Rmeister007

iTrader: (20)

I'm confused. I've read countless articles on the front swaybar for my Evo 9, but they contradict each other all the time. Because of the massive understeer that the Evos have, everyone can agree that it's worth upgrading the rear swaybar (to make the car more neutral). However, I've also heard that I should go bigger on the front (like 25mm) but not too big (like 27mm). Well, which one is it? They all eliminate roll for exceptional stability and maximum tire contact patch and grip, but I've also read that if you add a bigger front swaybar, the car will corner flatter and give you a false sense of better handling. The bigger front bar will lift the inside front tire when cornering hard and this will give you less traction just when you need it most.

So which one is it? Should I leave my front swaybar stock or should I upgrade to a 25mm? I'm a racing enthusiast and I love cornering. I value everyone's input. Thanks in advance!!!

Dallas J

iTrader: (1)

Im one of the big proponents for a medium bar upgrade upfront. My theory is kind of like this,

If you have two ends of a spectrum between to soft and to stiff with optimum in the middle, then the evo sits like this,

Soft |--|----| Stiff (ft)
Soft |---|---| Stiff (rr)

If the middle is optimum then the front needs more stiffness to reduce roll and camber loss but too much would push you past optimum. Rear by preference, but I prefer more spring and less bar in the rear having tried both ways on several cars.

Lots of things are dependent on tires and spring for how much roll you're actually getting. Ive gone through quite a few different setups with different spring configurations and bar setups and this follows one train of thought. Others have different opinions and have made it work also.

Rmeister007

iTrader: (20)

I have GT WORX springs on my MR Bilstein struts. I like the spring rate a lot. However, because I didn't slam the car to the ground (cough...tein...cough), I still get considerable amount of roll while cornering at high speeds. Sometimes I think I'm going to capsize, thus, am definitely going to upgrade the rear differential at some point. I feel like your diagram is reversed. I feel the rear is too soft and the front is stiffer because before I upgraded my rear swaybar, my car handled like a pig with so much understeer.

So for right now, you think I should upgrade to the 25mm front swaybar (I have a Perrin adjustable rear swaybar)? It is afterall, just a 2 mm difference from the stock swaybar....

Dallas J

iTrader: (1)

My winter setup is the same as what you're running plus a front bar. Before the bar the front would damn near fall over itself and with the rear inside tire dangling in the air mid corner (not corner entry) all that load it transfered to the outside front over working it.

With the GTworx spring I use the Whiteline front bar and hotchkiss rear set at medium. I haven't put the winter setup back on since Ive done the rear diff upgrade so no comments on that just yet, but the front bar upgrade was definitely an improvement in front grip.

You are right on the "slammin" crew, they end up using the front bump stops as roll resistance. That of course leads to other issues like dramatically increasing tire load and fast which makes the tire un-happy.

boomn29

iTrader: (47)

If you want to get rid of the understeer, I highly recommend getting an upgraded rear diff from Shep Racing or TRE or someone.

I can get the rear to step out slightly at 80mph under WOT with 255 A6's and I've got stock front and stock rear swaybars! Shep Racing 1.5 way rear diff is awesome!

flyingscot

iTrader: (2)

ive been at that crossroad too brutha,ive got a whiteline front bar thats been sitting in my garage for 2 years that i cant bring my self to install

JDavenport

iTrader: (33)

Truth here^

flyingscot

iTrader: (2)

swaybar related but kinda off topic,i have a 25mm rear bar with stock front and dms 50 coilovers with their normal rates(not sure what they are,maybe someone could tell me)
i was tracking my car with the rear bar set on the middle setting but the car was still understeering at speed so i changed the bar to full stiff,it made it worse to my surprise so i put it on full soft and it loosened the car up again,im thinking about putting my stocker on the rear for my upcoming trip to buttonwillow

Rmeister007

iTrader: (20)

So the general consensus is that I should upgrade to the 25mm swaybar versus the stock?

Yes, at some point when I get the money, I will upgrade the rear differential to the 12 plate; that's a no brainer. I'm just wondering about the front swaybar for now. Thanks for all of your input!

boomn29

iTrader: (47)

Not many have done the front swaybar. It's helli-difficult to install; which is the main reason. Unless you're a hardcore trackie or AX guy; I'd skip it personally.

That rear diff is the shiznit though!

Dallas J

iTrader: (1)

The time to do a fsb is when you change the clutch. With the tranny in its a massive bastard to wiggle free. I think it took me 3-4 hours and Ive done two clutch swaps on this car. The whole time I was wishing I did it one of those times.

I think youll find most people who say dont put a front bar in say it because they havent tried it and are justifying to themselves why they dont need it. I bet if you looked for a while, you wont find many if any that have gone to a bigger bar go back to stock. Though I have gone from a big rear to a stock rear bar.

GTWORX.com

iTrader: (35)

I agree. I have not had anyone come back to me after buying one and say the front bar was not an improvement. Yes, the install does suck (we have good instructions, but it still sucks). I think Dallas J has summed it up nicely in this thread. It's a good part to add, and especially if you're running conventional struts + springs. The front of the EVO rolls a whole heck of a lot....controlling that at the expense of a little more weight transfer up front in a corner is a net gain IMO.

- Andrew

Dallas J

iTrader: (1)

Always good to have some backup on discussions like this.

Rmeister007

iTrader: (20)

Someone also told me I should keep the stock front swaybar and just change the bushings. But after what Dallas J and GTWORX said, I think I'll lean towards getting a 25mm front swaybar and doing the 4 hour job myself. :-) I agree about the front rolling too much so thanks for your input!

Would the stock bushings work on a front 25mm swaybar?

Dallas J

iTrader: (1)

The new bar should come with new bushings in the correct size. A quick call or PM to Adam at MAP or Andrew at GTworx would have you setup real quick.

A caution on using stock bushings on a bigger bar though, once you clamp down you'll induce quite a bit of "extra" damping and stiction, both of which is highly un-desirable. But no worries since new bars come with new urethane bushings.