Swaybars - rear only?

[getjet]

Looking at swaybar upgrades and from what i have read, simply upgrading the RSB to a 24-26mm will signifgantly decrease understeer?

Who has an aftermarket swaybar (front and or rear) and what are ther thoughts?

[Stan]

on a mk4 - but got a whiteline rear bar only - made the car noticeably more pointier, must less understeer on second stiffest setting.
Highly recommended, best bang for buck handling mod.

[stormshark]

A much better tighter handling car, but i had the coilovers put in at the same time.

[Martin]

Looking at swaybar upgrades and from what i have read, simply upgrading the RSB to a 24-26mm will signifgantly decrease understeer?

It's not that simple - a rear roll bar on it's own is not going to have much effect on understeer and overall handling

You haven't detailed what car (and tires) this is for but modern cars (espcially the VAG GTI's) are not horrible understeering cars
You may need to look at the way you enter cornering - that's likely to have a much bigger impact

I have a Skoda Octavia VRS (Golf GTI in a wagon body) - I did springs and both roll bars
The car is just a little more agressive (and quite a bit more harsh when pushing hard)
The initial turn in is certainly crisp in feel and inspires confidence

Do both roll bars and keep the front/rear handling balanced
Going hard on the rear is a very old, cheap and outdated FWD approach

(I've seen lots of posts about the front roll bar being a problem to replace but the agent did it for me in 1.5 hours)

[Guy_H]

Do both roll bars and keep the front/rear handling balanced
Going hard on the rear is a very old, cheap and outdated FWD approach

(I've seen lots of posts about the front roll bar being a problem to replace but the agent did it for me in 1.5 hours)

Best advice above - don't wreck your ride and balance with just a rear bar (and don't end up around a tree either)

[Tom87]

I think there's alot of gain to be found from a better set of shocks too, the stock shocks in the GTI feel/seem to behave like a cheap shock. I had Bilsteins (digressive valve and floating piston) in my last car, they totally transformed how it drove. Was actually smoother when driving at speed and alot less "thump" from large road surface anomalies but had less bodyroll and much improved handling/stability.

[brad]

As always there are a million ways to skin a cat.

Personally I'd be going to harder springs F&R & better damping. Also look at the stance of the vehicle as this will affect turn-in.

I've done just the rear bar on another vehicle & while it helped, it wasn't the total solution.

[Martin]

I forgot to make the point that installing harder roll bars is like a free win
They have no negative effects to daily usage and comfort
They only come into play during hard cornering

When you start lowering the car and installing harder springs, comfort is quickly compromised

a lot less "thump" from large road surface anomalies

Springs and damping certainly help with the thumping but unsprung weight is also a big factor
I've switched to after market wheels which feel like they are half the weight of my original wheels
I've installed the Supaloy lower control arms which again reduced weight
It's certainly made a big difference to how the wheel reacts to rough stuff - much less thumping
(Two piece brake rotors can also reduce unsprung weight)

[brad]

I forgot to make the point that installing harder roll bars is like a free win
They have no negative effects to daily usage and comfort
They only come into play during hard cornering

When you start lowering the car and installing harder springs, comfort is quickly compromised



Springs and damping certainly help with the thumping but unsprung weight is also a big factor
I've switched to after market wheels which feel like they are half the weight of my original wheels
I've installed the Supaloy lower control arms which again reduced weight
It's certainly made a big difference to how the wheel reacts to rough stuff - much less thumping
(Two piece brake rotors can also reduce unsprung weight)

reducing unsprung weight is a great way to improve vehicle performance.

re: swaybars. Don't forget there is a connection between the wheels & a heavier sway will cause the articulation of one wheel to have an affect on the other wheel.

[kaanage]

You may find some useful information if you read the links that I posted in this thread - http://www.vwwatercooled.com/forums/...nds-82194.html