Why Sway Bars Are The Perfect Suspension Mod For The WRX And STI.

If you went to a local car meet and did a poll asking what the best suspension upgrade is, 9/10 times you will get coilovers. And yes, coilovers are objectively the best suspension mod because of the obvious height adjustments that allow your Subie have the perfect stance. And then you have the handling, camber, and ride quality adjustments as well depending on what model you get.

However, there are many of you who appreciate the Subaru WRX or STI for what it really is, and it isa turbocharged rally-inspired AWD vehicle. Key term, rally inspired. Now this is not to slight those who just like to go to car meets because car meets are a great way to bring local car communities together in a responsible manner. And on the other side of the coin, there are many local sanctioned clubs and activities organized by the SCCA, NASA, HPDE, and other local competition events where your vehicle’s handing and driver skills are put to the test to get the fastest lap against yourself, or the competition. In many of these events, it’s not the horsepower that wins, but more so, the vehicle’s suspension setup and driver skill.

Now whether it be a track-dedicated race car, or a street-legal class champion daily driver, these cars will share a common suspension upgrade, and that will be sway bars. The purpose of sway cars is to control the amount of body roll your vehicle has when entering high-speed corners or shifts in suspension loads in switchbacks such as going through a slalom for example. Also known as anti-roll bars, sway bars are abundant in the Subaru performance industry because the WRX and the STI share the same chassis and greatly benefit from larger and stiffer sway bars. And this is one of the key reasons why the WRX and STI are still highly competitive in World Time Attack and other professional competition events.

So, let’s talk about why sway bars are one of our favorite suspension mods that you can buy for your Subaru WRX or STI, and why you should do this mod.

 

BETTER HANDLING FOR DAILY DRIVERS OR RACE CARS

Upgraded sway bars are a key ingredient in race cars, but they are also very excellent for those of you who use your Subaru as a daily driver as well. How so? Well sway bars strengthen the chassis and the suspension rigidity, so it makes your steering response sharper on those weekend spirited canyon drives, and sway bars greatly improve the driver feedback for better overall driver confidence.

 

 

BUT HOW TO THEY WORK TO MAKE OUR CARS HANDLE BETTER?

The purpose of a sway bar is to reduce the amount of lateral loads to the other side of the car during turning. So, for example back in the 1960s and 1970s when automobile manufacturers made nothing but boats with bench seats. Turning these meant that driver or passenger would have to hang on for dear life so that they didn’t slide to the other side of the vehicle. That is because when turning, the vehicle’s weight would shift onto the other side of the vehicle, forcing those lateral loads on the other side of the suspension. Sway bars will reduce these lateral loads by mounting on the front and rear subframes, and the ends of the sway bars will attach to end links which can mount onto control arms or other suspension components. Because sway bars connect to each side of your suspension, it adds extra stiffness to prevent those heavy shifts in your suspension. This improves the traction because during high-speed cornering, you have more of your tire’s footprint to contact the road rather than your sidewalls. The extra stiffness and rigidity also allows your suspension to perform more unilaterally, allowing your chassis to move more sharply with much better control. Now the majority of cars since the 60’s and 70’s will have sway bars, especially taller vehicles such as SUVs that are very heavy and need sway bars to help prevent rollovers. Sports cars will have sway bars in specific diameters whether staggered or the same size to accommodate the suspension setup made for that vehicle.

 

 

WHY YOUR SUBARU NEEDS UPGRADED SWAY BARS

The WRX and STI are 4-door units in sedan or wagon form (GR we know) with just a little extra weight in the back because of the rear differential setup in the AWD system. But aside from coilovers, sway bars are one of the best suspension mods you can do to your Subi because of the cost and the reward. We have sway bars that you can purchase individually, or we sell complete sets that include new bushings and end links as well to make for the perfect weekend project. If you’re mechanically inclined, and can safely support your WRX on jack stands, sway bars are not that bad to install:

  

And larger aftermarket sway bars are something you’ll notice right off the bat in terms of suspension performance. If you take a corner a little more swiftly you will notice the suspension response is much fatser, the chassis response is much sharper as well. You won’t feel like you’re leaning too much while cornering, and it makes your overall driving experience more fun. While at a weekend track event, sway bars really shine especially if you have a decent tire on your Subaru such as a Toyo R888, a Bridgestone RE-71, or a Michelin Pilot as you can take those turns and corners at a faster speed, allowing the chassis to carry throughout the corner rather that relying on your brakes so much. AWD cars such as the WRX, STI and the Mitsubishi Evo naturally understeer during fast cornering, but upgraded sway bars do an excellent job of keeping the chassis planted by having a larger and stiffer sway bar for the front to reduce understeer, while having a smaller diameter rear sway bar in the back to balance the chassis out. For many Subarus, some like to opt to get an upgraded rear sway bar to even things out. Hence, that is why you will see many upgraded rear sway bar options on our catalog.  

 

 

LET’S GET OUR SWERVE’ ON

Ready to upgrade your sway bars? You know that we always highlight sway bars whenever we have the chance to. It is one of the best suspension mods that you can do to your Subaru that really express the spirit of what rally inspired means behind the WRX. If you enjoy weekend autocross events or sweeping curves at your local favorite canyon. Sway bars are a must-have, and let’s introduce some great options.

 

CLICK HERE FOR ALL SWAY BARS

 

Whiteline Front and Rear Sway Bar Kit w/End Links 2015-2021 WRX

 

 

 

Faction Fab 22mm Rear Sway Bar 2008-2021 WRX/STI

 

 

Eibach Front and Rear Sway Bar Kit 2015-2021 STI

 

 

COBB Tuning 22mm Adjustable Rear Sway Bar 2008-2021 WRX/STI

 

 

PERRIN 16mm Adjustable Rear Sway Bar 2008-2021 WRX/STI