Thicker anti roll bars - pros and cons

[alcyon]

I want to swap the standard arb's that came stock with my car to an aftermarket racing one which is stiffer, I do not want to lower the car or change to gas shocks or a stiffer spring because I am happy with the ride . I just want less body roll.
Will stiffer arb's reduce the tire's grip ?

 

[Shannow]

Yes and No

One of my fave cars, I went up massively in ARBs (18 to 25mm front, and 12 to 24 back, remember that stiffness is proportional to diameter to the power 4) and kept the stock springs and shocks.

Ride was good, and cornering was good, but it would get "crossed up" being unable to drive the single wheeler diff on a mate's articulated driveway...would also try to swap ends on corrugated roads.

Another school of thought is stiff springs and less bar.

I prefer the former...just not as nutz as I went in my 20s.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

Done properly it should not reduce grip. It should increase roll stiffness.

Be conservative with diameter increases and be specific if seeking reviews; two manufacturers with seemingly identical specs may have different handling characteristics.

Also note that hollow bars at one diameter may be less stiff than solid bars at a smaller diameter, plus hollow bars are usually lighter @ equivalent stiffness.

On my car with the modified suspension, I used stiffer springs (3~4x stock) at all four corners, custom valved Bilsteins, a slightly stiffer / larger diameter front (solid) bar, and removed the stock solid rear bar. Weight distribution is 51/49.

Application is street / occasional track Mazda Miata 4-wheel independent suspension. Result is excellent with a slight tendency to oversteer (my preference). The car has a more comfortable ride than stock with vastly improving handling.

 

[kr_bitog]

I believe the answer is depend on how stiff your ARB, the spring and what is the current handling balance between front and rear.

The stiff ARB can make the suspension too hard that will bounce on uneven road that will definitely reduce tire grip on the front/rear tyres where the arb installed

 

[Lapham3]

I've usually just replaced the rubber bushings with poly and had a noticeable improvement-good luck

 

[Michael_P]

Except for my X5 (which will probably get a larger rear ARB soon) and Protege, I have always installed stiffer bars and usually springs on every vehicle I have owned. I have never been disappointed. Just read the ratings on Amazon of any particular bar. They are usually very highly rated. My rule of thumb is to always keep stock ride height for a daily driver.
If you ever install a stiffer ARB on an off road vehicle, make sure you have a disconnect feature.
Another thing; thickness is not the only measure of stiffness. A 20mm ARB made of 4130 heat treated steel can be stiffer than a 25mm ARB made of annealed 1018 steel.
I have never been to Malaysia, so if you have lots of undulating roads there, you could be disappointed with a larger ARB.

 

[A_Harman]

Originally Posted By: alcyon
I want to swap the standard arb's that came stock with my car to an aftermarket racing one which is stiffer, I do not want to lower the car or change to gas shocks or a stiffer spring because I am happy with the ride . I just want less body roll.
Will stiffer arb's reduce the tire's grip ?


Go with stiffer arb's, just don't get greedy on the diameter.
What diameters are available for your car?

 

[Virtus_Probi]

I went from a 16mm rear sway bar to 20mm on my FXT and was really happy with the results. It was a Subaru aftermarket part (maybe standard on the WRX?) and the vendor did not recommend a thicker bar in the front. I sure don't feel like my tires have less grip, just the opposite...although I do understand that there may be more of a tendency for one rear tire to lift in truly extreme/emergency maneuvering.
You're definitely adding some weight if you are hyper-concerned about that, but I haven't seen a real downside other than the cost and the time to install it. I am more or less a noob as far as working on my car is concerned and it took me a while, I know experienced guys slap them on in no time.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

My Focus came with no rear sway bar. It always felt like it was under steering even during mild cornering. I added a junkyard swaybar from another Focus and it completely transformed the car; it feels significantly more neutral.

However, the downside is, with the rear sway bar, it definitely will snap oversteer at the limit. Have to be careful in the snow.

 

[alcyon]

Thanks for the advise guys.
A_harman, i do not know what diameters are available yet, i will have to do some shopping around .
Micheal_P, the roads here are indeed undulating.The general consensus seems to be don't go overboard with the thickness, as Shannow said.
I will report back when i have the time to do some shopping.

 

[440Magnum]

It will not reduce grip IF you stiffen up the bars both front and rear at the same time, and IF you don't get too carried away. Tuning the relative stiffness of the front and rear is a good way to balance over/understeer. When I had my '73 Satellite in my teens/20s, I put a big honking bar on the front with polyurethane bushings, and while it overall felt better it was a little deceptive because it would understeer on entry and oversteer on exit. Putting a factory (copcar) rear bar on and softening the front bushings to the next lower hardness balanced it right out.

I kinda wish I'd kept that car- with the suspension I had on it, it would corner well enough to put slack-jawed expressions on a few BMW drivers (a few would then get their stuff together and whoop me in the next corner- but it wasn't as easy as they expected.) It was just too big to competitively autocross, but it would carve a big sweeper amazingly well. Given a better rear end ratio, it would have made one heck of a 24 Hours of Lemons racer.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Originally Posted By: alcyon
Kyosho Optima Mid SWB, LWB and Lazer ZX

Nice!

 

[alcyon]

Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
Originally Posted By: alcyon
Kyosho Optima Mid SWB, LWB and Lazer ZX

Nice!

Lol, into 1980's rc buggies ?

 

[javacontour]

Back in the day I added a stiffer hollow rear bar to my 98 Ford Contour SVT. It reduced the understeer and made the car nearly neutral.

The only other handling mod I made was 17" O.Z. Racing Superleggera wheels which were each about 5# lighter than the factory 16" wheels.

It was a 4 door go-cart after those two changes.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Originally Posted By: alcyon
Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
Originally Posted By: alcyon
Kyosho Optima Mid SWB, LWB and Lazer ZX
Nice!

Lol, into 1980's rc buggies ?

The 'Golden Age'. Very much so.

 

[IndyIan]

How low do you ride into your suspension travel? I put some tall progressive bumpstops into my old Neon and they helped keep the car flatter as well. Also if you have rough roads they prevent harsh hits through the suspension.
I loved them for stuff like railroad crossings, could get a bit of air before feeling much of a hit.