Sway bars, worth it?

[AntErrickson]

Im having some coilovers installed soon, I found a good deal for a used rear sway bar I was thinking of picking up.

Should I buy it and have it put on while the coils are being done?

I mainly daily my car and weekend fun drives with friends.

is it worth it?

 

[gixxerfool]

I don’t want to be that poster, but this has been discussed to death.

With that said, since I have been trying to determine this as well, it’s personal preference. Some will find it transformed the car perfectly, some will say it’s too much for their driving. The general consensus is a rear sway bar will really if you’re unsatisfied with the way it steers now. I would recommend to drive it with the coil overs and reassess as to what you expect from the car and what it will take to get where you want it.

It would be a good time to get done with the coil overs this way the one time use bolts only get replaced once.

 

[AntErrickson]

Ok I’ll wait and see how it goes on coils and get a feel from there. Thanks

 

[jimlloyd40]

Definitely recommend a rear sway bar because of the understeer that a GTI has.

 

[the]

When I look at products I have a general concern for buyer's remorse. I worry some crowds stand behind items simply because it is now money spent and they convince themselves it was necessary. I've pulled the GFB DV+ from my car, and removed the S&B intake because I refuse to be part of that crowd. With swaybars I don't consider this a concern because they're generally inexpensive. I've seen enough people calling them a must do at this point to believe the part is worth it. As soon as I'm done strapping all the rockets to my vehicle that make it go in a straight line, I am going to look at suspension and sway-bars.

With that said, and I hope this doesn't hijack your thread... I also wonder about the value of those rear stress bars that go in the trunk of the vehicle. Are they helpful, hurtful, unremarkable, useless weight?

 

[MonkeyMD]

I think if you're running stock camber in the front, a RSB can be helpful.

In my case, just increasing camber in the front took away most understeer. I can easily induce lift off oversteer. Off throttle is pretty neutral. On throttle can cause understeer before my lsd. Now if I'm not at 10/10's, accelerating will actually rotate the car. But that's not apples to apples.

 

[IanCH]

When I look at products I have a general concern for buyer's remorse. I worry some crowds stand behind items simply because it is now money spend and they convince themselves it was necessary. I've pulled the GFB DV+ from my car, and removed the S&B intake because I refuse to be part of that crowd. With swaybars I don't consider this a concern because they're generally inexpensive. I've seen enough people calling them a must do at this point to believe the part is worth it. As soon as I'm done strapping all the rockets to my vehicle that make it go in a straight line, I am going to look at suspension and sway-bars.

With that said, and I hope this doesn't hijack your thread... I also wonder about the value of those rear stress bars that go in the trunk of the vehicle. Are they helpful, hurtful, unremarkable, useless weight?

The eurosport rear brace is definitely worth it too me. It's inexpensive for what it is so I don't feel a ton of commitment to the product from money spent.

- Noticeable body stiffness increase
- Got rid of a bad creak from my rear seats (evidence of how much it is stiffening the car)
- Totally unobtrusive for daily use and storage use unless you have dogs or want the full open area.

 

[jimlloyd40]

I recommend the Stern rear subframe brace.


https://savagechassis.com/products/stern-rear-subframe-brace

 

[swcrow]

YES; I'm on coilovers as well and like jimlloyd stated, it really helps the understeer

 

[jmblur]

Totally depends on your coilovers. If they have significantly stiffer springs in the rear, then you don't need a stiffer rear sway bar. Finding the proper balance of roll stiffness vs compliance vs weight transfer incorporates the entire suspension system. Key word being "system" - you can't evaluate any single component by itself.

 

[swcrow]

Totally depends on your coilovers. If they have significantly stiffer springs in the rear, then you don't need a stiffer rear sway bar. Finding the proper balance of roll stiffness vs compliance vs weight transfer incorporates the entire suspension system. Key word being "system" - you can't evaluate any single component by itself.

true statement....I think we'd need 10k springs in rear to maybe not consider a rear sway, but I know folks rocking 10k rear springs (or maybe it was 8k) as well as a RSB for tracking

 

[AceHammer]

If you are going to get an RSB do yourself a favor and get a set of Mog rear end links for like 45 bucks to go with it. Especially with a 2016 in Jersey.

 

[zucchinies]

For the 500+ I spent on a RSB I didn't really notice it aside from the occasional creak. I got 034 with EMD Rear end links. Lowering my car made a much more significant difference in handling characteristics than the RSB. I have an A3 Quattro so a RSB might be better for a FWD GTI.

 

[AceHammer]

Yea springs made the biggest difference on the A3 as they are softer than stock GTI ones. RSB made a bit of a difference but only when pushing the car hard. Seems like the GTI being FWD only and less weight on the rear would benefit more.

IMO one of the best mods to dial out understeer is front camber plates

 

[xXDavidCXx]

Worth it, for what? Just driving around? No.