I believe both brands would be similar in end user experience. However, I have a few questions before I pull the trigger.
Of note, I would like for a sway bar to be present, I just don't necessarily want to see it hanging from the back under the rear differential.

It seems that the hellwig drops down below/behind the rear differential becoming somewhat unsightly and "could catch" on something.
Does the Belltech drop below the rear differential as well? Or is it somehow routed differently?

Adam

 

Do not know anything about the Belltech but I do know that Hellwig has a smaller bracket and clamp that tucks their bar up to the diff quite nicely (presuming you have the smaller unit). Unfortunately it appears as though that it does not come as part of the retail sway bar package. I had to get one separately.

 

Do you by chance have a part number for that additional bracket assembly? I have not heard of that before.

 

The box that they shipped in did not have a PN listed and I cannot locate the packing slip to see if one was there. I never saw the brackets/clamps listed anywhere, even on the Hellwig website, so I had to call them and talk to somebody about it.

 

Interesting. I wonder if they came in the box but fell out during shipping.

 

Their routing is about the same. There are brake lines and sensor wires on top of the axle shafts that would have to be moved to mount the bar up there, and you would still have to drop the center down below the diff because that length between the mounts is needed to allow full travel of the suspension. The spare tire sits in the way of mounting it higher. About the only thing you can do is fab up some mounts to place the bar closer to the axle, maybe rotate the mounts a bit to pull it up, but the lines up top may get in the way of that.

 

Great explanation! So it seems overall that there's not much difference in the two sway bars from the standpoint of the relative location to the rear differential. I appreciate all the help. I just have to decide and getting the belltech and not having to wait or getting the hellwig and waiting for a while for it to arrive.

 

Hellwig, I rotated the brackets enough to get the bar up out of harms way, performs fine.

 

Consider before the install, paint or powdercoat the bar red, yellow, or Ford blue to make it stand out. Would actually make the swaybar look good IMO.

 

Awesome guys. I really appreciate it. It looks like I'm going with the Hellwig. Right now I'm installing Bilstein 6112's on the front and 5160's on the rear. It should be a good setup.