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Rear sway bar upgrades summary


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Guys, what are your thoughts on rear sway upgrades?

 

I know there is a lot of scattered anecdotes in various threads here and from what I picked up, most people are happy with them.

 

What is stock again on our cars? 16-18mm is what I recall but I cant find confirmation at the moment.

 

Common upgrade is other Subaru model's 19mm and 20mm bars, I recall reading the 19mm was a pretty subtle difference? How are 20mm's from the Sti?

 

I see some going as high as 22mm, how are those?

 

I'm hoping to hear people's experience with RSB upgrades, what they put on, how they are liking it, how it improved their car. What size would you guys recommend after knowing all you know?

 

I tried searching but I suck and mostly got 6th gen info.

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did the 20mm Subaru one, best bang for the buck. was $87 shipped to my house 3 years ago. the car stays flat when cornering with minimal impact (ie i cannot tell the difference) in day to day driving. car is much more enjoyable on twisties... Steering is even better at point where you want to go... Edited by YeuEmMaiMai
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Stock is a wet noodle.

 

I installed a 20mm with stiffer poly bushings & AVO braces. Still running stock end links but don't beat on her.

 

Easy install and reduces the wobbly butt.

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Are upgraded links and brackets needed for a 20mm bar?

 

Probably not. The primary idea is that the stock arms (that the brackets would reinforce) may break if put under additional stress caused by a large RSB. If the stock arms break, it is cumbersome and costly to fix (bust out the welder).

 

The reason I said "probably not," however, is because Subaru uses beefier RSBs in other cars (like the WRX) and I suspect (but don't know for certain) that their stock arms on the others cars (like the WRX) are any stronger than stock arms on 5th Gen LGTs.

 

That being said, I installed the AVO brackets....

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I upgraded my 2018 to a 20mm bar (retained stock bushings) last summer and found it did decrease body roll in corners. I did not notice any difference during normal highway use. It is an inexpensive, easy to do modification that is worthwhile.
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The brackets were originally designed for the 4th gen IIRC which did have problems with bending the attachment arms on the rsb. I can't recall anyone having the same issue with the 5th gen, but if they are cheap and make you feel better they won't hurt anything either.

 

I have the 19mm oem rsb, it made a difference for sure but it is a subtle upgrade, I would go with the 20mm at least or the adjustable whiteline one if I was to do it again. And upgrade the bushing and links as well.

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I have a 22mm whiteline adjustable w/ whiteline bushings and braces and it's set to soft ( supposedly similar to a 21mm) and i love it. compared to stock you can certainly feel a bump more if you hit it with one wheel, but it's well worth it for the increased cornering confidence and to get the car to break in the rear wheels so you can power out rather than just pushing at any tiny loss of traction. as far as what I'd recommend, i wouldn't go below 20mm but literally anything would be better than stock, if you're planning on doing autocross or anyother performance driving whiteline does make a 20mm adjustable that could give you the best of both worlds 19 on the streets 21 in the sheets. Edited by ripstik
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So, it's the 2008+ Sti 20mm RSB that fits our cars...?

 

Yes ^^

 

I put the 20mm on within 3 weeks of owning the car. I got new basic MOOG endlinks from the local auto parts store because the stock ones were too rusted to get off the stock bar. During that process I drove to the store without any RSB... yikes.

 

I wouldn't call the 20mm a huge transformation, but its certainly a big improvement. I can see why people get the adjustable 22mm one, but I'd buy the 20mm again just because of the price difference.

 

Lift off oversteer is definitely present, but I wouldn't call it twitchy. You either know when its coming or you have to force it to happen if that's your goal.

 

Since I put it on, I've been thinking "The rear is pretty flat, but now the front needs some help..." Update on that coming in about 2 weeks.

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So, it's the 2008+ Sti 20mm RSB that fits our cars...?

 

Its the 2008 WRX & STI swaybars that fit our cars (no difference between them). The 2015 up WRX/STI are 20mm, the 2008-2014 are 19mm.

