19mm rear sway bar install

[Jsmith]

Just ordered the 20mm RSB, picking it up on Friday from the dealer...$20 cheaper than the 19mm...go figure

[leolfds]

20mm all the way and the improvement is huge. No more swaying on the highway and cornering feels much more stable. The car should have come with this bar standard.

[BradLegacy2017]

20mm all the way and the improvement is huge. No more swaying on the highway and cornering feels much more stable. The car should have come with this bar standard.

 

Thanks! Looking forward to ordering and installing ours.

[Jsmith]

Guys, as I mentioned yesterday, I will be picking up the 20mm bar and bushings tomorrow and installing tomorrow night.

 

I don't have any concern about the removal & install of the new one, but my one question is...

 

Is this just a bolt up and drive away type of mod?

[Milkywitness]

Guys, as I mentioned yesterday, I will be picking up the 20mm bar and bushings tomorrow and installing tomorrow night.

 

I don't have any concern about the removal & install of the new one, but my one question is...

 

Is this just a bolt up and drive away type of mod?

 

Yup, you just gotta undo...what is it 3 bolts on each side to take out the oem bar, then plug the new one in and put the 3 bolts on each side back on and drive away! Although I did hear a couple kinks the first time I drove around while the bar settles into place, then went back under and made sure the bolts kept tight.

Edited April 13, 2017 by Milkywitness

[Jsmith]

Awesome thanks! From a mechanical standpoint, I have no concerns about the install process...just wasn't sure if anything else had to be adjusted after.

 

I've been hitting the corners hard the past few days and I have come to the conclusion that the 6th gen has much more body roll than my 5th gen (although the larger side bolsters in the 5th gen seats may factor in here) but I'm excited to get this done and throttle through some curves.

Edited April 13, 2017 by Jsmith

[Opie]

Install it with the car on the ground, plenty of room, very easy to do.

[The Grey Goose]

I don't know if I'd say plenty of room. I followed that advice, and it took like 30 minutes and I was swearing up a storm. Wish I would've just got out the jack and stands and done it that way.

[spect2k]

Back it onto ramps if you have them. Then there is plenty of room.

[rhombus]

I weighed in on this thread back in October. I bought a 2017 Limited in September and a month later I had the dealer install a 20mm RSB. I now have nearly 6k miles on this vehicle, and I couldn't be more pleased. There's very little lean in sweeping on-ramps on limited-access highways. With the rear more stable, the front end stays on track better on rural roads where crowns and dips challenge tracking and stability.

 

No regrets. I am so thankful for finding this thread active last October. While there are known technical differences between 19mm and 20mm, if I had a 19mm from the factory, likely I wouldn't have moved to 20mm. But 16mm to 20mm is a real improvement. There's certainly a place for 22mm and heavier, but I'm quite pleased with what a 20mm provides in my circumstances.

 

rhombus

Edited April 15, 2017 by rhombus
syntax correction

[george-in-georgia]

Maybe it's the 2016 vs earlier , maybe it's the Limited , but I installed a 20mm

bar and would be hard pressed to say there's a noticeable affect/improvement .

 

I had no wandering on freeways up to 80 mph and with moderate crosswinds

before the change .

 

And frankly I don't think that body roll was any issue at all either .

 

So why change at all ? Ya never know until you do , I guess .

 

Raz me if you want , but that's my experience .

 

 

Regards

George

[Brisvegas]

Maybe it's the 2016 vs earlier , maybe it's the Limited , but I installed a 20mm bar and would be hard pressed to say there's a noticeable affect/improvement . I had no wandering on freeways up to 80 mph and with moderate crosswinds before the change . And frankly I don't think that body roll was any issue at all either . So why change at all ? Ya never know until you do , I guess .RegardsGeorge

 

George, thanks for your post. I've always been a kinda "confused onlooker" in regards to this ongoing 20mm Bar discussion. I've never felt the need to change from the stock issue bar. I figure it can't be an engineering oversight by Subaru ... or is it?

 

Can the need for an upgrade be due to the way the car is driven by some users. That is not meant as a criticism of those who like to push their vehicles hard but legal, but I just pose the question.

 

Subaru has a reputation (especially WRX) as a fun car to drive, especially through bends, and maybe that gives rise to the need for a 20mm bar for drivers who like to get the "full driving experience" ..... and again I'm not being critical of those drivers.

 

I guess I'm a reasonably "sedate driver" who does his fair share of highway travel, and I can honestly say that I have never had any sway problems.

[XT-sub]

... I figure it IMO it isn’t an engineering oversight. ... or is it?

...

... and I can honestly say that I have never had any sway problems.

