front sway bar:
Size-13/16"

On an 87 Accord LXi front sway bar I got from the junkyard:
Size-14/16" or 7/8"

On an 88-89 Accord LX-i hatch sway bar I also bought from junkyard:
Size-1/2"

When I was researching front sway bar with aftermarket companies this is what I found:

Suspension Techniques:
Front Sway bar: 15/16"
Rear Sway bar: 5/8"

Addco:
Front sway bar: 14/16"
Rear sway bar: 3/4" or 6/8"

Addco makes the exact same size bar as the stock bar for the 87 LXi Accord, Suspension techniques is only 1/16" thicker in diameter.

For the rear sway Addco is only 1/8" thicker in diameter than Suspension technique bar.

Hey Jim, I see in your sig, you have a custom sway bar made, mind if i ask the specs on it?

[Jims 86LXI HB]

Hey Jim, I see in your sig, you have a custom sway bar made, mind if i ask the specs on it?

Well that's for the future, I finally got an email reply from them just this week. They will bend me a copy of the stock rear bar for $175 with urthane(ms) mount's. I'm debating between 13/16" and 15/16". And I might get it with solid metal pillow mounts instead of the urthane bushings. They can also modify it for adjustable end links.

Just a 1/8" increase over 5/8 would be a 12.5% increase in rollbar stiffness. But the rear addco bar is unobtainable at this time. None of the retailers that carry addco have one on their shelves. And addco doesn't have one on hand either, they only have one on order and won't make anymore until 10 are on order. They aren't going to have 10 on order any time soon. So if I'm going to the trouble of having one custom make I will not limit myself to a rear bar that is smaller than what's on the front. After all prelude and civic aftermarket bars are avaible with the same size front to rear sway bar, as a method to reduce understeer.
Which is sound tuning methodolgy

[CARBurn]

Cool, I just realize that when I was reviewing the sway bar catalogs, the F/R bars for civics and preludes are pretty much the same in diameter.
Keep us posted on that rear sway bar when you get it, I will probably be looking to upgrade from the rear bar setup I currently have.

[Jims 86LXI HB]

Yeah I certainly will. It will likely be at least a couple of weeks before I get the funds. And then I don't know how long it will take them to make it. If I could have gotten the addco rear bar I would have it allready.