Just wanted to hear from those that have fitted a front sway bar (preferrably to a GC8) and would like to hear what they thought of it. I just want to remove some of the front end weight transfer and wanted to know whether you guys saw any additional understeer with a front bar (I already have a upgraded rear bar).

Cheers in advance

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When in doubt, Pull it out...

On my old rex, I had a 22mm rear bar on stiffest setting, added a 22mm non-adj front bar and there was a definite increase in understeer but the front did feel a lot more settled on corner entry, better steering input as well.

I subsequently added a 25mm rear bar on stiffest setting (effective 27mm), and that was perfect for my driving style (STi Type RA springs, Koni adj shocks).

On my 2nd rex, I had a 24mm rear bar on stiffest setting, and a stock front bar, that was alright too (although I did have Tein HA coilovers and various bracing), but more understeery than my first rex.

I would recommend no larger than a 22mm front bar, and 24mm on the rear at least. The 27mm rear bar was fantastic for my preference but could be very unsettling when braking, ie. rear loses traction readily.

You probably also need to take into account that you aren't using factory diffs, so how your car reacts to swaybars could possibly be different than mine.

Thanks for that Mike.

When you say that there was more understeer (when you had the 22mm front and rear), do you think that the threshold of grip at the front was higher then before but when you reached the limit, it leaned towards understeer or would you say that that the front grip was the same or less but the cars attitude moved more towards understeer?

I find that with my setup, corner entry understeer (and general instability) is the killer and tends to dictate the exit attitude of the car as well (ie understeer in which causes the car to scramble for grip and give power understeer out). However when I get the entry speed right (which feel painfully slow ) I have a fairly neutral exit under power... Thus my thoughts on experimenting with the front bar.

Darren

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When in doubt, Pull it out...

If you go for a Whiteline bar make sure it is the non-adjustable type. I had the adjustable type and to have it on the softest setting the links are at awkward angles (possibly affecting the range of movement) so I ended up having it on the hardest setting. This was not good with only a 22mm rear bar so I switched bak to the stock front.

P.S. - I'll sell you the bar really cheap if you're keen to give it a shot .

daz, feel free if you want to borrow my cusco front bar for a while, i wont be needing it till new years there-abouts

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Long live the WRC

It was grippier mid-corner and on the exits but more prone to understeer on corner entry. If you're entering a corner fairly slowly it actually 'feels' grippier as the front feels more stable but when you're entering a corner fairly hot, it was actually less grippy than before. I'm lousy with words so here're a coupla scenarios at the same corner, ceteris paribus:

Taking it fairly easy
A) stock front bar, corner entry 60kmh
* front end feels wishy-washy
* rolling a fair bit
* steering is 6/10 accurate
* grip is 9/10
Resulting mid-corner speed 65kmh

B) 22mm front bar, corner entry 60kmh
* front end feels more planted
* roll is reduced
* steering is 8/10 accurate
* grip is 10/10
Resulting mid-corner speed 70kmh

B > A

Pushing it
A1) stock front bar, corner entry 80kmh
* front end feels wishy washy
* rolling quite a bit
* steering is 4/10 accurate
* grip is 7/10
Resulting mid-corner speed 90kmh

B1) 22mm front bar, corner entry 80kmh
* front end feels more planted but there is more understeer than A1
* roll is reduced
* steering is 7/10 accurate
* grip is 6/10
Resulting mid-corner speed 85kmh

A1 > B1

Not sure if that makes sense... lol! Please bear in mind the above is purely a result of my own experiences, in my car's setup, with my driving style. Might be completely different for you.

I think it's important that you experiment a little until you find a setup that suits you, your car's setup and your driving style. Some people swear by just a 22-24mm rear bar, and that's perfect for them. Some people feel most comfortable using massive front and rear bars. While some people actually prefer having identical sized front/rear bars.

Thanks again Mike, great info! I think I will experiment with the front bar and see how it goes.

Thanks for the offer mate, but managed to get myself a front bar for a very resonable price to play around with. Once again though, cheers for the offer.

Darren

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When in doubt, Pull it out...