Sway bars, lever arms, anti-roll bars, or stabilizer bars are a key part of your vehicle’s suspension because they help reduce body roll when cornering. Sway bars are a torsion spring that connects one side of your wheel’s suspension to the other side. When a vehicle turns, the vehicle’s weight is shifted to the outside wheel. Since the bar is a torsion spring, the sway bar is meant to pull the inside wheel down, preventing it from lifting. Meanwhile, the outside wheel’s suspension will offer more resistance, decreasing compression. This prevents excess body roll and keeps the suspension within its ideal operating range.
Some sway bar kits for some vehicles can also come with stabilizer links, which transfer some of the lateral force to the opposite side during a corner. One end of the stabilizer link is mounted on the sway bar, while the other is connected to a suspension component that moves when a wheel is compressed. A stabilizer link is present on both sides of a sway bar.
Here are the sway bar kits that you should consider if you’re looking to improve your vehicle’s handling:
Whiteline’s adjustable sway bars feature lever arms that have several mounting holes that allow you to change the sway bar’s lever length. Changing the lever length can increase or decrease the roll bar’s stiffness. This setting is useful because it allows drivers to change the sway bar’s characteristics depending on load, driving conditions, and personal preferences. For example, you might want a comfier setting in regular driving conditions. However, you might want a stiffer setting if you want to take your vehicle out on the track or if you’re carrying heavy loads.
Whiteline’s Adjustable Series sway bar kits come with components like the sway bar links, bushings, end links, and the necessary nuts and bolts.
According to reviews, installing Whiteline’s adjustable sway bars on sports cars improves cornering characteristics. These sway bars also make the vehicle’s steering feel more connected and engaging.
Eibach’s Anti-Roll Kit sway bars are designed to reduce body roll, improve stability, and increase driver confidence. These sway bars are made with high-quality spring steel wire wound with a proprietary computer numerical control (CNC) bending process. The springs are also tempered and shocked to increase durability and service life.
Like Whiteline’s sway bars, Eibach sway bars are also adjustable, allowing you to fine-tune your vehicle’s handling to suit your driving style. Roll bars might be hidden under the vehicle, but a keen observer might be impressed because Eibach’s sway bars are painted bright red.
Car Throttle, a YouTube channel specializing in automotive part reviews installed and tested Eachbach sway bars on their BMW E46 330d. The reviewers noted that installing the sway bars only took twenty minutes. Once installed, the reviewers went on the track and found that the sway bars made the car feel better during the turn-in. After each corner, the vehicle was also able to gather its composure sooner after hitting the apex. Overall, the sway bar kit enabled them to drive their car more confidently.
aFe is a California-based company that makes performance-oriented products like suspension components and filters. Like the previously mentioned sway bars, aFe’s Control Series sway bars are meant to improve your vehicle’s handling by reducing body roll. Their sway bars are made with tubular alloy steel that was bent using CNC technology. aFe also paints its sway bars with a bright orange or blue color, making them pop out when someone peeks under your vehicle. Like the two previously mentioned options, aFe’s sway bars are also adjustable, giving you the option to fine-tune your vehicle’s handling.
Overall, these three sway bars are very similar to one another. All are adjustable and are relatively similar in terms of price. Remember that using the mounting holes closest to the inside of the bar is the stiffest setting. At the same time, using the hole at the furthest end will provide the softest setting. You can’t go wrong with choosing any of these kits, just make sure you get a set designed to fit your vehicle.
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