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Old 12-28-2005, 10:31 PM   #1
yakkosmurf
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Default Resutls of 20mm sway bar install on WRX wagon

Have to say, that for the price, I'm very happy with this addition. Bar install was fairly straightfoward, but I had to shave the new bushings a little to get them to fit. They were about an an 1/8 of inch too tall to fit in the brackets. Anyone else run into this? I cut them down just a hair, then compressed them to get the brackets around them. Wish I'd known that ahead of time.

I'm also thinking of getting some stiffer bushings in the future. Any recommendations?
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Old 12-28-2005, 11:19 PM   #2
Butt Dyno
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Recommendations:
-get a bigger front bar, too
-make sure you know what lift throttle oversteer is, and how not to cause it

What endlinks are you using?

john
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Old 12-28-2005, 11:30 PM   #3
Bman
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Yea I got a 20 mm bar w/ bushings for 40 bucks, probably best mod for the money I have done so far.
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Old 12-28-2005, 11:33 PM   #4
PJC1909
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$60, stock endlinks. It completely changes the car from an understeering pig to alot more nimble, something with a lot of potential. Looking at kartboy endlinks, but haven't done it yet.
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Old 12-29-2005, 12:06 AM   #5
gc822
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Mine is coming in the mail tomorrow! WOOT!

It is sitting at the UPS in Syracuse right now, if they were open I'd probably drive up there to get it

hopefully I don't run into the bushing problem as well, I don't think I will but will let you know if I do
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Old 12-29-2005, 12:43 AM   #6
garie
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I didn't have problems with bushings not fitting good.

I agree when I swapped out my 17mm rear sway bar for a 20mm in my wagon, it changed how the wagon felt. Very predictable and easy to rotate.
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Old 12-29-2005, 12:40 PM   #7
Carnot
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That's strange, I didn't have any problems with the bushings at all. Did you get the proper new style bushings with it ('04+), or did you try to use the old style ('02-'03)?
-Bryce
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Old 12-29-2005, 03:45 PM   #8
yakkosmurf
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ButtDyno
Recommendations:
-get a bigger front bar, too
-make sure you know what lift throttle oversteer is, and how not to cause it

What endlinks are you using?

john
After driving an MR2 for 12 years, I know all about creating and handling oversteer. You front engine weinees have no idea.

As for the end links, right now, I've got the stock ones. I plan to stick with them until I go to something bigger than 20mm.
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Old 12-29-2005, 03:46 PM   #9
yakkosmurf
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Carnot
That's strange, I didn't have any problems with the bushings at all. Did you get the proper new style bushings with it ('04+), or did you try to use the old style ('02-'03)?
-Bryce
I ordered them as a package from a website, and they are probably the 02-03 style bushings. I was able to make them work, but I wouldn't mind upgrading them in the future. Any recommendations for new bushings?
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Old 12-29-2005, 06:03 PM   #10
hikeeba
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Have you tried looking at Auto Zone or someplace like that? The AutoZone here has a TON of those red suspension bushings (Energy brand?) I was in there the other day and noticed them. I was surprised how many different ones they had.

I don't mean to hijack, but I've been thinking of getting the 20mm rear bar for my 02 wagon. However, the other night I was playing with my new SS, and had the opportunity to really push my car on damp roads. Even with letting up the throttle during mid-corner, I had no rotation. Getting on the gas hard, I had no push. My car is stock except for springs (B+G, and I love them!). I feel the car handles in a very nuetral manner. Should I skip the 20mm rear bar? Actually, I was originally thinking of a Hotchkis set, but do not have the $$ for that now.

I'm going to AutoZone on my way home, and I'll scope out the bushings.
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Old 12-29-2005, 07:19 PM   #11
yakkosmurf
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Given the small price of the 20mm bar, I think you should try it. If it doesn't work like you want, sell it. There seem to be plenty of people wanting one.

Good idea on the bushings. I have heard of that brand before. Let me know what you find out.
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Old 12-29-2005, 07:54 PM   #12
Chonojake
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Question

So I hear all these things about getting a bigger/stiffer rear sway. But I never see that you all are getting a front too? I guess I was thinking that you upgraded both at the same time. School me on this one pls.


Jaco
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Old 12-29-2005, 08:10 PM   #13
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You can order 04+ style bushings for the 20mm bar- they are the same bushings that come on the STi- Jamie sells them on her site or you can pick them up from your dealer.