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Mcg, how do you feel about your RSB upgrade? What did you gain, and any downsides?

 

I feel good about it - great upgrade. I did the 19mm sti bar which was good, and then went to 22mm hollow bar (megan racing) which was better.

 

No downsides.

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I did the 20mm WRX/STI swaybar. Also installed Moog endlinks since I broke one of the origionals. It is flatter in the corners. I have a couple fun roundabouts every day after work to test it.
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Stock 16mm. I did the 19mm on my 2.5i and my GT had 20mm aftermarket RSB when I bought. I really don't notice that much of a difference between them. I would do the 20mm if buying new, but I wouldn't upgrade a 19mm to 20mm.
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Stock 16mm. I did the 19mm on my 2.5i and my GT had 20mm aftermarket RSB when I bought. I really don't notice that much of a difference between them. I would do the 20mm if buying new, but I wouldn't upgrade a 19mm to 20mm.

 

Thanks for clarifying the stock size. What are your impressions having driven on the stock 16mm and going to 19mm and having a 20mm, what did the bars change in the driving experience?

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Stock is a wet noodle.

 

I installed a 20mm with stiffer poly bushings & AVO braces. Still running stock end links but don't beat on her.

 

Easy install and reduces the wobbly butt.

 

 

i have the same on my car but with stock Subaru 20mm bushings

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Thanks for clarifying the stock size. What are your impressions having driven on the stock 16mm and going to 19mm and having a 20mm, what did the bars change in the driving experience?

 

It felt better going through curves; in particular some of the off ramps that I took at speed. However, I did the upgrade pretty shortly after purchased in 2012. I would guess my car only had 2000 miles on it at the time. I also still had the factory 205/60-16 tires on it as well.

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I had a stock 16mm bar when the car was new.....changed it up to a 19mm shortly there after. Very nice improvement in cornering and normal driving.

Kind of a long story but I have a friend who owns a truck suspension parts business and he made me a 23mm solid bar which I ran for about a year....it was a bit harsh for daily use and I was not utilizing it enough for sporty driving so I went back to an STi 20mm bar.... I feel that 20mm is a great improvement over stock and still gives good daily driving comfort .

BTW I put the 19mm bar onto my wife's Legacy (While she was away for a weekend with friends) as soon as she returned and drove her car, she commented on the feel and asked what I had done :)

On a further note....one of my friends recently bought a 2018 Outback 3.6R and I told him about the STi 20mm bar..... He put one on and says it totally transformed the way the car drove and rode..... I guess the heavier weight and higher CoG really needed the help. Hard to believe that Subaru would think the a 3.6R Outback would handle well with the same wimpy sway bar as an Impreza :(

 

I should add that I had a Whieline 22mm adjustable bar (set on stiff) on my 2006 LGT sedan, which I loved, but I was in the habit of driving it a bit more "Sporty" back then and I did quite a bit of autocross and slalom competition as well.

In Canada a Whiteline bar is about 3 times the cost of an OEM STi 20mm bar....cost matters ;)

Edited by Scooby Fan
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If performance is your main criteria, go with the Whiteline or some other large high performance rear sway bar.....but for me the 20mm gives a very good performance increase without giving up any ride comfort.

When I had my 2006 LGT I loved the harder ride and high performance handling, but I was driving it in that way a lot of the time. To each his own is the real test.....anything is better than stock.

We have had 7 Subarus in the family and they all got various upgrades based on our needs and wants at the time we owned them.

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Kind of a long story but I have a friend who owns a truck suspension parts business and he made me a 23mm solid bar which I ran for about a year....it was a bit harsh for daily use and I was not utilizing it enough for sporty driving so I went back to an STi 20mm bar....

 

did your 23mm bar have multiple settings for stiffness, or was it non-adjustable? currently have the 20mm va bar, but considering an adjustable 22mm. do you think it would be worth the upgrade?

 

i'd probably keep it on the softest setting whilst on 420 treadwear no-seasons, with the ability to bump it up upon upgrading to stickier rubber. just curious where the bridge too far would be on a street car.

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