[NIN8185]

Stock suspension (110k), possibly upgrade after its worn out, like stock hight. No track time, all back road & off/on ramp driving/ highway lane change.. Spirited snow doughnuts & drift but nothing to crazy (snowtires) & SpringSummerfall back roads (No drift) but enjoys cornering at a reasonably speed (summer tires)

Options ~ a used 17mm 04 wrx rear sway for 40$ + finding bushings (local friend) or 20mm rsb for 100$ from subaruwrxparts (or else where if you know cheaper)

 

[awdorgtfo]

The'yre both better than stock. That's all I need to say.

 

[amoore131]

Get a 20mm if you can find it for a better price (nasioc and rs25 classifieds)

If not go with the 17mm

 

[ShinjiML]

I'd say 20mm, might just take a bit of patience digging through ads. I got a 20 mm RSB off of nasioc for $50, including OEM mounts, bushings, and endlinks too

 

[NIN8185]

quick dumb question. if found some bushings in my garage that i think are from my brothers old 05 wrx wagon rsb. should the hole in the bushing be exactly 17mm with out opening the bushing? just wondering because i measured it and its is a few mm less then 17 with the bushing completely closed.. though i do not know where else these bushings would have came from if not his wrx (found in a bag that says swaybar mounts and rear diff mount bolts)

 

[awdorgtfo]

It should fit

 

[amoore131]

Should be 17mm bushings. If you go with them you'll have to trim them to fit the stock mounts. I did it when I put my 17mm in. It wasn't too hard

 

[ShinjiML]

When I put a 20mm WRX RSB on my 05 RS, I actually got the bushings to fit into the stock RS mounts without trimming, just a bit of squeezing and coaxing.

 

[NIN8185]

got the 17mm bar today, the bushings i found did not fit, just ordered some black 17mm prothane urethane bushing on ebay for 9$ comes with grease as well, should be in by friday, il let you know how it all goes! the 13mm sway bar looks tiny compared to the 17mm so i'm hoping the the results will reflect that. ( didn;t want to go 20MM+ till i go with new supension, no need to be to stiff since i don't race nor track)

 

[NIN8185]

Just looked at the DIY and it mentions the wheels had to be on something to make a load on the suspension when you lift to install? is this correct? i cant simply jack up my car with the wheels hanging?

 

[awdorgtfo]

You will never be able to get the swaybar on straight without the suspension loaded. Get some ramps and you'll be able to finish in 10 mins.

 

[ShinjiML]

Yeah, you have to have the suspension under full load. If you don't want to spend money on ramps, just jack up the car and put some 2x4s or cinder blocks underneath the car, but make sure you get both sides even and leave the jack and/or jack stands lightly pressed against the bottom of the car just in case anything goes wrong.

Also PB Blaster or WD-40 will help a lot since the bolts could be a bit rusty and it's harder to torque a bolt in a tight space while lying down.

 

[NIN8185]

got the prothane bushings in today, and there is no slit on the bushings to put them on the bar?! WTF.. hack saw i guess?

 

[NIN8185]

Comparable difference in size between 13mm and 17mm.

Installation was smooth besides for some reason one of the mount bolts would not line up when using the Prothane Polyurethane bushings, one bushing/mount went on pretty easy, but the other side i could not fit it (was able to use the spare stock 17mm bushing I was given with the bar{so i am using one poly bushing and one stock:/) the issue seemed to be with the length of the prothane bushing, it was alittle long and stuck out from the mount a bit making the mount bolt not line up properly(no issue with stock bushing) trimming the Poly bushing about 1/2 cm would seem to fit more ideally.

Impressions: I like it alot! i no longer fall into the passengers seat on hard turns (used to have to balance my self with the bucket of the passenger seat on some turns, but not any longer) With the stiffer bar in place by butt can feel more response from the awd, while no power is gained from the thicker sway, the elimination of the sway seems to put the power in place much faster making quick decisions much more precise. with the 17mm bar there is still a little give to the sway which is perfect if you dont track nor race as you can still feel if your about to oversteer to much, eliminating your rear end from swinging out unintentionally like can happen with 20mm+ bars

 

[ChanceSkeleton]

I am bumping this thread because the prothane 17mm bushings are too big for the stock RSB mounts. I have a funky design (canadian spec RS), and I can't close the mount unless I trim the bushing. Just an FYI for everyone.