[Monkey Boy]

History: I am new to these forums (I have finally moved over from chaos @ NASIOC) and am packing a brand new 2009 STI. (Got to love 0% financing ) I am coming from a stock 2003 WRX which I totaled and I am loving the new STI so far (1500 miles) . I have always done my best to make thoughtful and balanced changes to my car as it must do everything everyday.

Driving Habits: I live in Bozeman, MT which means that there is snow on the ground from Dec - Mar, and dirt roads are EVERYWHERE. I make a 30 mile commute over a mountain pass every day for work and my 2 yr old son is with me in the car everyday. My car is mostly a daily driver, and I'm lucky if I can get one track day or Autox under my belt every season. However, I am in the dirt a fair amount and obviously spend a lot of time in the snow.

Question #1: After hours of reading it seems that no one has discussed how to address the STI body roll while minimizing the impact of larger roll bars in the dirt and snow. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Question #2: If I do choose to go with some larger bars where would be the best size to start with? 22mm Front and 20mm Rear? Should I just start with the rear bar first as this will essentially give me 20mm in the front (the stock bar) and 20mm rear (whiteline)? Any thoughts on how these combos will perform in the winter and on the dirt?

[bigfish1]

I have an 09 as well and also do quite a bit on dirt roads (no snow though). I decided to go for the 22 and 20mm bars and the improvement is terrific - much flatter and better turn in. I have the front bar on soft and the rear on med, intend to try this for a while then try the full stiff settings. Has not made the car skate at all, is actually better turn in on dirt, with MUCH better quick direction change. HTH

[Beaverboy]

Go with medium stiffness swaybars (smaller rear to avoid lifting the rear wheels) some RCE springs to increase bump travel and some 17" wheels should give you plenty of dual-purpose fun.

[jrdriller]

^^what he said^^

to give you an idea of what's on offer for the Group N rally car

STI GLOBAL - Group N IMPREZA PARTS CATALOGUE

they run 18mm front and 16mm rear for gravel and 20 or 21mm front and 18 rear for tarmac

http://www.subaru-sti.co.jp/e/GPN/ho...N5714-copy.pdf

obviously there is more to it than just picking a sway bar dia. so maybe some of the suspension gurus can here can chime in.

cheers

[Digitalfiend]

What grease do you guys use to regrease the swaybar bushings when you're cleaning up the bars? The grease that came with the bars looks almost metallic versus lithium grease.

[th1rd3y3]

^^I found on my 05 that wheel bearing grease you buy at Lowe's worked wonders. It wasn't water soluble so once I greased the bushings once, I never needed to again. It came in a blue tub and the grease is blue as well.

[Monkey Boy]

bigfish1 - thanks for the feedback, I was looking for some of this.

Beaverboy - I found the RCE spring option as well, and it sounds like a good option for me sometime down the road.

jrdriller - It's info like this that in part prompted my questions.

My goal is to address the body roll issue while minimizing the performance impact of larger ways in the dirt. I wonder how much bump travel you sacrifice with each swaybar size (i.e. 20mm 22mm 24mm etc)?

[Beaverboy]

Originally Posted by Monkey Boy

I wonder how much bump travel you sacrifice with each swaybar size (i.e. 20mm 22mm 24mm etc)?

You don't sacrifice bump travel with swaybars. Once you get into really large bars, you'll lose articulation.. but when it comes to large bumps, you'll hit the bumpstops just the same. The important thing to be concerned about is weight transfer over rough surfaces. The stiffer you go, the more likely you are to unload a wheel or two and overload the others.

The helical diffs on the front and rear axles don't like unloaded wheels. If you can manage to unload a wheel on both axles, you'll go from AWD to NoWD in a hurry. Apparently the rear diff is preloaded to minimize the effects, but it's still no substitute for a clutch-type diff for loose surfaces.

In other words.. I'd err on the side of caution and stay away from super-stiff bars.

[jrdriller]

DirtyImpreza Forums - The Off-Road Impreza Community

you might ask for recommendations over at the dirtyimpreza forum.

you also might ask the guys at TurninConcepts

cheers