You can upgrade both bars at once if you like, but the oe front bar is 20mm, the rear 17mm- it makes sense to bump the rear one up first- see what you think and go from there.
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Old 12-29-2005, 08:19 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yakkosmurf
After driving an MR2 for 12 years, I know all about creating and handling oversteer. You front engine weinees have no idea.
that made me
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Old 12-29-2005, 08:22 PM   #15
gc822
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chonojake
So I hear all these things about getting a bigger/stiffer rear sway. But I never see that you all are getting a front too? I guess I was thinking that you upgraded both at the same time. School me on this one pls.


Jaco
the reason why a lot of people go with a bigger rear bar first is because the front bar is already 19mm (GC and GM Imprezas), and the rear bar is 13mm. The Subaru engineers did this because most of these cars will be daily drivers and understeer is more predictable to control than oversteer for the average driver. A lot of GC/GM owners will therefore upgrade the rear bar first to either create a more neutral feel and to create a more oversteer happy car. One of the most common rear bar upgrades is to the 20mm FHI/WRX rear bar due to its cheap price and availability, it is a great bang for your buck solution.

This also holds true with the 2002+ wagons that come with a 17mm bar.

The 02+ WRX already comes with a 19mm or 20mm rear bar depending on what month it was purchased. Therefore the front and rear bar ratio is almost the same or is the same. A lot of these drivers upgrade to a bigger rear bar as well to induce more oversteer.

I guess the Impreza is notorious for understeer when pushed to its limits and that's one of the biggest factors in the rear bar upgrade.

-MaC
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Old 12-29-2005, 08:25 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yakkosmurf
Have to say, that for the price, I'm very happy with this addition. Bar install was fairly straightfoward, but I had to shave the new bushings a little to get them to fit. They were about an an 1/8 of inch too tall to fit in the brackets. Anyone else run into this? I cut them down just a hair, then compressed them to get the brackets around them. Wish I'd known that ahead of time.

I'm also thinking of getting some stiffer bushings in the future. Any recommendations?
I installed the 20mm rear bar on my car tonight and the new bushings were also about 1/8" too tall(to the naked eye), however I didn't shave them I just bolted the bar right up. It took me a few tries to get the stock 12mm bolt threaded into the mounting brackets due to the bushing height, but it eventually all worked out
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Old 12-29-2005, 09:42 PM   #17
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I would get the right bushings if you think you have the old style - I'd be concerned about them coming out of the clamp since the new ones have a groove for the clamp whereas the old ones did not (the old clamp is concave and covers them, while the new one is flat)
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Old 12-29-2005, 09:51 PM   #18
Chonojake
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Thumbs up

Quote:
Originally Posted by gc822
the reason why a lot of people go with a bigger rear bar first is because the front bar is already 19mm (GC and GM Imprezas), and the rear bar is 13mm. The Subaru engineers did this because most of these cars will be daily drivers and understeer is more predictable to control than oversteer for the average driver. A lot of GC/GM owners will therefore upgrade the rear bar first to either create a more neutral feel and to create a more oversteer happy car. One of the most common rear bar upgrades is to the 20mm FHI/WRX rear bar due to its cheap price and availability, it is a great bang for your buck solution.

This also holds true with the 2002+ wagons that come with a 17mm bar.

The 02+ WRX already comes with a 19mm or 20mm rear bar depending on what month it was purchased. Therefore the front and rear bar ratio is almost the same or is the same. A lot of these drivers upgrade to a bigger rear bar as well to induce more oversteer.

I guess the Impreza is notorious for understeer when pushed to its limits and that's one of the biggest factors in the rear bar upgrade.

-MaC
Thanks for that...
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Old 12-29-2005, 09:57 PM   #19
hikeeba
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yakkosmurf
Given the small price of the 20mm bar, I think you should try it. If it doesn't work like you want, sell it. There seem to be plenty of people wanting one.

Good idea on the bushings. I have heard of that brand before. Let me know what you find out.
I think I will order the 20mm bar soon, and try that. I've scrapped the idea of getting a full blown Hotchkis set.

Here you go yakkosmurf:

Energy Suspension is the company. Here is a link to the Subaru item number page: http://www.energysuspension.com/pages/subaru.html

Our AutoZone carried the rear sway bar bushings down to 22mm. Energy Suspension, as noted on the page in the link above, does make 20mm rear sway bar bushings that will work with the WRX. The bushing sets I looked at came with the metal straps (the steel piece that holds the bushing in place) and bolts. The 22mm set was selling for $15.99. I'm sure an AutoZone could order the 20mm bushings for around the same price. And AutoZone won't charge you shipping on special orders (at least ours never charged me shipping).

I hope that info helps.
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Old 12-30-2005, 09:00 AM   #20
yakkosmurf
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That helps a lot. Thanks. I'm going to go by there this weekend and see what my local store offers.
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