Sway bars

[imported_brackie]

Just how much difference to cornering do sway bars make? And what about progressive springs?

[Golf Loon]

Most important in order
Bottom front = Vital
Top Front = very good also
Top Rear = only for motorsport.
GTI front and rear factory swaybars, big improvement, but mods needed to fit to non GTI.

[imported_brackie]

Factory sway bars

Got any? What mods are necessary? Maybe you could write an article on fitting them!

[black betty]

Anybody interested in a mk1 group buy from H&S, Eibach etc etc? for some lower front ones?

how many people interested?- as it may be worth doing something as a group

bb

[h100vw]

I had the lot on my MK1, Neuspeed roll bars.

Car handled great but was very difficult to drive at the limit in the wet. There is little transfer of weight to the outside tyres, this seems to reduce the grip?? I am talking about gresy roads though not on a track.

I had the top and bottom front braces and agree the bottom is a must. The rear one I never really noticed a difference when fitting that.

Overall every time I added something it would knock the comfort (MK1 and comfort?) and make the car that little bit more nasty to drive daily. For a weekend toy/track car the compromise is well worth it IMO.

So these GTI rollbars, is there a call for them. I can see me having a full container.

Head for the door to have a word with the Alsation in charge!
Gavin

[Golf Loon]

To fit gti swaybars to a non gti, you would need to drill the lower control arms and have the entire kit. Ok with a full new kit, but no good if you only have the swaybar.

The aussie answer seems to be to fab up a bar between the suspension bottom mountings. I have a couple of homemade ones here, I can take pics and measure the dimensions if anyone wants to make one.

[GoLfMan]

i like the sound of a group buy !!!! chuck some figures into the equation

[imported_brackie]

Home made

And I like the idea of home made! Go for it! Put it in the Articles forum.

[sydneymk1]

for a very comfortable ride with much improved handeling keep the stock springs and put in a heavy front bar ive got a spare after market made one only fits cars with 4 speed box if anyone is interested cheap.

[finemk1]

Yo. i have had one fitted by pete at CVWC to my MK1 im pretty sur he made it himself. ands its awsome, eliminates twist noticablaly and is nice and red. bolts to the two bolts on the whishbone bushes. and dosnt matter what lump your running. price from memory was about $80 or $120 cant remember, soz

[evorobin]

Well a few months ago I fitted front and rear eibach sway bars to the mk2. Fantastic handling with much less understeer. Probably not a huge increase in oversteer (did there need to be?) and apart from very bumpry roads where vibrations are passed across the car it's cool.

You do get a decrease in comfort imo, not that important with std gti suspension however. They cost $500 + shipping although I've heard it's cheaper to buy from a dealer (look in the golf+) instead of eibach direct.

Mine were 2ndhand and for $50 inc shipping eibach will sell you the fitting kit for the back one. The front is oem. Enjoy

[syncro]

To fit gti swaybars to a non gti, you would need to drill the lower control arms and have the entire kit.

The factory sway bar (front) does not require any drilling. The rear requires a couple of holes in the beam.

[Golf Loon]

Ok have just been ferreting through the shed and here are pics of the swaybars. They are all homemade, but functional. They all fit the underside of the car at the front.

This is the most basic. Simply a bar with two brackets which connect to the bolt which holds the bottom control arm on both sides.



And a close up of the bracket. It drops the level of the bar a bit, so it clears the sump.



This is another one. Solid as anything. It has a bar the same as the first one, and another welded to the cups which hold the front of the control arm. Front of the car is sold as a rock with this setup.



I reckon rather than my providing measurements each car should be measured individually, as they may already deviate from standard.
I reckon anyyone with a welder and bit of steel could make one of these in an hour or so.

[h100vw]

Having re-read this thread, there seems to be some confusion in my mind as to what you fellas are talking about.
I am sure it just English thing, 'at least 2 nations divided by the same language'.

I understand 'sway bar' as an American (possible used by the Australians too) term for anti roll bars. These are fitted across the front of the car attached to the wishbone to help the car corner flatter. Same with the rear, although on a mk1-2-3 the rear axle performs much the same function. On GTIs there is an additional bar mounted alongside the axle to stiffen it further.

The pictures that Golfloon has posted look like what us Pommies would call strut braces.

These mount between the inner wishbones pivots to prevent them moving and altering the suspesion geometry during hard cornering.

Even VW considered this an issue and fitted a 'bottom brace' to the later mk1 cabriolets and the 16V Scirocco from the factory.

I agree that the bottom brace is very neccessary on all modified/lowered mk1s and to complete the setup I would also fit an upper brace at the front and one between the strut towers at the rear.

http://www.bigboyztoys.co.uk/index.php?page=shop/browse&category_id=89a1935b6f89bcc3330e163f1e36ed14&ps_session=5e3497ac6c673e9580af10b8a3865c7e

Here's a poor example of all 3 for a mk1.

Have I been correct in my thinking?
Gavin

EDIT much bigger picture

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=40192&item=7977499676&rd=1

[syncro]

The pictures that Golfloon has posted look like what us Pommies would call strut braces.

Have I been correct in my thinking?
Gavin

Yes