I gave Connie a ride home from Roger’s party last weekend and I drove over a monster pothole as I was nearing her apartment. My rear suspension made an unsettling ka-churnk sound at the time and I was just hoping that is was merely at its limits (and not past them). I was not so lucky — I noticed a slight rattle as I drove back to my apartment after dropping off Connie.
Though it was a rattle, it sounded just like having gravel churning around in my rear wheel wells — and I held out hope that maybe that was the case. But, by Monday it was still there and I knew I needed to do something about it. So, I called up Autoscope and arranged for an appointment the next day. (Autoscope is the only shop that I trust with my car — and it doesn’t hurt the owner goes autocrossing with me from time to time.)
As it turns out, one of the brackets on my rear sway bar had broken in half. For those not aware, a sway bar stiffens a car’s suspension; in particular, a rear sway bar reduces “understeer” (while a front sway bar reduces “oversteer”). Most cars from the factory are designed to understeer which means that, in a panic situation, they’ll continue to drift forward (turning less than desired) rather than spin (turning more than desired). But, in autocross, understeer is unnerving — there’s nothing worse that going around a tight bend, turning the wheel all the way to the lock and plowing through the curve.
As you might have guessed, I had upgraded the rear sway bar on my Alero (well, and the front sway bar, but that one is fine). So, I couldn’t just order another ”rear sway bar bracket” from Oldsmobile as that wouldn’t fit my aftermarket sway bar. Initially, I tried calling the people that made my sway bar (Ram Air Tech) but my voicemails went unanswered. So, I asked the techs at Autoscope for suggestions.
The tech that worked on my car, Paul, suggested that I check out a “speed shop” in Plano (called “Steve’s Racing” or something). Of course, my Alero was still inoperable, so I rented a car from the Enterprise next door to Autoscope. And, from there, I headed off to the speed shop. I got there just as they were about to close, but they hardly wanted anything to do with me — they almost pushed me out the door as they affirmed that they didn’t have of the brackets I needed.
However, they did suggest that I check out O’Reilly’s (a local car parts shop). So, I buzzed over to O’Reilly’s but they didn’t have one. They then recommended that I try Home Depot as one of the O’Reilly’s guys apparently used to work there and thought that I might be able to find an applicable bracket among the selection of fencing brackets.
The guy gave me directions to the Home Depot, but I got lost. As it turns out, I ended up right near a Lowe’s (aha, that’ll work!). I asked the fencing-section guys there about the bracket, but they didn’t have one. So, just to be sure, I then drove off to a Home Depot near my apartment (which I knew how to get to). But, they were just as dumbfounded as the Lowe’s guys.
Without many other options, I also checked out a Pep Boys in the area. But, no. Finally, I just drove home. To ensure that the day wasn’t a total loss, I stopped by Quiznos for dinner and picked up a Spicy Monterey Club sandwich on Low Carb Toasty Flatbread. It was mucho tasty.
Back on the subject of the bracket, I looked online later that evening for performance-oriented Oldsmobile retailers. As you might guess, there aren’t many. But, I e-mailed them asking whether they had such a bracket. The next morning, I checked my e-mail and a couple replied. They confirmed, firstly, that Ram Air Tech was indeed out of business (no surprise there). And, none of them had a bracket like the one I needed.
At this point, I think I’m just going to have Autoscope install my stock rear sway bar while I search for the bracket (since the Enterprise rental is just a money-suck in the meantime). If I get lucky, maybe I’ll find someone with a spare bracket like the one I need.
And I haven’t ruled out that I might have to buy a whole new swaybar — not that its brackets would be compatible, but I need to get a working rear sway bar one way or another :). And sure, the stock sway bar will be fine for now; but, with the upgraded front sway bar, the car will have horrible understeer until I get an equally stiff rear sway bar back in there.