endlink swap only

[greg donovan]

anyone changed just the endlinks on a 94 or similar style?

curious as to what type of a difference they would make w/the stock bar.

if any at all.

[BAC5.2]

Changed the endlinks on my friends 05 Legacy GT Wagon. The benefits are the same.

A stiff endlink on a stock swaybar just provides a stiffer base for the swaybar to rely on.

Imagine, if you will, a peice of wood in place of the endlinks.

When the body rolls, the wood would compress, flex, bend, and reduce the efficiency of the sway bar.

Replace the wood with steel.

When the body rolls, the steel DOESN'T compress, flex, or bend, and this increases the efficiency of the sway bar.

Upgrade endlinks first, swaybars second.

[greg donovan]

that is what i figured every time i looked up at those flimsy plastic pieces.

i just wanted some real world examples.

i was wondering cuz you always hear about the bar and nothing about the links.

changing links is much cheaper than a bar.

and apparently will make a difference.

good to know.

[scottzg]

Ehh, ill post on this one...

Short answer:

Endlinks- reduce compliance, marginally alter handling at all time
Swaybar- Only effective in cornering, far more noticable


The endlinks serve a different purpose than the bar. Uprated endlinks remove the compliance from the bar. In a perfect world, they make the swaybar effective over little bumps and more minor suspension movements. A stiffer bar will alter how the car oversteers and understeers, and affects how it rotates. It does nothing until one side of the suspension is compressed and the other side isnt, the more this is the case, the more it does.

The stiffness of the endlinks is engineered into the system. They flex to allow some movement for road irregularities. An uprated bar puts more torque on the links, and so they are overwhelmed and bend. The solid links stop this effect, along with reducing the effectiveness of the independant suspension. Great on tarmac, not necessarily great on road. Stock swaybar with aftermarket endlinks will not show much difference; they probably impede performance on irregular road. There is so much compliance built into the whole suspension system that it is unlikely that any significant change will be noticed.

Comments and "you don't know wtf you're talking about" encouraged!

[BAC5.2]

There was a noticeable increase in "solidity" in my friends 05 LGT Wagon.