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Front Sway Bar. Is it worth it?

DerHase

Autocross Champion
Location
Hampton Roads, VA
Car(s)
2019 GTI Rabbit
I’d like to see the difference on the same tires.

Agreed, but realistically I needed new tires. My RT660s were cycled out and I happened to already have the 730s ready to go.

This was pure coincidence the photographer got near identical angles of the car out of the same turn so that's as good as it's going to get. 🤷‍♂️

Honestly I doubt it makes a huge difference in lap times, but it's great for tire wear.
 

drewGTI1

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
PA - Philly Area
View attachment 274164

Definitely worth it - less dynamic camber loss.
Besides the sway bars, can I ask what your suspension setup is? I am currently running stock dampers with lowering springs (the way it came when I purchased the car a few months ago). I plan on tracking the car this year and would like to upgrade the dampers as well. I had Koni Sports on my MK6 and the ride was decent on the street but maybe a little soft on the track. Much appreciated.
 

DerHase

Autocross Champion
Location
Hampton Roads, VA
Car(s)
2019 GTI Rabbit
Besides the sway bars, can I ask what your suspension setup is? I am currently running stock dampers with lowering springs (the way it came when I purchased the car a few months ago). I plan on tracking the car this year and would like to upgrade the dampers as well. I had Koni Sports on my MK6 and the ride was decent on the street but maybe a little soft on the track. Much appreciated.

Stock springs and shocks, 034 camber plates, and the 26mm sway bars front and rear. I did front LCA bushings (solid "TTRS" bushings and some poly forward LCA bushings, but not the ones that add camber) - mostly did those because the subframe was coming out anyway for the sway bar.

Nothing fancy is needed. I will say now that I'm pushing my speeds in the esses at VIR, the stock shocks are a bit unsettling (primarily the rear) at 120mph when hitting curbs, but I have no desire to change springs any time soon.

 

GoatAutomotive

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Georgetown, TX
Car(s)
2017 VW GTI SE, DSG
Stock springs and shocks, 034 camber plates, and the 26mm sway bars front and rear. I did front LCA bushings (solid "TTRS" bushings and some poly forward LCA bushings, but not the ones that add camber) - mostly did those because the subframe was coming out anyway for the sway bar.

Nothing fancy is needed. I will say now that I'm pushing my speeds in the esses at VIR, the stock shocks are a bit unsettling (primarily the rear) at 120mph when hitting curbs, but I have no desire to change springs any time soon.

For minimal suspension mods, this run looked great!

What tires were you running in this video, and is your motor stock or tuned?

I found this for some comparative data (scroll down to the bottom for lap times of other cars on the same VIR full course):
https://lapmeta.com/en/track/variation/130
 

DerHase

Autocross Champion
Location
Hampton Roads, VA
Car(s)
2019 GTI Rabbit
For minimal suspension mods, this run looked great!

What tires were you running in this video, and is your motor stock or tuned?

I found this for some comparative data (scroll down to the bottom for lap times of other cars on the same VIR full course):
https://lapmeta.com/en/track/variation/130

Better late than never - just saw this reply when searching for something else.

Yes it is tuned. Was a very conservative 20 psi tapered to 17psi at redline by 8 Bit Performance to make sure overheating wasn't an issue.

I was on fresh V730s. And apparently I was running too much pressure at 33/32psi. I ran an autocross and they were much happier at 29/28psi hot. I also think they really needed a heat cycle to truly be happy first. I'll be back at VIR in about a month with Koni shocks (still stock springs) and a bit of added camber via offset LCA bushings so Also been playing with tuning myself so more power now as well and I'm hoping to dip into the 2:12s. I also intend to test the front sway bar soft vs stiff settings as I'll be there for 3 days, with one being 8hrs of open track time.
 
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