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JDM 20mm rear sway - finally installed


nomoreS4

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After having it sitting in my garage since January, finally managed to install my JDM 20mm rear sway. Took me less than an hour, including cleanup. Luckily, I have a buddy with a hoist -- I wouldn't have wanted to wrestle with the sway bar with the car up on ramps!

 

When I bought the sway, I also got the AVO adjustable endlinks, which I thought would be good to install since they're much beefier than the stock links. I tried adjusting them to make them the same length as the stock links, but found that there really wasn't much thread left on them when adjusted out...I guess they're really only meant for lowered suspensions. So, I'll hang on to these for when/if I lower.

 

Wow...the 20mm sway really cleaned up a lot of rear end slop...noticeably tighter than before, not just cornering, but even feels more precise when going over bumps. Highly recommended! :)

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Yes, the USDM and the JDM front swaybar is the same size - so not much point in swapping out. If you were going to swap out for an aftermarket swaybar in the front, I'd suggest getting the same makers aftermarket rear at the same time, better chance that the car will retain balance front to rear that way.

 

Cheers,

 

Paul Hansen

http://www.avoturboworld.com

http://www.sevenphotos.com

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It's about dang time.... :(

Hey...I know...but gotta remember, it's only been a few weeks since the snow melted here.

 

I had my snows/rims on all winter...wanted to drive a few weeks on summer rubber so I could do an appropriate comparision between stock and the new sway.

 

Trust me, it's been a frustrating wait, but I'm really enjoying the difference in ride quality now! :lol:

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Here's some pictures and walkthrough of my JDM 20mm install. Also notice my comment on post #13 about the AVO end links, similar to nomoreS4's above.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10073

 

SBT

Dale,

 

I printed off your instructions and referred to them constantly during my install...everything just as you stated, THANKS! :)

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Yeah,

 

Paul at AvoTurboWorld hooked a bunch of us up with a group buy late last year. Mine came in during the torrential downpour and flooding in SoCal on New Year's Eve and it took me to March to get it on the car because of all the rain and the fact that my MG project and E30 rebuild are clogging up the garage.

 

Very straight forward and easy and noticed an immediate tightening up of the whole rear end. Like the fact that it's an actual Subaru bar so the fit is perfect.

 

Getting performance springs/struts on is my next goal so I'll probably go with the STI Pinks initially and then upgrade from there (if necessary) to either a set of STI Coilovers or with a set of JDM Bilstein Rev B, Spec B takeoffs.

 

nomoreS4 - glad the writeup was helpful. ;)

 

SBT

- Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum -
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Did get to try out the stock one for about 2500 miles before putting on the JDM 20mm one. I actually felt like I could get the back end to drift out a little better with the stock bar and lift off throttle oversteer in the turns resulted in porpoising that has all but disappeared with the 20mm upgrade.

 

Also, went out for two weekends in a row into the mountains, one with the wife so much less spirited driving, and then the next weekend on a fun run with much more spirited driving over the exact same road. Both drives were with the 20mm and from my experience on the fun run, and the stock tires set to 38F/36R, the car is a canyon carver and very drama free even when pushed hard into the turns.

 

This was through some uphill/downhill off-camber turns where touching the brakes at those speeds would really unbalance the car and rapidly make it unstable. People behind me commented on how flat the car transitioned (this is a wagon) and how stable it seemed through the corners. From behind the wheel it felt the same. Those ahead were amazed at how quickly it got through the turns compared to their stock sedans

 

IMHO - the SOJ 20mm RSB seems to be the best mix of performance improvement (bar-wise) and worry free handling. As I mentioned it fits perfectly with no problems, and puts an even bigger grin on your face when you upgrade.

 

SBT

- Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum -
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On 5/1 I said:

 

Good for you! Mine is still sitting in the garage, uninstalled!

 

Problem resolved! In spite of other's comments to the contrary, I really wasn't expecting a big change - wrong! The car immediately seemed sharper and communicates more feel from the rear - I was able to determine this all within two blocks of my house. This is a worthwhile mod - cheap and easy (except for getting the bar out - takes some patience).

 

One reason I was putting off new tires was that the car felt too loose for me to comfortably use any extra traction. I don't think that will be an issue any longer. As an interesting data point - I ran a couple skidpad tests before and after the install. The average of clockwise and counter before and after was a surprisingly high sustained .9 g. The biggest difference was that I didn't have to look up and over the side of the car after the install!

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