VW BORA 4Motion rear Sway Bar change DIY with pics

[Golf-Sam]

As my 4motion is currently running the stock suspension setup .. thought a sway bar would make a fair bit of difference as to how the car behaves around corners .. on the stock setup the car understeered the moment throttle was applied which is all fun and games .. but that's not why i bought a 4motion for ..

so i went ahead a bought a whiteline sway bar from autobarn .. just didnt want to wait for it . . got a discount and worked out same price as ebay Aus .. got the Adjustable 20mm Sway bar .. as i read on the Vortex about peoples experiences with bigger bars and the loss of control at the changes of elevation etc ..

20mm turned out to be quite a bit beefier and stiffer material than the stock one ..




there was so much conflicting info on the internet on how to go about this .. hence it took me a fair bit of time to figure it out .. however .. with the right tools .. it's a 2 hour job at max ..

Tools needed for the job :
- socket wrench
-17mm and 13mm sockets
- 13mm wrench spanner if available .. would make you life so much easier

Steps:
1. Put the car up on jack stands and take rear wheels off ..



2. remove the bolts that hold the rear muffler to the heat shield at the back of the car.


theres another 2 bolts that need to be removed from the other side as well ..


3. i noticed that taking the stock sway bar off the suspension linkage helped a lot with the access to the bushing mounts .. depends on what way you go about it really ..



4. started taking off the mounting bushes .. started with the lower bolts .. as you could pull the heat shield down a bit to give you more access to the top bolt of the bushing and provides you with the space to take off the old sway bar .


^^ this pic shows plenty of room .. if you have big hands .. it's going to drive you insane ..

5. take off the sway bar and remove the old D-mounts .. and use the provided grease to lube up the inside of the new bushings on the new sway bar .. if not done right it will squeak im told .. then reuse the old mounts on the new bar ..





6. Installation of the new bar .. is pretty much reversing the process mentioned .. HOWEVER , you will need to get longer bolts for the D-mounts in the size of M8x1.25x20mm as the original ones wont give you the length to attach to the thread . . made my life easier ..



-The sway bar i bought was Bar16Z which is made for the Bora 4motion .. it is 3 way adjustable .. it not being massive i went ahead and set it to hard .. which is the hole closest to the bar.

-wheels back on .. exhaust bolts back on .. and it Drive time !!!

Car feels much tighter all round .. stiffened the body a fair bit .. still comfortable but loves cornering more now ..
awesome bang for buck mod !!

hope this helps others !!

Sam

[WhO]

Good write up, i'm currently looking at the 22mm whiteline bar and was wondering if anybody had experience on how the car felt afterwards!

Got any links to vortex re cars loosing control? Was that on R32's / Audi TT's or on the FWD platform?

Will be interested to see how you like it over time as its probably the next thing on my agenda!

[mhemming]

This is something I'll definitely be doing soon
Just gotta decide what brand and thickness etc. 20-22mm seems pretty good for the rear

Great write up. thanks!

[Golf-Sam]

Good write up, i'm currently looking at the 22mm whiteline bar and was wondering if anybody had experience on how the car felt afterwards!

Got any links to vortex re cars loosing control? Was that on R32's / Audi TT's or on the FWD platform?

Will be interested to see how you like it over time as its probably the next thing on my agenda!

cant remember the threads .. but it was on the FWD platforms and on some R32s .. they were all running stock suspension tho

[Back Door Shenanigans.]

Still trying to figure out what the best size sway bars are to get? Is it worth upgrading the front at the same time? Was thinking about the ecs H&R sway bar kit which is 23mm up front and 21mm rear. Just wondering if this will actually reduce the under-steer and give a little bit of over-steer.

[Golf-Sam]

Still trying to figure out what the best size sway bars are to get? Is it worth upgrading the front at the same time? Was thinking about the ecs H&R sway bar kit which is 23mm up front and 21mm rear. Just wondering if this will actually reduce the under-steer and give a little bit of over-steer.

im running stock front .. i have zero understeer now .. no matter how hard i hit the corner .. i can make it oversteer a little bit if i try ..
but so far loving the way the car feels .. i think you might understeer a fair bit with a sway bar that big in the front .. get researching

[WhO]

Well just bought a 22mm whiteline bar! Will report back when it gets here!

[HaydEn]

I can verify the much fun you will have installing this. Car likes to be sideways a bit more..

[Golf-Sam]

I can verify the much fun you will have installing this. Car likes to be sideways a bit more..

Haha you would know :p

[mhemming]

Purchased the Whiteline BAR16Z 20mm last night!
Will be here mid next week! Cant wait.

Reason for bump though.. is the images aren't working for this 'how-to'
Seems simple enough to install, but having pictures makes it all that bit easier?