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Rear Sway Bar + Endlinks Inquiry

geokilla

Go Kart Champion
Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Car(s)
2018 VW GTI DSG
I'm considering upgrading my rear sway bar and looking for something to reduce the understeer without making it too tail happy in the snow and uncomfortable as a daily driver. My family needs to drive the vehicle too so their safety is just as important as my fun at the track, if not more important. Of course the ride quality is important too since I daily the vehicle. I find the car a bit stiff over bumps and last thing I want is it for it to get bumpier. I see a lot of recommendations on rear sway bars so I'm researching the following:

SuperPro 24mm Rear Sway Bar

Adjustable and seem to be very popular on the MK7. Not that much thicker compared to stock MK7.5 GTI rear sway bar so theoretically it should be the safest of the 3. I wouldn't adjust it after its installed so its adjustability isn't much of a selling point to me. It's also fairly cheap compared to the other options.

Eibach 25mm Rear Sway Bar

Second cheapest and Eibach always makes good suspension products. They're 25mm and tubular, which I assume means it's hollow? I read there was some discussion between the hollow vs solid, but I don't think there was much of a consensus on what is better. It's a bit thicker than SuperPro so it should reduce the understeer even more than the SuperPro. Very reasonably priced and I get their million mile warranty, however that works.

H&R 24mm & 26mm Rear Sway Bar

Probably the most aggressive out of all of them? We know it's a solid bar so it's probably stiffer than a hollow bar. Extremely expensive but you pay for what you get.

ST Rear Sway Bar

Seems to be recommended on Reddit and very popular but haven't found much info on the forums here.

It seems Eurocode and SuperPro endlinks are the best ones to get too. So what should I go for if I'm looking for a mild upgrade?
 

Visceral

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Northbrook, IL
I recently installed the H&R 24mm RSB and while I was at it replaced the OE endlinks with Moog endlinks. My car is a daily driver with suspension mods beyond the RSB. One of the big selling points for me were the teflon bushings which make for squeak-free motoring. I have read too many horror stories of people chasing suspension noises to ever want to mess with that. Do not spend more money on the endlinks beyond what you would for Moog. I do not see the point. I will say that the Moog endlinks come un-finished so they got a coat of Krylon paint before being installed. As for the driving impressions, I'm a fan. The car is more eager to rotate through a turn but I wouldn't call it oversteer either. More neutral and easier to adjust mid-corner for sure. You will be happy with the results. As for ride, dunno... I think it makes it stiffer and thus there is some more movement of the rear which translates to the seat of your pants IMO. There is certainly more side-to-side movement but nothing I would say is distracting from the driving experience. Its just what you would expect from a tighter suspension setup. I track my car at Road America and after making the suspension upgrades minus the RSB I was hanging with a new Cayman all afternoon. I couldn't stop grinning. Now, with the RSB I cannot wait to get out there next Spring. Its that much of an improvement.

Hope this helps in your decision making and good luck.
 

blaqsheep

Autocross Champion
Location
Canada
Car(s)
IS38 GTI
25mm ST bar here with Moog endlinks. It was the cheapest non-adjustable option. Does what it needs to do, no complaints.
 

3rdOne

Go Kart Champion
Location
NC
Thanks for posting. I am looking for a RSB as well. I hav read many posts and threads on this as well but haven't found many actual driving impressions. I know its hard to compare as most just buy one bar. But my situation is a little different, I want more of a track/autoX set up.
I have been considering the H&R 26mm. Anybody have one of those that would share handling changes?
 

GTI-CAL

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Bay Area
i have eibach 25mm rsb with oem endlinks. Fantastic upgrade. Does not completely remove body roll but significantly reduced. This sway bar does not make the car stiffer...definitely not noticeable.
 

geokilla

Go Kart Champion
Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Car(s)
2018 VW GTI DSG
Thanks guys. What about on daily driving like in the snow or rain? Is it too neutral where it's dangerous?
 

Visceral

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Northbrook, IL
Dangerous? You bet! Just kidding... really, if you are interested in something like this then understand you are sharpening the reflexes of your ride. It will bite back if you mis-handle it. But its a FWD platform and so, understeer is the default for this platform. You can dial out some of it, like with a RSB, but it will always have a relatively safe trait of understeering at the limit.
 

ReadTheBook

Autocross Newbie
Location
Bay Area Smoke Hell
Car(s)
DVP Spektrm, MK4 R32
i have eibach 25mm rsb with oem endlinks. Fantastic upgrade. Does not completely remove body roll but significantly reduced. This sway bar does not make the car stiffer...definitely not noticeable.


Same. Been running it for about 3 years. I do get clunking/creaking from back there though. Not sure what the deal is with that. I've got the harmonic balancer from GolfDave's thread on order so we'll see how that does.
 

GTI-CAL

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Bay Area
Same. Been running it for about 3 years. I do get clunking/creaking from back there though. Not sure what the deal is with that. I've got the harmonic balancer from GolfDave's thread on order so we'll see how that does.

I would reinstall the bar to fix the clunking noise. Make sure the car is on the ground when it's done. Recheck the torque after you drive it some miles.
Wrap the area of the bar with teflon tape where the bushing goes and you will not have any creaking/squeaking noise.
 

geokilla

Go Kart Champion
Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Car(s)
2018 VW GTI DSG
Dangerous? You bet! Just kidding... really, if you are interested in something like this then understand you are sharpening the reflexes of your ride. It will bite back if you mis-handle it. But its a FWD platform and so, understeer is the default for this platform. You can dial out some of it, like with a RSB, but it will always have a relatively safe trait of understeering at the limit.

I just don't want it too neutral and oversteer in the wet and snow when my mom and sister drives it. But I guess that's where ESC would come in and save the day.
 

Cowzill00

Ready to race!
Location
Florida
Very happy with my H&R 24mm. Have about a year on it now. This mod literally made me laugh it’s so good. Can’t speak to snow handling as I don’t deal with that 4 letter word here. ;)
 

Roadhog

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
USA
Car(s)
19' R
I would think you would need some traction to get the sway bar to flex. I can't see it making much of a difference on low traction surfaces like snow and ice.
 

Clem604

Autocross Champion
Location
Vancouver BC, Canada
Car(s)
2018 VW GTI
Very happy with my H&R 24mm. Have about a year on it now. This mod literally made me laugh it’s so good.
I also have the H&R 24mm bar and love it. Install was easy and makes all the difference especially with the VAQ in increased traction mode.
 
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