Quote:
Originally Posted by AcquaCow
You think so? Did they completely change the front suspension geometry on the GR? Looks pretty similar to years previous, at least from what I've seen under my cars so far.
Here's a great write up on sway bars.......I have a 2011 STI with RCE T2, and other suspension mods and run 24/24mm but full soft on both ends (equal to 23.5mm frt/23mm rear) and it is a weekend and mtn car....for a DD I'd probably go 24mm/22mm or 22mm/22mm depending on the driving style, roads and climate.
1) 22mm front & rear 02-07
This combo doesn't apply to the 08+ cars since ******** doesn't make a 20mm front bar for these cars. This is a very mild combo, but it is still a great improvement over stock. This is perfect for someone who drives on bumpy roads and doesn't want to deal with much increased harshness.
2) 22mm front / 20mm rear 08+ or 24mm front / 22mm rear 02-07
This combination is going to work well on street driven cars. It is conservative enough that it will be comfortable on almost any surface, but it still adds enough stiffness that handling will be greatly improved. The fact that the front bar is slightly larger than the rear bar will keep the car's natural tendency to understeer more than equal sized bars would. This is a good combo for someone who wants stiffer swaybars, but is worried about added harshness or going too extreme.
3) 22mm front / 24mm rear 02-07
Here is another combo that only applies to 02-07 cars. It may seem like an odd combination, but it is a combination that has been proven in street tire autocross. I'd only recommend a combination like this for cars that are using stiff coilovers. The rear bar will help make the car rotate while the soft front bar will work in conjunction with stiffer springs to provide the best overall grip possible. This is an ideal setup for the intricate low speed turns in autocross.
4) 22mm front & rear 08+ or 24mm front & rear 02-07
This is my personal choice for the street and street tire autocross. The equal sized rear bar gives the car a more neutral feel. It really does a lot to counteract the car's tendency to understeer. I use this combination on my daily driver and with adjustable swaybars it can be set up to perform well on the street, track and autocross course.
5) 24mm front / 20mm rear 08+ or 27mm front / 22mm rear 02-07
The large front bar will provide a great turn in feel with this combo while the small rear bar will keep the car from oversteering much. If you want to keep all four wheels on the ground and have a solid turn in feel this may be a combo to consider. To me this isn't a very neutral feeling combo. When I drove a car with this combination it understeered quite a bit.
6) 24mm front / 22mm rear 08+ or 27mm front / 24mm rear 02-07
This is another popular combination... Probably just as popular as combination #4. The stiffer front bar will give the car an improved turn in feel over combination #4. I find that this combination doesn't feel as neutral on street tires as combination #4. To me it feels like it gives you a flatter, better turn in feel at the expense of over all grip. If you are on a smooth track with grippy tires this is a different story. This combo is perfect for someone who does track days or time attacks. It is also the preference of many for daily driving. It does give more noticeably better handling than combo #4 for daily driving. It just doesn't suite my personal driving style as well as #4 does. National autocross champions have also confirmed that a bar this large in street tire autocross tends to make the car understeer. The fastest street tire autocross STis in the country for the past few years have used very soft front bars in combination with very stiff coilovers.
7) 24mm front & rear 08+ or 27mm front & rear 02-07
This combo is extreme. This rear bar will likely lift the rear inside tire when you go around corners fast. It is really only suited for cars racing on a smooth surface. If you have a dedicated racecar on race tires this might be the perfect combination for you. I don't typically recommend it for daily drivers though.