 

IMO it isn’t an engineering oversight. FHI Engineers do a lot of testing on various road conditions, but have been known to not quite get it right (eg. Australian spec Levorg 2.0GT-S spec.B). It usually comes down to a compromise between various road surfaces & conditions, some of which a lot of people may not experience. However some models can benefit from a larger rear bar & on some models it can make the handling worse in some areas. I’ll give my impressions of three examples of Australian spec built in Japan Subarus I have fitted the same 19mm STi rear bar to which originally came factory fitted with a 16mm rear bar. Note that the suspension on our cars are reported to be tuned for our conditions.

 

SH Forester XT:

With the stock 16mm rear bar the back end squirmed up/down & side to side when exiting a bridge back onto the bridge approach at speed. Considerable understeer with throttle input when driving around a roundabout (quick throttle off to tuck the nose in is hard to apply at a roundabout). Also not very good turn-in or stability on high speed corners. The 19mm rear bar improved all the above but made the vehicle ride marginally firmer on poor quality repaired bitumen roads which was quite acceptable because the suspension on this Australian model was fairly compliant. This model was more suited to rougher roads than good quality bitumen roads. Corrugated dirt roads at speed were much better handled with the 16mm bar. Different springs & shocks would have been a better upgrade instead of just bolting on a larger rear bar.

 

SJ Forester XT:

The handling of this model was a huge improvement over the previous SH XT & had firmer suspension. But it still wasn’t ideal on roundabouts & I felt the turn-in was lacking on high speed corners. The 19mm rear bar improved both the above but at the expense of a slightly firmer ride on poor quality repaired bitumen roads. The downside was at speed at one particular high speed bitumen corner with quite a few undulations through the corner. The stock suspension with 16mm bar was perfect for this with no steering corrections required through the corner, but with the 19mm bar steering corrections were required at every undulation on the same corner at the same speed with the same load & tyre pressures. This was a real eye opener.

 

Gen6 2016 Liberty 3.6R:

There were suspension changes between the 2015 & 2016 Liberty 3.6R. The following was with a number of back to back tests at the same speed on the same road surfaces between the 19mm & 16mm bars. With the stock 16mm bar it handled quite good over most road surfaces & certainly didn’t lean too much when pushed really hard as reported by some USDM Legacy owners. The only downside of the stock suspension with 16mm bar was when exiting a bridge back onto the bridge approach at speed the rear end squirms up/down & side to side. The 19mm bar improved this but didn’t fix it (I think this is a lack of damping/rebound on the rear). It also made the car handle with slightly less understeer with throttle off, with throttle on I can’t detect any difference due to the excellent job active torque vector does. There is marginally flatter cornering but this is barely noticeable.

 

The downside of the 19mm bar on the Aus spec 2016 Liberty 3.6R is the firmer ride on rough surface pothole poorly repaired roads – this is very noticeable & the 16mm bar was more stable over these surfaces as speed. I didn’t carry out any comparisons on the above high speed corner with undulations but I wouldn’t be surprised if the result was the same as the SJ XT. I also didn’t carry out any comparisons on corrugated dirt roads but I expect the 16mm bar would be better for this.

 

It is interesting to note that the SJ Forester tS (higher spec’d version of the SJ XT Premium) with its fairly firm factory STi tuned suspension comes factory fitted with a 16mm rear swaybar.

[Brisvegas]

IMO

 

SH Forester XT:

With the stock 16mm rear bar the back end squirmed up/down & side to side when exiting a bridge back onto the bridge approach at speed. Considerable understeer with throttle input when driving around a roundabout (quick throttle off to tuck the nose in is hard to apply at a roundabout). Also not very good turn-in or stability on high speed corners.

SJ Forester XT:

The handling of this model was a huge improvement over the previous SH XT & had firmer suspension. But it still wasn’t ideal on roundabouts & I felt the turn-in was lacking on high speed corners.

Gen6 2016 Liberty 3.6R:

There were suspension changes between the 2015 & 2016 Liberty 3.6R. The following was with a number of back to back tests at the same speed on the same road surfaces between the 19mm & 16mm bars. With the stock 16mm bar it handled quite good over most road surfaces & certainly didn’t lean too much when pushed really hard as reported by some USDM Legacy owners. The only downside of the stock suspension with 16mm bar was when exiting a bridge back onto the bridge approach at speed the rear end squirms up/down & side to side.

 

The downside of the 19mm bar on the Aus spec 2016 Liberty 3.6R is the firmer ride on rough surface pothole poorly repaired roads – this is very noticeable & the 16mm bar was more stable over these surfaces at speed. I didn’t carry out any comparisons on the above high speed corner with undulations but I wouldn’t be surprised if the result was the same as the SJ XT. I also didn’t carry out any comparisons on corrugated dirt roads but I expect the 16mm bar would be better for this.

 

It is interesting to note that the SJ Forester tS (higher spec’d version of the SJ XT Premium) with its fairly firm factory STi tuned suspension comes factory fitted with a 16mm rear swaybar.

 

Thanks for the extensive and informative reply.

