follow ft86club on our blog, twitter or facebook.
FT86CLUB
Ft86Club
Speed By Design
Register Garage Members List Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Go Back   Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community - FT86CLUB > Technical Topics > Suspension | Chassis | Brakes -- Sponsored by 949 Racing

Suspension | Chassis | Brakes -- Sponsored by 949 Racing Relating to suspension, chassis, and brakes. Sponsored by 949 Racing.


User Tag List

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 05-31-2019, 11:45 PM   #1
kev0
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Drives: '14
Location: Midwest
Posts: 485
Thanks: 246
Thanked 99 Times in 76 Posts
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Are sway bars worth it?

For those with sway bars, do you guys actually feel a difference when driving compared to not having a sway bar? I already have a decent shock/spring combination (Bilstein B8 w/ RCE Tarmacs) and I want to do more to my suspension so I'm looking at sway bars.

Do you guys honestly believe that sway bars are worth it?
kev0 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2019, 02:41 AM   #2
Mr.ac
[insert cool phrase here]
 
Mr.ac's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Drives: BRZ Premium
Location: Central Coast CA
Posts: 2,369
Thanks: 709
Thanked 1,558 Times in 930 Posts
Mentioned: 30 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
All depends on what the end goal is.
Daily driving, you're better off with better tires.
If you track/autox it on the regular it makes a noticeable difference.
__________________
New daily driver - Subaru BRZ Premium
Weekend fun/track car - '91 MR2 Turbo Gen3
Old daily driver - '88 MR2 Supercharged
Mr.ac is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to Mr.ac For This Useful Post:
strat61caster (06-01-2019)
Old 06-01-2019, 03:33 AM   #3
Touge_Monster
Member
 
Join Date: May 2019
Drives: GT86
Location: Midwest
Posts: 22
Thanks: 4
Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Depending on what you plan on doing with the car. Yes, they are worth it compared to the stock sway bars.
Touge_Monster is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2019, 03:35 AM   #4
86MLR
Senior Member
 
86MLR's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2018
Drives: 2002 VX Commodore SS LS1 Auto
Location: Sydney
Posts: 2,203
Thanks: 500
Thanked 2,185 Times in 1,111 Posts
Mentioned: 13 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Correct dampers and spring combo first, then sways "if" you need to tweek more than the dampers let you.

Sway bars are a cheap bandaid solution for sub par shocks and springs.

Thicker/stiffer bars tend to sacrifice grip for handling characteristics.

Opinions may vary, track times do not.
__________________
Disclaimer: This post represents the official views of the voices in my head at the time of posting.
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=133311
I'm only here for the biscuits
86MLR is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to 86MLR For This Useful Post:
kch (06-11-2019), Tristor (06-03-2019)
Old 06-01-2019, 03:50 AM   #5
nikitopo
Senior Member
 
nikitopo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Drives: '15 BRZ RA
Location: Greece
Posts: 3,787
Thanks: 2,416
Thanked 1,944 Times in 1,261 Posts
Mentioned: 29 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Sway bars are used in our cars by the factory and they are not a band aid solution. They make handling worse only when the sizes and stiffness rates of the bars are going beyond reasonable limits. In fact they are a nice alternative if you want to have a relatively comfortable suspension on straights without much roll on corners. Good solution for a weekend fun and occasional race track car. People don't use them too much, because they want usually at same time to lower the car and in this case they don't work alone without changing the spring lengths and rates.
nikitopo is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to nikitopo For This Useful Post:
Captain Snooze (06-01-2019), Clutch Dog (06-01-2019)
Old 06-01-2019, 10:01 AM   #6
TommyW
Senior Member
 
TommyW's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Drives: '13 Whiteout
Location: San Clemente
Posts: 1,491
Thanks: 496
Thanked 1,242 Times in 673 Posts
Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
As with most things, it depends.....
They can make things worse in some situations
TommyW is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to TommyW For This Useful Post:
wparsons (06-01-2019)
Old 06-01-2019, 11:07 AM   #7
Buntakumi
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Drives: 2018 BRZ tS & 2007 Impreza WRX STI
Location: Texas
Posts: 12
Thanks: 1
Thanked 19 Times in 9 Posts
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quote:
Originally Posted by kev0 View Post
For those with sway bars, do you guys actually feel a difference when driving compared to not having a sway bar? I already have a decent shock/spring combination (Bilstein B8 w/ RCE Tarmacs) and I want to do more to my suspension so I'm looking at sway bars.

Do you guys honestly believe that sway bars are worth it?
It really depends on what you want to use your car for.

For example, my Impreza has aftermarket suspension including upgraded sway bars. The setup is a great match for my driving style when I compete in autocross since it is adjusted and set up to drive the way I visualize the movement. But you gotta research and make sure the sway bars don't make the setting worse based on both handling feel and actual time result.

My stock tS feels great as is and it is my weekend street car so I don't see myself changing the suspension. Again, it really depends on your end goal for the car.

