Whiteline swaybars

[den]

After advice on whiteline swaybars to stop body roll .They make a extra heavy duty rear 30mm and hduty rear 27mm..and also extra heavy duty front 32mm..just wanted to buy one to start with..should i get rear or front? what do u think.

 

[scrowley]

Rear will help most with roll. Curious how well it works. Been thinking the same. Wonder if it will limit or hurt flex..?

 

[DARKNESS]

It pretty much has to. That's the point. You could make some swaybar disconnects and have the best of both worlds.

 

[fj80pb]

Whiteline's HD will, most definitely, reduce body roll.
It is critical however knowing whether you have accessories (Bullbar, winch, rear bumper with carrier...). The bars you choose must be tuned to the overall weight of the vehicle, otherwise you'll most likely end up with a harsh, unpleasant, even unsafe ride-should you run a “light” rig relative to the sway bar.
Personally, I have Whiteline's HD (27mm on the rear and 32mm on the front), OME's HD 50mm, ARB & Kaymar-with carrier at both ends. Flexing has never been an issue on the trail. Body roll, as compared with OEM config, was drastically minimized.
After 100K miles after the install all I can say is that I'm really happy with this system.
Hope this helps. Good luck mate
Cheers

 

[jonheld]

The rear swaybar absolutely limits rear droop. Mine was forcibly removed on both 80s with torn frame mounts on the 91 and 97. Both are running without. The front is still there on both, but added spacers to keep the driveshaft from rubbing.

 

[den]

thanks guys.. i'm sure it would reduce flex ,iv'e heard some ppl with big lifts use these to travel to the trails, then just disconect them,gives them the best of both worlds...for me it's when i load the family in, and all the camping gear that it tends to roll more,so im after better road control..in australia whiteline only list 1 extra heavy duty front @32mm and 2 rear @ 30mm and 27mm.. not sure on the rear.

 

[fj80pb]

For sure sway bars will limit the absolute max flex-that's indisputable. For guys doing lots of rock crawling or any other stuff where full flex should be the primary objective, the sway must be disconnected or eliminated-like Jon did.
On the other hand, for guys doing mostly overlanding and putting quite some weight on the rig, like truly yours, I'm not so sure. In the instances when a tire is on the air, engaging either front and/or rear lockers have been always quite handy-hence my non-issue experience with these sways bars (which I've never disconnected BTW).
And, oh boy, I'm happy having them while on the road.
Perhaps you could drop a line and pics after you put them on and share your experience.
Cheers

 

[richxd87]

Whiteline's HD will, most definitely, reduce body roll.
It is critical however knowing whether you have accessories (Bullbar, winch, rear bumper with carrier...). The bars you choose must be tuned to the overall weight of the vehicle, otherwise you'll most likely end up with a harsh, unpleasant, even unsafe ride-should you run a “light” rig relative to the sway bar.

What are the guidelines (as far as vehicle weight) for the 30mm vs the 27mm bar?

I am fully loaded, front rear bumpers, winch, rear tire carrier, water, gas, rtt.

thanks for your input!

 

[den]

talk to a guy at whiteline,he said that if you have a lot of weight added to the car all the time you would probally go the bigger rear... in my case, i think ill go for the 27mm...think that was just based on common sense but,not a guideline..he also ask what diameter mine was..he said there is diffrent sizes and can go upto 25mm..i'll have to check

 

[1973Guppie]

Why not just use stock swaybars? Mine work great, what is the benefit of these heavy duty ones? Are they constructed differently?

 

[fj80pb]

Thanks Den. Obviously, Whiteline have all the technical knowledge, experience and enough empirical evidence to publish the chart you're posting. IMO, you'll be fine with the 27mm on the rear. Let us know.
Richard: Looks like we are running quite similar configurations-albeit you put a bit more weight than I do with the RTT. In my particular case, since the rig isn't at fully load all the time, I went for the 27mm instead of the 30mm in the rear in order to maintain a more “comfy”, less rigid, behavior-particularly when unloaded. In any case, if you are still running on the OEM sways and tired of excessive body roll, you will appreciate Whiteline's added rigidity.
Guppie: Yes, the alloys & treatment are different in order to obtain the desired rigidity under load. If you however are happy with the current configuration, you should indeed keep it.
Cheers

 

[1973Guppie]

thanks for the response, something I would consider in the future if my center of gravity goes UP at all, right now I am only on 2 inches of lift which is probably why my stock sways work fine.

 

[Timpanogos Slim]

thanks for the response, something I would consider in the future if my center of gravity goes UP at all, right now I am only on 2 inches of lift which is probably why my stock sways work fine.

It's all relative. Plus a lot of people forget that the Total Spring Rate is a major consideration.

And what i mean by that is, your springs and your shocks enter into the total body roll equation too.

If you have upgraded springs, most of the aftermarket springs are going to have a higher spring rate than stock. Certainly higher than 20 year old stock.

If you have gas shocks, those have a vertical spring rate too. Not so much the oil shocks as i understand it.

For example on my GTI, I went with relatively cushy progressive rate springs, and relatively cushy frequency-sensitive shocks and struts, and very stiff sway bars.

The total spring rate is probably less than people who have "sport" springs and dampers, so i have a good amount of driving comfort, but the big sway bars keep the body roll to a minimum.

But if your springs and dampers are stiff enough, that reduces body roll too, thus limiting body roll along with comfort.

I thought about the whiteline sways for my 80 (they are GREAT on my GTI) but that was before i put on OME springs and KYB monotube gas shocks. Body roll is reduced quite a bit now. It's not as flat as my GTI around corners, but it doesn't go as fast around corners either.

The sway bar bushings on my 80 are Done. some of them just this side of missing. So i want to try replacing the worn out rubber bushings with brand new urethanes before i consider bigger sway bars again.

Of course, driving style and your comfort level with body sway are big factors too.

 

[1973Guppie]

yup, just recently replaced my swaybar bushings all with urethane, noticed a big difference on corners after this, before the rubber was basically falling out.

 

[Wheelingnoob]

Any links to places that sell these? Interested in getting a 30mm for the rear of mine.

 

[Crusha]

yup, just recently replaced my swaybar bushings all with urethane, noticed a big difference on corners after this, before the rubber was basically falling out.

Guppie, where did you get your sway bar bushings?

 

[fj80pb]

Well said Timpanogos. You put it far more eloquently than my clumsy “I'm really happy with this system” (I should have emphasized on system)
Wheelingnoob: you may want trying this

http://www.whiteline.com.au/index1.php

FWIW, I got mine many years ago from MAF, but I'm unsure they still carry these
Cheers

 

[Timpanogos Slim]

I got my whitelines for my GTI from amazon. I forget if i saw the fj80 bars there too.

 

[den]

Yeah pretty sure there on Amazon .. I got a front one at good price on eBay Australia

 

[CruisinEveryDay]

I understand that sway bars limit flex in general. My question is will the whiteline bars limit flex more than the oem bars or will it be the same?