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Old 02-12-2014, 10:49 AM   #59
CygnusPerformance
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Member#: 201606
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: http://cygnusperformance.com
Vehicle:
2013 STi Hatch
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Subaru4youto View Post
Cygnus
When using Factory Endlinks, Prt # 34161SA001. How can I tell what the links are capable of so an aftermarket sway bar will not push them to their maximum tolerances? In other words, how do I pick a bar that will not make them flip as you described?
When I google that part number it comes up with a factory tie rod end. What year and model is your car and are we talking about front or rear endlinks? I actually very rarely see anything break or flip aside from 02-07 impreza rear endlinks and we sell swaybars for Subarus on a daily basis. Front OEM endlinks on 02-14 imprezas and rear OEM endlinks on 08-14 imprezas can break with a large bar and aggressive driving, but they rarely do.

The main problem with OEM endlinks with any aftermarket bar worth buying is that they are very flexible. Since they are really only designed to cope with the stress of a factory bar when you put more stress on them they tend to flex quite a bit. This means that they don't allow the swaybar to properly do its job. During that critical first inch or so of suspension travel the swaybar's effective stiffness is far less than it would be with stiffer aftermarket endlinks. The swaybar also acts in a much less linear way. It effectively starts out softer than it should as the factory endlinks flex.

This doesn't mean that swaybars are a bad mod without upgrading endlinks at the same time. They are a better mod if you upgrade the endlinks, but depending on the size of the bars and year of your car you certainly can still benefit from swaybars alone. Hope this helps and just let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks,
Geoff
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