Also, I agree with Mr. ac's comment. If the car is just for daily driving, you are better off upgrading the tires. Sound advice right there.
Buntakumi is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Buntakumi For This Useful Post:
soundman98 (06-01-2019), Teseo (02-27-2024)
Old 06-01-2019, 01:10 PM   #8
Yoshoobaroo
TRACKBREAD
 
Yoshoobaroo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Drives: 2013 BRZ
Location: Florida
Posts: 3,929
Thanks: 2,660
Thanked 4,024 Times in 1,895 Posts
Mentioned: 30 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Garage
I think the car NEEDS sway bars when you upgrade the tires, cause the added grip adds a lot of roll. Even on stock suspension my car turns harder, is more stable through transitions, and puts more power to the ground with sways.
Yoshoobaroo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2019, 01:15 PM   #9
norcalpb
Senior Member
 
norcalpb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Drives: 2013 BRZ, 2023 Model 3
Location: SF Bay Area
Posts: 2,289
Thanks: 1,208
Thanked 853 Times in 565 Posts
Mentioned: 15 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
I have the Perrin 19mm front and OEM 16mm rear. Definite decrease in body roll without adding too much discomfort.

I used to have the tarmac springs/Bilstein b6 with a hotchkis 25.4mm and it was rough AF so heed others’ advice on how going too big can be a problem.
norcalpb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2019, 02:19 PM   #10
wparsons
Senior Member
 
wparsons's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Drives: 2013 Asphalt FR-S Manual
Location: Whitby, ON, Canada
Posts: 6,716
Thanks: 7,875
Thanked 3,351 Times in 2,134 Posts
Mentioned: 99 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Garage
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yoshoobaroo View Post
I think the car NEEDS sway bars when you upgrade the tires, cause the added grip adds a lot of roll. Even on stock suspension my car turns harder, is more stable through transitions, and puts more power to the ground with sways.

A stiffer rear sway bar will decrease the amount of power you can put to the ground in a corner... go too big and it'll lift the inside rear tire and REALLY limit how much power you can put down.


Sway bars should be a fine tuning aid, not the first solution to increase roll stiffness.
__________________
Light travels faster than sound, so people may appear to be bright until you hear them speak...
flickr
wparsons is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to wparsons For This Useful Post:
kch (06-11-2019)
Old 06-01-2019, 02:58 PM   #11
churchx
Senior Member
 
churchx's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Drives: 2014 GT86
Location: Latvia, Riga
Posts: 4,333
Thanks: 696
Thanked 2,085 Times in 1,436 Posts
Mentioned: 53 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
I have suspicion that fight for decreasing roll often is done more to boost driver confidence to push more, not so much to actually improve suspension.
churchx is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to churchx For This Useful Post:
Capt Spaulding (06-03-2019), JIM THEO (06-01-2019), kch (06-11-2019), soundman98 (06-01-2019), Tristor (06-03-2019)
Old 06-01-2019, 03:08 PM   #12
TommyW
Senior Member
 
TommyW's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Drives: '13 Whiteout
Location: San Clemente
Posts: 1,491
Thanks: 496
Thanked 1,242 Times in 673 Posts
Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Too many people put on larger rear bars to counter understeer and they end up chasing their tail. Some don't know how to rotate the car with the brakes and put on a thicker rear bar and call it job done

Last edited by TommyW; 06-01-2019 at 03:29 PM.
TommyW is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2019, 03:13 PM   #13
Ultramaroon
義理チョコ
 
Ultramaroon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Drives: a 13 e8h frs
Location: vantucky, wa
Posts: 31,825
Thanks: 52,063
Thanked 36,469 Times in 18,894 Posts
Mentioned: 1106 Post(s)
Tagged: 9 Thread(s)
It is known.
__________________
Ultramaroon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2019, 03:14 PM   #14
Ultramaroon
義理チョコ
 
Ultramaroon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Drives: a 13 e8h frs
Location: vantucky, wa
Posts: 31,825
Thanks: 52,063
Thanked 36,469 Times in 18,894 Posts
Mentioned: 1106 Post(s)
Tagged: 9 Thread(s)
Where's @Captain Snooze?
__________________
Ultramaroon is offline   Reply With Quote
 
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
FS: Cusco Strut Bars and Power Braces, Hotchkis Sway bars armyoffoo Brakes, Suspension, Chassis 10 08-08-2018 08:28 AM
Oem sway bars Marks Boosted Brakes, Suspension, Chassis 2 07-20-2017 07:29 PM
WTB F&R sway bars blkmamba Canada Classifieds 1 06-04-2017 02:15 PM
FR-S stock sway bars compared to TRD bars babydriver Scion FR-S / Toyota 86 GT86 General Forum 3 12-01-2014 09:12 PM
FR-S/BRZ SWAY BARS & STRUT BARS @ NINJA AUTOSPORTS!!! NJA Brakes, Suspension, Chassis 18 04-07-2013 06:00 PM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 10:12 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.

Garage vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.