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Does the stock exhaust need to be dropped to remove the RSB still if I have the springs out and control arms lowered?

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BudgetPhoenix

Autocross Champion
Location
Kansas
Car(s)
2009 GLI, 2016 GTI
Hey all,

I've been around for a while on the Golfmk5 and mk6 forums and just recently picked up my first MK7, a Tornado red 2016 GTI S DSG.

As I understand it the rear portion of the stock catback prevents the RSB from being removed easily on jackstands and it needs to be dropped. I have some goodies on order including a PP sway bar & new shocks, struts, so im just wondering does the RSB come out easily when you have the spring, & shock out? I'm sure I could figure out all this by just trying it but the stuff isn't here yet and im not familiar with the layout of the car yet... want to see if anyone's tried this. My back isn't as good as it used to be, if I can avoid any unnecessary time fiddling with the exhaust and do all the parts at once that would be great. :ROFLMAO:
 
dtfd

dtfd

Autocross Champion
Location
Massachusetts
Car(s)
MK7.5 GTI
BudgetPhoenix said:
Hey all,

I've been around for a while on the Golfmk5 and mk6 forums and just recently picked up my first MK7, a Tornado red 2016 GTI S DSG.

As I understand it the rear portion of the stock catback prevents the RSB from being removed easily on jackstands and it needs to be dropped. I have some goodies on order including a PP sway bar & new shocks, struts, so im just wondering does the RSB come out easily when you have the spring, & shock out? I'm sure I could figure out all this by just trying it but the stuff isn't here yet and im not familiar with the layout of the car yet... want to see if anyone's tried this. My back isn't as good as it used to be, if I can avoid any unnecessary time fiddling with the exhaust and do all the parts at once that would be great. :ROFLMAO:
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I swapped mine on jackstands in the garage. Got the stock sway bar out without having to remove the exhaust, but I got frustrated with not having any room to rotate my new sway bar in so I ended up just hanging my muffler to give me a little more space to work with. It's literally just two bolts to remove to give yourself that bit more room.

As with all suspension mods make sure you're torquing with the suspension under load.

I have to ask, why bother with a PP sway bar instead of getting a good aftermarket one? Also, you may as well replace endlinks while you're there. Moog makes some good ones.
 
B

BudgetPhoenix

Autocross Champion
Location
Kansas
Car(s)
2009 GLI, 2016 GTI
dtfd said:
I swapped mine on jackstands in the garage. Got the stock sway bar out without having to remove the exhaust, but I got frustrated with not having any room to rotate my new sway bar in so I ended up just hanging my muffler to give me a little more space to work with. It's literally just two bolts to remove to give yourself that bit more room.

As with all suspension mods make sure you're torquing with the suspension under load.

I have to ask, why bother with a PP sway bar instead of getting a good aftermarket one? Also, you may as well replace endlinks while you're there. Moog makes some good ones.
Click to expand...

I'm okay with the mild upgrade this time around, and it was a really good deal lol, came with end links pulled from a low mileage 21 GTI. Maybe down the round if i'm really craving it I might get a new one. I've had larger 24mm+ RSBs on other cars before and its def a huge upgrade.
 
AdamSheikh

AdamSheikh

Autocross Champion
Location
FLL
Car(s)
15 GTI | 24 RS 3
I'm normally an OEM/OEM+ guy, but I'm going to echo what was said above. Even if you got the PP sway bar for free or something, you're really just better off with a more substantial 24mm+ bar for $2-300. No compromise to ride quality, but totally noticeable in corners. Believe the PP bar is only 21mm. Non-PP is 20mm, so minimal difference - I'm willing to bet it'll be imperceptible.
 
SouthFL_Mk7.5

SouthFL_Mk7.5

Autocross Champion
Location
South Florida
Car(s)
2019 GTI S
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Difference in size between a 2019 takeoff PP swaybar and a relatively thin 22mm SuperPro rsb. Not much of a difference in diameter but the dynamics were instantly perceptible.

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AdamSheikh

AdamSheikh

Autocross Champion
Location
FLL
Car(s)
15 GTI | 24 RS 3
SouthFL_Mk7.5 said:
Difference in size between a 2019 takeoff PP swaybar and a relatively thin 22mm SuperProz not much off a difference in diameter by the dynamics were instantly perceptible.
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Also need to factor in that the OEM bar is hollow, while aftermarket ones are usually solid. So even with the 1mm difference, the 22mm is way stiffer. I wouldn't go through the effort and work just to keep a hollow 21mm on there lol.
 
V

victorofhavoc

Autocross Champion
Location
Kansas City
AdamSheikh said:
Also need to factor in that the OEM bar is hollow, while aftermarket ones are usually solid. So even with the 1mm difference, the 22mm is way stiffer. I wouldn't go through the effort and work just to keep a hollow 21mm on there lol.
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Isn't the factory bar solid? I might need to go dig it out of my attic to check, but I recall it being muuuuch heavier than the replacement bar I threw in. Dynamics of solid vs hollow are different. Solid tend to act more like a spring, increasing resistance with flex, while hollow tend to be consistent. The general rule is a 3-6mm gain in diameter for hollow = stiffness of solid, but that varies due to wall thickness in hollow. So factory solid 21mm means at least a 24-27mm hollow to roughly match stiffness and reduce weight.

I wouldn't go through any swaybar effort without replacing endlinks. I went to 24mm hollow rear bar size and broke one of the plastic endlinks on track the following weekend. It cracked right down the seam line under the top bolt.
 
jay745

jay745

What Would Glenn Danzig Do
Location
Slightly Outside Chicago
Car(s)
Mk6 racecar, Tacoma
victorofhavoc said:
Isn't the factory bar solid? I might need to go dig it out of my attic to check, but I recall it being muuuuch heavier than the replacement bar I threw in. Dynamics of solid vs hollow are different. Solid tend to act more like a spring, increasing resistance with flex, while hollow tend to be consistent. The general rule is a 3-6mm gain in diameter for hollow = stiffness of solid, but that varies due to wall thickness in hollow. So factory solid 21mm means at least a 24-27mm hollow to roughly match stiffness and reduce weight.

I wouldn't go through any swaybar effort without replacing endlinks. I went to 24mm hollow rear bar size and broke one of the plastic endlinks on track the following weekend. It cracked right down the seam line under the top bolt.
Click to expand...
You sure you don't have it backwards? I've replaced a ton of sway bars front and rear for various vw's. Never seen a solid oem bar, they're all hollow and significantly lighter than solid aftermarket
 
SouthFL_Mk7.5

SouthFL_Mk7.5

Autocross Champion
Location
South Florida
Car(s)
2019 GTI S
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