 

I notice that in each of your three examples you mentioned "speed" ..... I'm not at all suggesting you mean "lunatic speed" and I'm assuming you mean just safely giving the vehicle a bit more juice than "normal" ...... so to me that indicates that those who upgrade to the 19mm and 20mm RSB's are probably driving in a similar style, and are hoping for compensatory handling to match their driving techniques.

 

From what you are saying it seems to me that at least for us Legacy/Liberty drivers here in Oz (especially us more conservative ones ) ...... the 16mm is more than sufficient ..... and in some of the road conditions you described in your reply, the 16mm is a better option.

 

Thanks again for the interesting reply.

[XT-sub]

... I notice that in each of your three examples you mentioned "speed" .....

...

From what you are saying it seems to me that at least for us Legacy/Liberty drivers here in Oz (especially us more conservative ones ) ...... the 16mm is more than sufficient ..... and in some of the road conditions you described in your reply, the 16mm is a better option.

 

To clarify what I meant when I mentioned speed. By speed on the bitumen roads I mean safe driving at the speed limit but usually safely exceeding the advisory speed for the corner which the Liberty will easily due. For speed on the dirt road corrugations I mean not driving very slowly so the corrugations can’t be felt & not driving too fast over the corrugations so that the vehicle becomes skittish & unsafe.

 

I think the 16mm bar is quite a good compromise on our 2016 Liberty 3.6R between the rough roads we have where I live & smooth winding country roads. Even if we had ideal roads there is nothing wrong with the way our Liberty handles standard except for the way the rear squirms side to side & up/down when coming off a bridge back onto the bridge approach that is slightly lower than the bridge. The 19mm bar improved this but at the expense of a firmer ride over some roads. If it wasn’t for this rear end squirming I would definitely go back to the 16mm rear bar.

[Yoda_One]

I agree 1000% if you like mundane driving experience. Since I am so use to European vehicles on country winding hilly roads the Leggy felt sloppy until I installed a 20mm. I never looked back! I am very pleased​ with the results and the only regret is I didn't purchase something larger.

 

Laughing at oneself and with others is good for the Soul!

[leolfds]

The US northeast is not much different. This winter the roads got extra beat up. It's pothole galore. Still I would choose the 20mm bar over the stock.

[XT-sub]

I agree 1000% if you like mundane driving experience. ...

 

Well that rules me out, I detest boring freeways & like driving on winding hilly roads too much. So would that now be down to 100% from 1000%?

 

Our Aus spec 2016 Liberty 3.6R definitely rode & handled differently to the 2015 Liberty 3.6R I test drove. Both were stock.

[gibjer]

If anyone is in my area and want to upgrade I bought one of the 20mm rear bar and never got around to installing it. Would let it go pretty cheap, but I'm not going go ship it, too awkward.

[leolfds]

About a month ago and you and I would be cooking with butter. I just did mine last month. Are you keeping your stock bar?

[Jsmith]

^^ I just did mine last Friday, I would have made the drive out your way. Definitely worth the upgrade, but to each his own.

 

I don't notice the difference while just cruising, but as soon as I start to hit the corners hard, it is night and day.

Edited April 27, 2017 by Jsmith

[gibjer]

About a month ago and you and I would be cooking with butter. I just did mine last month. Are you keeping your stock bar?

Legacy is getting traded in, so ya, the stock bar is staying on the car

[cerbomark]

19MM bar coming off my 2015 Legacy soon as the lease ends. I thought it was better with it on there.... will be for sale soon>

Also put one on my 17 Outback.

Both cars just too sloppy at highway speeds and winding country travel that I do with the stock bar. I am not shy about about driving a fast pace on the highway.

[BradLegacy2017]

Loving all this positive feedback for the 19 and 20mm sway bars!

 

Has anyone had their Subaru dealership install their upgraded sway bar? I'm wondering if they would give me a hard time?

 

It's definitely a job that I can handle, but being that we have the 5 year / 60k "Gold Plus" extended warranty, I'm being a little hesitant to swap it myself. I would hate to find myself in a situation in a few years where I may need some sort of rear suspension related service and they claim I voided the warranty by changing the rear sway bar. Anyone have experenice or insight with this?

[The Grey Goose]

Loving all this positive feedback for the 19 and 20mm sway bars!

 

Has anyone had their Subaru dealership install their upgraded sway bar? I'm wondering if they would give me a hard time?

 

It's definitely a job that I can handle, but being that we have the 5 year / 60k "Gold Plus" extended warranty, I'm being a little hesitant to swap it myself. I would hate to find myself in a situation in a few years where I may need some sort of rear suspension related service and they claim I voided the warranty by changing the rear sway bar. Anyone have experenice or insight with this?

What I would do is so it yourself, and just keep your stock anti sway bar. That way you can swap it back in if you need to for warranty work. I highly doubt that anyone would even notice that it's bigger. I can't speak to the 20mm, but the 19mm looks identical to the stock one, just a hair bigger.