yes, it is true. the wider you go on the arms the more spring you need to control it. we have found that with a three inch wider arm you will need 30% more spring rate to equal the same as you had before. the wider arms require more preload (OR TWIST) on the bar to hold the weight of the vehicle. In order to get the greatest rate of progression the torsion bar should hold the truck up at the required ride height with out adding preload to the bar. the standard SAW torsions are 24.5mm would need more preload than the 26mm bars to achieve the same ride height. the stock toyota sockets will accept up to a 28.5 mm torsion diameter, however these would have to be made custom ($550-700). the problem is that a thicker torsion bar doesn't allow for as much twist before it reaches the moment of elasticity or looses its spring. the only cure for this is to go longer as well as thicker to keep the same amount of twist. we set-up trucks with torsion bars 29 or 30mm and 2"' longer than stock. the only trouble is making the new adjusters, which cost about $200 for the (4) four splined pieces. we set up Frank's black toyota with the 30mm bars. it was on display at last years off-road expo. Jason La Fortune's truck uses 29mm bars. it is the orange toyota in off-road mag a few months ago. To go with the custom torsion bar and new splines the total cost is almost $1,000. Pat, I am not sure if this is in your budget. maybe you should try coil-overs?
