Need Sway bars.. What to get?

[Trenda22]

I am looking for new/used front and rear sway bars and end links... What size do I want? Dose the brand make any difference? What are your opinions? thanks!

[MainFrame]

What year/make/model is the car? What are you going to be using it for? What other suspension modifications have you done, or plan to do?

[EJ257]

Swaybars should be sized according to struts/springs being used.

[Trenda22]

I have an 03 WRX. Stock struts and springs for now. Might do a STI swap... at least lowering springs.

[MainFrame]

The spring rate of the springs you ultimately choose to run is what's mostly important in sizing your sway bars. What kind of STi swap are you talking about? Have you looked into which springs you might want? What are you wanting to get out of the suspension performance wise? Track use? Auto-X? DD?

[Trenda22]

It is my daily driver but just want to tighten up the turning and responce. I am thinking about a finding some STI struts and springs out of a 04-06?? I am loking to drop it just a little and level out.. The front is running higher than the rear and bugs the crap out of me. lol

[MainFrame]

Dampers are a wear item, so personally I wouldn't look for used (unless they're really low miles).


22mm front and rear would probably be fine for you. I have Whiteline sways and like them, but there are plenty of other good options, RCE, Eibach, Perrin, etc.

[EJ257]

It is my daily driver but just want to tighten up the turning and responce. I am thinking about a finding some STI struts and springs out of a 04-06?? I am loking to drop it just a little and level out.. The front is running higher than the rear and bugs the crap out of me. lol

The only PnP STI struts are '04; they will likely need a rebuild anyway, so they aren't worth it.

For a strictly DD vehicle, consider OE replacement struts like the KYB GR2s; they allow for mild spring upgrades that will allow you a better look to the car. For better handling, things get a bit more expensive, as you need better struts (e.g., Koni Yellows).

What's your budget?

[ninefourteener]

Keep in mind.... aftermarket sways are useless without appropriate endlinks. If you beef up the swaybars and leave the endlinks stock.... you'll bend them at the next pothole. Kartboy sells an exceptional product at a very good price. I used whitelines until I broke one... haven't broken the kartboys yet.

Epic engineering is a very nice choice of aftermarket springs, with a moderate, even drop.

Coilovers were too harsh on my neck, so I downgraded to the very low Tanabe DF210s..... and I absolutely love them. Almost as low as Tein S-techs.... but with significantly better feel/handling. If you stay on stock struts though... your time is limited... a year... maybe 2.

Sways..... I say go as beefy as you can. 25mm front and rear.

Hotchkiss makes a 25mm set (Cobb used to use Hotchiss rebranded)... they are hollow, lightweight, and VERY strong.... you can also purchase the adjustable rear mounts and "tune" the suspension to your liking.

[careercadaver]

Perrin also makes a 25mm set-up.

You could also swap for a Sti rear sway and upgrade the endlinks all around (Kartboy makes a great product and they are more reasonable than Whiteline, Perrin, etc). If you don't plan to track this could be a reasonable route. If you go this route you could also look into rear stout mounts for the sway.

The 04 (gotta stay with 5X100 hubs) STI struts will bolt right in for you but have you looked into Koni inserts? Those will be a step up from the STI a d have greater longevity...

[EJ257]

Hollow sways don't offer the stiffness that a comparable solid swaybar does. I prefer the solid route, as I don't feel the weight decrease is worth it.

[ninefourteener]

^^^^ Agreed, 25mm hollow sways aren't as strong as 25mm solid sways.

I chose Cobb because of teh adjustability and the availability of adjustable rear swaybar mounts. I'm sure there are other brands that have those.... At the time (several years ago) Whiteline didn't offer it... and I was a bit sore on Whiteline anyway after I broke an endlink.

Now..... personal preference I'd imagine.

[WRidesX]

Keep in mind.... aftermarket sways are useless without appropriate endlinks. If you beef up the swaybars and leave the endlinks stock.... you'll bend them at the next pothole. Kartboy sells an exceptional product at a very good price. I used whitelines until I broke one... haven't broken the kartboys yet.

Epic engineering is a very nice choice of aftermarket springs, with a moderate, even drop.

Coilovers were too harsh on my neck, so I downgraded to the very low Tanabe DF210s..... and I absolutely love them. Almost as low as Tein S-techs.... but with significantly better feel/handling. If you stay on stock struts though... your time is limited... a year... maybe 2.

Sways..... I say go as beefy as you can. 25mm front and rear.

Hotchkiss makes a 25mm set (Cobb used to use Hotchiss rebranded)... they are hollow, lightweight, and VERY strong.... you can also purchase the adjustable rear mounts and "tune" the suspension to your liking.

Sorry if this is considered rebooting the thread but I have a question since sways and endlinks are on my list of mods. Is it necessary to get new struts when you upgrade the sways and endlinks? I'm considering 22mm adjustable and 24mm non-adjustable for a 2002 wrx. Any info would be much appreciated!

[SD_GR]

Not unless the existing units need replacement.

[Annihilator817]

I have an 03 WRX. Stock struts and springs for now. Might do a STI swap... at least lowering springs.

There's a lot of misinformation in here. An 03 WRX can improve a TON with stock struts and springs with the addition of properly sized swaybars. And you absolutely 100% do NOT need to upgrade the endlinks to get the full performance of the bars.

For example, the car will handle better with stock struts/springs and swaybars than it will on the cheap knockoff coilovers that everyone runs (BC Racing, Megan, etc).

OP, what tires are you running and what are you using the car for? That's going to dictate quite a bit in what you want to do suspension wise.