Official Sway Bar Discussion Thread

[the bruce]

Would you recommend whitelines 22 or 24mm fsb (with 24 matching front and rear for natural rotation tendencies) or should I look into a larger front at 26 or 27.

I'm looking to increase turn in effect as best / safe as possible for DDing.

Sway bar choice is a compromise.

The 26 mm will give you better/quicker steering response, the 24 mm will give you more traction.
Forget about the 22 mm as the stock 23.6 mm hollow bar is almost as stiff.

I'm getting the Neuspeed 25mm FSW & for the rears either; Neuspeed 25mm or H&R 24mm. Any suggestions?

Again a matter of taste. Both are fine. Personally I like the H&R built quality and Teflon bushings. :thumbsup:

 

[mitsuplexnyc]

Thanks Bruce!

:thumbup:

 

[melx.oc]

Friends:

Does anyone use the ClubSport 25mm Hollow Adjustable Rear and Front Swaybars? If so, please let me know your thoughts, experiences, issues, etc.

Thank you,
Mel

 

[rs999]

Going back to Simmsled's sway bar settings list:

Now... most of you think soft/soft is the most conservative to start. Its not.

This is the order of balance, if you will, with the hard/soft settings.

Front/Rear

1. Soft/Hard (least stable, rear end loose, autocross)
2. Hard/Hard (most platform, least roll, dry track)
3. Soft/Soft (less platform, more compliance, wet track)
4. Hard/Soft (most stable, rear end tight, appropriate at ludicrous speed)

Next Monday I am going to have a 24mm H&R rear sway bar swapped into my current 26/22 H&R setup.

I am also going to try hard/hard F/R.

I am guessing the ride will be a bit firmer? Or will there be no changes unless I am in the curves?

Currently, I can blast up a ramp at crazy fast speeds and I am soft/hard F/R. Will doing the same thing on a 26/24 setup hard/hard but with a feeling of more oversteer, understeer, or neutrality?

Also, I will be reverting back to OEM springs from my current DG springs to gain an extra inch of clearance against speed bumps and tables.

 

[the bruce]

Next Monday I am going to have a 24mm H&R rear sway bar swapped into my current 26/22 H&R setup.
I am also going to try hard/hard F/R.

I am guessing the ride will be a bit firmer? Or will there be no changes unless I am in the curves?

marginally stiffer on asymmetric bumps

Currently, I can blast up a ramp at crazy fast speeds and I am soft/hard F/R. Will doing the same thing on a 26/24 setup hard/hard but with a feeling of more oversteer, understeer, or neutrality?

most likely similar neutrality, but surely more planted

I bet you'll like it. :thumbsup:



BTW, the 26 + 24 mm setup is one of the most advisable at all.
Refering to the chart below the 24 mm is about 40 percent stiffer than the 22 mm:

http://www.whiteline.com.au/docs/bulletins/BL-281.pdf
http://www.whiteline.com.au/docs/bulletins/010barup.pdf

 

[rs999]

most likely similar neutrality, but surely more planted

I bet you'll like it. :thumbsup:

How about oversteer? When being chased by muscle cars up or down ramps I can usually leave them behind.

Will I have to stay on the throttle through the ramp or will entry speeds have to significantly decrease?

I don't want to end up in the borrow pit that are usually in the center of on and off ramps here in southern VA.

 

[RacingManiac]

How about oversteer? When being chased by muscle cars up or down ramps I can usually leave them behind.

Will I have to stay on the throttle through the ramp or will entry speeds have to significantly decrease?

I don't want to end up in the borrow pit that are usually in the center of on and off ramps here in southern VA.

More neutral means you should be able to stay on the gas longer....but that also means the tendency for FWD to do lift-off oversteer more pronounced...

 

[the bruce]

How about oversteer? When being chased by muscle cars up or down ramps I can usually leave them behind.

Will I have to stay on the throttle through the ramp or will entry speeds have to significantly decrease?

I don't want to end up in the borrow pit that are usually in the center of on and off ramps here in southern VA.

As you said you will also set the front bar to stiff at the same time I don't see any risk of
oversteer tendencies. Remember some sway bar kits contain equal dia sways front and rear.
You're safe. :thumbsup:

BTW, usually going off the throttle will force oversteer (if the car likes to), if you put your foot
on to the throttle heavily this may cause understeer (or counteract occuring oversteer). If you
like to read more about this search for dynamic weight distribution and vehicle dynamics.
The FIA GT world champion "Michael Krumm" has written an exceptional book about it named
"Driving On The Edge". :thumbsup:

Most important: Have fun, but don't have an accident. :yikes:

 

[Jeff43]

BTW, the 26 + 24 mm setup ist one of the most advisable at all.
Refering to the chart below the 24 mm is about 40 percent stiffer than the 22 mm:

Should this read "is one of the most advisable of all" or "isn't one of the most advisable at all"...curious since i have this set up sitting in my garage waiting for install, lol... thanks

Will be running them on soft/soft w/DG springs per SimmSled's recommendation.

 

[the bruce]

It surely IS. :thumbsup: I did recommend it several times.

 

[rs999]

Should this read "is one of the most advisable of all" or "isn't one of the most advisable at all"...curious since i have this set up sitting in my garage waiting for install, lol... thanks

Will be running them on soft/soft w/DG springs per SimmSled's recommendation.

Depending on how flat you want your turns you might also want to try soft front and hard rear. That is my current setup with my H&R 26/22 bars.

It rides like stocks but you can only feel the bars working when going quick into turns and ramps and when turning up steep drive ways.

I have also noticed that when you go over a speed bump with the rear bar on hard, the car kind of hops over instead of rolling over.

I can't wait to try out hard/hard with my new 26/24 setup. :w00t:

 

[RacingManiac]

Are there info on stock sway bar arm length?

 

[the bruce]

We just have this:

I also compared several arm length ratios:


Eibach front 26 mm: 190 and 210 mm
Eibach rear 23 mm: 160 and 175 mm

H&R front 28 mm: 198 and 218 mm
H&R rear 24 mm: 140 and 160 mm

Whiteline front 24 mm: 199, 217 and 235 mm
Whiteline rear 24 mm: 205, 215 and 225 mm


There are some differences, particularly on rear. The H&R are shortest, Whiteline are longest.
Keep in mind H&R kits come with a bigger front bar, so this matches the different arm lengths.

Possibly someone can measure arm length on his old stock sways.

 

[the bruce]

Broken BSH rear sway bars:

http://www.golfmk6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53673

http://www.golfmk6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39843

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=357833

Fortunately they didn't do a front sway bar. A failing front sway would
cause snap oversteer.

 

[melx.oc]

Friends:

Does anyone use the ClubSport 25mm Hollow Adjustable Rear and Front Swaybars? If so, please let me know your thoughts, experiences, issues, etc.

Thank you,
Mel

2/4/13
Autotech is definitely an upgrade to stock. I'm still fine tuning my driving skills because on the day I had the anti-sway bars installed, so were other performance parts (the tune was already there). It can turn much better now. It's on stiff-front and soft-rear.


Question: I took a 'spirited' U-turn and i heard a noise from sway bar (maybe). Did I make a rookie mistake of not taking it easy on a U-turn, or was that not supposed to happen due to the quality of my anti-sway bar?