Sway bar behaviour

[adam]

i've asked a question here
http://forum.liberty.asn.au/viewtopic.php?p=67571#67571

[Adrian2627]

Upgrading both bars will have the greatest effect obviously causing the car to corner flatter. Upgrading the rear bar, which will effect the front of the car, will help to reduce the understeer common in Subarus as it will keep the front of the car flatter therefore keeping the tyres more perpendicular to the road surface. The only potential problem is that it could reduce the feel at the limit and the car could just let go suddenly without any warning

[smythie]

After a very hard drive on some of my favourite roads last Friday I'm not sure I need to change the bars on mine. The thing seemed to handle beautifully. Maybe I wasn't driving psycho enough *shrug*

[Boxer]

And there is always the risk that fitting one bar reduces grip at that end. Therefore you can reduce understeer with a rear bar, but are you merely reducing rear grip in doing so ? (and ultimately reducing your corner speed)

Upgrade both.

I'm not sure I need to upgrade mine either and was tossing up with the idea then left it

[3.0R Spec B]

when i upgraded the rear in mine i felt a big improvement in cornering.i am jumping in on this group buy to buy a front now.I think it does make a big difference in the amount of body roll too.If i was going to do the sway bar mod again on another car i'd get both front and rear at the same time and not stuff around and do it at different stages.

[Deluded]

when i upgraded the rear in mine i felt a big improvement in cornering.i am jumping in on this group buy to buy a front now.I think it does make a big difference in the amount of body roll too.If i was going to do the sway bar mod again on another car i'd get both front and rear at the same time and not stuff around and do it at different stages.

+1

I did mine in stages as well rear sway whiteline then cusco strut with bcs and waiting to fit the front whitelines from the GB

The feel is certainly better you tend to be able to carry more speed around a corner with a little more precision, each to their own though

But definitely my next vehicle front and rear sways would be the first mod

[smythie]

Only time I feel the standard setup of the 3RB is unsettled is high speed changes of direction (think south bound on Putty Rd a few km's north of Colo River). First impression when I first felt it was that the rear rebound damping was a bit soft but it could have been a case of the rear roll being a bit softer than the front and not allowing the rear to keep up with the front on direction change.

[ultrablue]

installed the front and rear yesterday ,first roundabout i noticed a massive change car sits nice and flat and the rear end wobble has gone would recommend changing the bars . best $370 i have spent

[Sentinel]

installed the front and rear yesterday ,first roundabout i noticed a massive change car sits nice and flat and the rear end wobble has gone would recommend changing the bars . best $370 i have spent

Good to hear mate! (Looks at wife saying "ya read that!!!")

[GTSPECB STI]

Def install front and rear at the same time and do yourself a favour and get a good wheel alignment with a bit of neg camber in the front at the same time.

[vaccine]

Upgrading both bars will have the greatest effect obviously causing the car to corner flatter. Upgrading the rear bar, which will effect the front of the car, will help to reduce the understeer common in Subarus as it will keep the front of the car flatter therefore keeping the tyres more perpendicular to the road surface.

it actuall makes the rear flatter as less roll.
the nose roll's more, which in turn creates turn-in through increaded grip.

And there is always the risk that fitting one bar reduces grip at that end. Therefore you can reduce understeer with a rear bar, but are you merely reducing rear grip in doing so ? (and ultimately reducing your corner speed)

Stiffening up the rear of the car more, you create less grip at the rear. Stiffen up the front and you create more grip at the rear. Understeer/oversteer is dictated by where you want the grip, the grip is still there, just transfered to one end or the other or balanced over both. Its then really up to the driver with how comfortable they are with the setup, and how much quicker they could be through corners with the right setup.


Subarus have the motor over the front axils, which naturally make the car want to understeer no matter what. To make matters worse the wheel track on the liberty is slightly less than an imprezza sti, and also the wheel length is also longer, creating more understeer. To reduce this effect on all subaru's, most people move to the same size rear swaybar as the front or go for a swaybar that is larger for the rear. the problem with the same size is there is still alot of understeer on acceleration through a corner. you really want the next size up. The tried and tested swaybar package on all lib/imprezas is a 22mm solid front and a 24mm adjustable rear to tune with. On the last 2 subarus, first a Gen 1 RS turbo liberty and then a bugSTI, i experimented with all the different sizes of swaybars and balance. I could have done what everyones else does, but wanted to experiment. seems the f:22, r:24adj is the only way to fly.

i have a whiteline swaybar pack hopefully arriving this week. f:22, r:24adj. i figured i done it twice, i am not doing it again. i have looked at the wheel base ratio, and it will be close enought not to make much difference. Items are going on a Gen 3 Outback.

Hopefully the above helps some peepz.

[drndrn]

So is it better (in your opinion) to go for thicker front sways and thinner rears? Or vice versa

[Sentinel]

So is it better (in your opinion) to go for thicker front sways and thinner rears? Or vice versa

He's said larger rear mate. That would be his opinion.

Depends on who you talk to and how they like their car set up Darren. Have a chat to a few of the boys that race and they'll tell you one thing, talk to the guys who just want to add some stiffness and they'll say something else and so on and so on. You worried about the group buy??

[tangcla]

Every person likes their car set up differently, some like more oversteer whereas some prefer a more neutral set-up. What works for one person might not be ideal for someone else.

FWIW, I have a 22mm front and 20mm rear. This is because I bought the AVO rear first, then got a Whiteline front.

I also have stiffer (but not solid) swaybar links, and rear sway bar mount.

[Sentinel]

Clarence - how do you find the handling with that setup?