Sway Bars

About Sway Bars

Corners get flatter and the straight line ride doesn't get worse. No other suspension part makes that trade. The bar ties left and right together, so the body has to twist it before it leans. Hit a bump with both wheels at once and the bar sits there doing nothing. Stiffness climbs fast with diameter, so a small jump in bar size is a big jump in roll resistance.

Which end you stiffen decides how the car turns. A stiffer rear bar on a front drive car like a Civic or a GTI takes the push out and lets the tail rotate. A stiffer front bar on a rear drive car settles a nervous back end. Most bars come with a couple of holes in the arm, and you'll want the softest one to start with on a street car.

End links matter once you've dropped the car. Lowering changes the angle the stock links sit at and can preload the bar so it's already working before you turn in. Adjustable links reset that. Urethane bushings want grease at install or they'll squeak by the first cold morning. Rear bars on a multilink car go in quick, and some front bars want the subframe dropped an inch.

Common questions

Do sway bars hurt ride quality

Barely, and that's the appeal. The bar only works when one wheel moves more than the other, so a straight road feels exactly the same. A pothole on one side feels a touch sharper, because the bar carries part of that hit across the car. Everything else stays where your springs and dampers left it.

Front or rear bar first

Rear first on a front drive car, front first on a rear drive car with a loose tail, and both if you want the thing balanced. A stiffer rear on a Civic or a GTI pulls the understeer out. On a Mustang or a 3 Series a stiffer front keeps the back end planted. Each listing tells you what that bar's doing to balance.

Do I need adjustable end links

On a stock height car, usually not. On a lowered one, yes. The factory links sit at an angle after a drop and put a twist in the bar at rest, which makes the ride harsher and the handling odd one way. Adjustable links set it neutral again. Some bars ship with them and some don't.

Can a bar be too stiff

It can. Too much bar lifts the inside wheel in a hard corner and that end of the car gives up grip. On a front drive car a huge rear bar will step the tail out under braking mid turn, which is exciting once and then it isn't. Start on the softest hole of an adjustable bar and work up one at a time.