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Anyone with addco sway bars?

1K views 16 replies 8 participants last post by  gotmag 
#1 ·
I have ramdomly found Addco sway bars on ebay and was wondering if any of you have them on.

Thanks in advance
 
#2 ·
never heard of them.
all you have to do is find yourself a set of the oem 1be sway bars and then you have as good as it gets. the aftermarket sway bars area all basically reproductions of the stock solid sway bar which was part of the 1be suspension loadout.

1ba and 1bc are standard road use, 1bb is a rough road set with no sway bars, and 1be is the sport heavy duty setup with heavy duty sway bars meant for use with a sport package.

neuspeed even claims on their website "if you have equipped the oem solid sway bar you do not need this part"
 
#4 ·
They say that you don't need the Front sway if you have the sport suspension 1BE suspension which none of the US cars have. I've swapped my 1BA front sway which is 28mm hollow steel for the 1BE european sport version which is 28mm SOLID steel and it's a beast compared to the other one (the H&R is 28mm solid, and the Neuspeed front is 32 solid). Also I recommend getting a rear sway as neither the standard or sport setup has one of these. I recommend AST (Autotech Sport Tuning) or Neuspeed for the rear. The Autotech is much lighter than the Neuspeed but both are great.
 
#5 ·
i picked up an AST rear sway off a member on here & it works great. less body roll etc. but now that my back end is tightened up, i notice more how bad my back shocks are...but those will be replaced soon :)
ive read about people getting a rear sway & leaving the front stock.....
& people who remove the stock front sway & just keep upgraded rear...but it all comes down to personal preference....
 
#6 · (Edited)
I dont have these on my Passat (I personally am against sway bars in most cases because they generally cause understeer and reduce rotation in FWD vehicles), but I have used Addco swaybars on a variety of other vehicles. They are top notch quality, and god forbid you break one (practically impossible unless you have a gigantic truck and drive like a madman...), they are great with warranty stuff. I ran a 1.5" front bar and a 7/8" rear bar on my 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee with F350 Dana 60 axles, long arm 4 link 8" lift, and 37" MT/Rs. Despite the weight, the fact that it was an SUV, and the ride height, that thing was 100% flat and could out handle many cars and trucks. Thats for real. Course I did have Bilstein 5150s and 8" wider then stock axles... I actually broke the 1.5" bar, but then again, it wasn't really the bars fault, I just didnt tuck it up enough when it was disconnected. They still gave me a new one.

PS. Suspension is 100x more important then sway bars, unless you are die hard set on keeping a smooth soft ride.

Not saying you won't benefit from swaybars, but be careful. The can drastically change the handling characteristics, and a flatter ride doesn't always mean better or faster cornering. It may increase your lateral grip to some degree, but you are also pushing your car further to the edge of its traction. This is going to cause your vehicle to break loose more unexpectedly and harder to manage. More body roll may be a handful at first, but if you learn it, settling into your suspension on a corner is more important then having your car stay flat. Just my 2 cents.

Excuse me, I said o sway bars but I meant front STOCK swaybar, no rear. Sorry. Bilstein Sport suspension. Unless you want to lift a wheel, no benefit on this race course. Im not a proponent against swaybars, just against upgrading them to a ridiculous size and unevenly. I personally find on RWD and AWD its more important to have a rear, but once again, only my one opinion, not gospel by any means.
 
#7 ·
I've had my Neuspeed for a while and I've got it set on medium and I've never had any problem or negative side effect from it. It certainly makes the car handle much better and stiffens up the rear. Honestly I'd say you can leave the front bar alone and just get a rear. It is worth it and with the Neuspeed you can put it on wimpy (soft), medium, or hard so if you want a little more or less you can dial it in. I think if you were on a track with a Passat and you don't have a rear sway you're going to get whooped.
 
#8 ·
truth be told, it depends on the track. on a longer road course, with 2nd/3rd gear stuff, I feel it hinders. On a larger and faster course, I imagine it would be essential. But... considering the size and horsepower our cars put out, you don't often find a Passat on the larger courses (ie Laguna Seca or something). Personal preference, I was only giving my opinion. For Autocross, I would use no swaybars. For normal driving, with a lowered suspension, I think only a front is good on FWD. For serious stuff or if you carry a lot of weight often, then I am not saying a rear couldn't be nice. I personally like oversteer far more then understeer, so I don't mess with the rear on the Passat.
 
#9 ·
actually, the 1be setup is available in america. in fact, pz is equipped with the 1be sway bar on his b5 4mo variant. or atleast that's what i believe i heard him say, last time we were talking about his setup.

as for rears, they come stock if you're awd i think. meant to say that, but forgot.
 
#10 ·
You're right sipes, I was assuming you meant awd anyway when you talked about a stock rear sway... After a while here you just pretty much know what the other guy is talking about ;). I think I read that's what PZ has too. I have the 1BE springs and Bilstein shocks with a Neuspeed rear bar and my car carves insanely. I'm in awe every time I drive it...and the wife even likes it so cha-ching more mods!
 
#12 ·
i'm pretty sure my car could do that too, i have a similar setup...
neuspeed front sway, hr oe sport springs, eibach pro-dampers, and a rear O-bar as well.

i know for a fact i can change a wheel by simply backing into my driveway at a diagonal angle :lol:

i'm also eager to see if i can run on 3 wheels... that would be amusing to me. hahaha.

vid coming soon :poke:
 
#15 ·
personally I'd rather scandinavian flick a corner at 70mph then have to slow down because of the understeer.

Honestly if you are a decent driver I'd say tighten the shit out of the back end so it pops loose easily when you flick

And for those that run track events and are asking "Scandinavian Flick...WTF IT THAT?" Please please please, get out of your car, and give the keys to someone else. For those that just like the way you car looks and don't care about how good you can drive, heres and instructional video. And please don't be an idiot and go doing this if you don't know how. You will end up hurting yourself or someone else.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sbr1K3uuOPk
 
#16 ·
I bought an Addco sway bar for my Toyota Supra back in 83-84...

They were the first national aftermarket suspension company I think. They showed how minor suspension tuning could effect handling. They took a regular 70's sedan and did 2 timed laps, one with a sway bar upgrade and one without, and showed the times. They also had a video too I think. Probably Beta... lol.





:D Scandinavian Flick :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcRAPQW4ZW8&NR=1
 
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