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Official Sway Bar Discussion Thread

S

ShadowBlueGTI1

Passed Driver's Ed
M

Mr_Dog

Ready to race!
Picked up a used H&R 24mm Solid Sway Bar, 2-way adjustable and installed it on the soft settings. Did not notice much difference, less body roll but thats it. Anyone have an idea of the stiffness level of them?

Planning on getting a APR 27mm for the front and put the rear on the stiffest.
 
1ashchuckton

1ashchuckton

Autocross Champion
Move the rear bar to the stiffest setting & you may notice a difference. Around town I really can't tell, but on my favorite twisty back roads I sure can. Best mod on my car so far.
 
somerset91

somerset91

Ready to race!
Or you have stiff enough suspension that an aftermarket anti-roll bar doesn't significantly reduce body roll. My Bilstein Sport, Eibach Sportline, and Eibach 23mm solid RSB has less body roll than Golf shocks, DG springs, H&R 22mm rear on soft, but more than Golf shocks, DG springs, H&R 22mm rear on stiff, 26mm front on soft.

Rear sway bar gets reduces (not eliminates) body roll
Front sway bar gets damn close to eliminating it, improves turn-in, and theoretically reduces overall front grip. It really makes the car feel like it's on rails.
 
theclutch

theclutch

Go Kart Newbie
zef said:
...Assuming the middle option for the 034 bar is 256% stiffer (because 256 is in between 215 and 290), 256% stiffer than the stock bar is 152.5n/mm....Anyone see a problem with what I did there? ...t?
Click to expand...

Yes, I see a problem. The 034 RSB only has 2 adjustment points. Did a previous version come with 3 holes?

https://store.034motorsport.com/034...i-rabbit-8j-8p-audi-tt-a3-fwd-adjustable.html

I think I see what you're trying to do here. I.e. - coming up with a stockish ratio. I am looking into the Whiteline RSB with 3 holes + H&R 28 or 26mm FSB. The Whiteline full kit from ECS tuning is a bit pricey at $855...

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-whiteline-parts/performance-handling-kit-6-pieces/w0503kt/

From just reading the ENTIRE thread, it seems there are many who are biased towards H&R 26 FSB and 24 RSB. My issue is, with H&R being "suspension experts", they bundle their kits as 28/24 or 26/22 mm. They do not bundle their kits as 26/24.

http://www.hrsprings.com/application/search/results/38/1286/2013/

So what do I do? :( Again, from reading the thread, it seems that the bigger the FSB at 28 mm, the more understeer but much flatter cornering. I believe this is why people are moved towards the 26 mm FSB since it will allow for less understeer but also more corner lean. Note that the hardest setting on the 26 mm is still softer than the softest setting on the 28 mm. I suppose I could run 28 FSB soft and 24 RSB hard to get a more tail biased handling?
 
theclutch

theclutch

Go Kart Newbie
Moretti said:
Ok guys, i really need help from you...

I have front h&r 26mm swaybar (2 way adj.) and rear whiteline 24mm (3 way adjust.) and now i need to pick my stiffness. But I can't decide what is better for my driving. Because it's my DD car, so I drive it in the city and sometimes on the highway. I enjoy the spirited driving with on and off ramps, good roads around the city, and back roads when I can find them.

Thanks !!! :)
Click to expand...

What did you eventually do? I am considering doing exactly the same thing.
 
zef

zef

Drag Racing Champion
theclutch said:
What did you eventually do? I am considering doing exactly the same thing.
Click to expand...

So I ended up going with the 28mm FSB and the 034 RSB (25.4). I also got a little more aggressive on the front camber and slightly toe'd out the front to combat the added understeer from the bigger bar but still reaping the benefits of flatter cornering.

It's definitely an odd combination of sway bars, but so far I think it's working pretty well. It just sucks that the front sway is such a PITA to swap out, makes tinkering with everything far more difficult than it should be.

If I was to do it all over again, I would've gotten the hotchkis bars and went soft in the front and stiff in the rear.
 
theclutch

theclutch

Go Kart Newbie
zef said:
So I ended up going with the 28mm FSB and the 034 RSB (25.4). I also got a little more aggressive on the front camber and slightly toe'd out the front to combat the added understeer from the bigger bar but still reaping the benefits of flatter cornering.

It's definitely an odd combination of sway bars, but so far I think it's working pretty well. It just sucks that the front sway is such a PITA to swap out, makes tinkering with everything far more difficult than it should be.

If I was to do it all over again, I would've gotten the hotchkis bars and went soft in the front and stiff in the rear.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the insight. Mind if I picked your brain a little more?

1) From youtube videos, I see that the subframe needs to be dropped a little to be able to put the front sway bars in. But do you actually have to remove (vs. loosen) the subframe bolts? I actually have a lift but I don't have a tall jack that can support the subframe as per the youtube videos. I was hoping that all that would need to be done is to loosen the bolts a little so that the subframe would drop a little.
2) You say Hotchkis front and rear bars. Why? and where would you get them? I haven't found a place to purchase them as a kit. ECS only sells the rears.
3) Why not the H&R 28 (or 26) FSB and 24 RSB?

Thanks in advance!
 
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theclutch

theclutch

Go Kart Newbie
brobst said:
You have to get the bar out, so some bolts have to be removed. Else, you cant pull the bar out

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I know you have to remove the sway bar bolts to get the bar out. But do you need to remove the SUBFRAME bolts completely (which would completely drop/remove the subframe if it's not supported by a jack) or can the subframe bolts just be loosened so that the subframe merely lowers?
 
brobst

brobst

Go Kart Champion
What I am saying is the way the bar is threaded under the subframe, you got to remove the subframe front bolts to get it out. Its not like you can pull it out from the side. But once you loosen the subframe bolts, they should be replaced as they are stretch bolts.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
snobrdrdan

snobrdrdan

former GTI owner
theclutch said:
I know you have to remove the sway bar bolts to get the bar out. But do you need to remove the SUBFRAME bolts completely (which would completely drop/remove the subframe if it's not supported by a jack) or can the subframe bolts just be loosened so that the subframe merely lowers?
Click to expand...

After you remove all the bolts, the subframe won't just "drop"....it just droops down, because it's still connected at the ball joints (via the control arms still attached to the subframe)

OR you could remove the subframe like Neuspeed shows (http://www.neuspeed.com/media/attachments/187_15.02.25.3.pdf), it's aluminum and not that heavy, but I've installed it just using the "droop down" method I mentioned above
 
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