IW STi Forum banner

Anyone installed an aftermarket rear sway bar on his 15 STI?

40K views 76 replies 27 participants last post by  iceman302  
#1 ·
I am curious to see if anyone installed an aftermarket rear sway bar on his new stock STI, wondering to see what kind of benefit it provides on this new chassis/suspension since the stock car has lot less of body roll thru corners.
 
#6 ·
IMO no. There should be virtually no real difference in the way the car handles/feels. Not worth the dollars or the work at this point. If bigger bars were added in the future I would say yes, for extra strength, but....
When I had my 06 WRX I had a Whiteline 27mm bar on the front, and Kartboy endlinks. The bolts on the links kept loosening and as a result I had a constant clunking noise. I took them off and put the factory links back on, and they worked just fine with the bigger bar right up until I sold it.
 
#7 ·
Mine is on the way. unfortunately, it will probably take a while because it has to go through customs. (U.S. Navy base stationed overseas)
Ordered an adjustable 24MM whiteline from Oakos last week.. Next will be invidia downpipe and kartboy endlinks.
 
#11 ·
Installed my cusco rear sway bay since day 1. 20mm diameter same as stock '15 sti, but much beefier close to the endlink mounting point.

[URL="http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/cc348/ajpogi24/RSB_5_zps3ecf12c8.jpg"]Image Link
[/URL]

[URL="http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/cc348/ajpogi24/image_zps47c10252.jpg"]Image Link
[/URL]

My initial impression , Less lift on the rear when cornering compared to stock.
You should be fine in LA but I am very disappointed in how cheap the paint is on the Cusco sway bars. In less than a year it looks like it's 5 - 7 years old and it's the only rusted part of my undercarriage.
 
#21 ·
The purpose of a stiffer rear sway bar is to increase oversteer, which counters the default understeer from the factory, hence creating a more neutral balance. It's less about body roll (which is mostly eliminated through chassis stiffness and stiffer suspension).

Sent from my Android device using Tapatalk
 
#24 ·
The purpose of a stiffer rear sway bar is to increase oversteer, which counters the default understeer from the factory, hence creating a more neutral balance. It's less about body roll (which is mostly eliminated through chassis stiffness and stiffer suspension).
I had put a 22mm STi rear sway bar on my 2012 Outback, it made a HUGE difference in the handling. IIRC, the original bar was only 13mm.

For that particular car it did cut out out a lot of body roll but it's a totally different car.
 
#48 · (Edited)
I didn't weigh it but it feels about the same weight as the stock knob maybe a bit heavier. Shifts are much crisper and much more feeling now. I don't have the short shifter FYI. It's duracon so it shouldn't retain heat/cold like metal knobs.

Ok had me curious so I weighed them both with my bike part scale. The new knob weighs only 100 grams and the stock was 240 grams so the duracon knob is much lighter.
 
#55 ·
Whiteline 24mm rear sway bar is installed and I am a fan. I haven't done much more than spirited road driving including on/off ramps but it appears to have lessened understeer quite a bit. Chassis balancing with the throttle is much easier now.

It doesn't appear to have made the ride any worse - it's better if anything. There is the odd chassis vibration from certain road surfaces that might not have been felt before but I'm fine with that as it's more feedback for the driver.

As far as the install went I could not use the Kartboy endlinks as there is a sensor in the way on the driver's side. I'm not sure what it is but I didn't feel like messing with it (maybe yaw, vdc, something along those line). I ended up sticking with the factory endlinks with the braces that Whiteline includes with the bars.
 
#56 ·
Thanks for your post, as I've been considering KB links for mine. The sensor you mentioned is the auto leveling bit for the LED lights.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
 
#67 ·
On my 05 the rear sway made all kinds of noises on mi roads. Im afraid.
 
#69 ·
Has anyone confirmed you can only use the OEM endlinks on any rear sway bar upgrade? SubiSpeed has a YouTube video of the install of the Whiteline 22mm RSB and Whiteline adjustable endlinks on their 2015 WRX with no issues but I think they have a Base/Premium WRX as their shop car so that 'self leveling' sensor might be missing on their car?
 
#74 ·
meh, I don't see how people think this car is THAT great on the corners. I guess I'm jaded from the Z I had which was absolutely flat...then again it was a 2 door sports car. Haha, I think I was expecting too much from this car.

That said, even with performance snows, this car is very fun to drive. Can't wait to put mounts, my ap, the intake, and the nameless exhaust.