It doesn't seem like it but it's a world of difference... but it does ^^^I'll probably do a ****ty job of explaining this (I'm no suspension guru) but here goes... The sway bar really just ties the rear together more. Even though (stock) the beam connects the rear together it still has similar characteristics of an independent system in turns, the beam really connects the back of the arms together.
in a nut shell... (please don't make fun of my paintbrush masterpiece)... picture you have:
Blue = Fulcrum Points
Green = in the rear is the rear beam, front is the stabilized bolts the lateral arms rotate on
Grey = Lateral Arms
Magenta = Rear Sway Bar Assembly
Red = Angled Spring on a b14
You have to think of the rear as still being somewhat independent as far as up and down motion...
It's the vertical stabilization
and the bar in conjunction that restricts movement of the rear... and only if one side tries to move individually (if you are in a turn). It doesn't resist moment at the front two pinned points (as if you squatted both left and right at the same time like if you took off?)... but try and move one up by itself and there will be resistance.
picture holding one side stationary... lets say the left side still... and the right side swings up using the pinion as a moment arm... ****, picture them as knex pieces
... pull the right side up in the top case... now do it in the bottom case. Now add the weight of a car and gravity...
It wouldn't work if there werent the the plates adjacent to the lateral arms, like if say there was only one bolt through the arm w/o a plate.
That's how I see it. The ST is basically the same as the progress in the rear except the st has one plate on the inside and bolts through the arm in all four locations. The bars in the rear are so simple, because our suspension is simple.
Have you driven a b14 car before and after? I't a world of difference... :jammin: