jweiss12

I recently picked up a 2016 C7 Shark Gray/Black, 2LT, A8, Magnetic Ride, PDR w/NAV, NPP, Black Wheels, Carbon Flash Spoiler & Mirrors, Dual Roofs, etc... as a daily driver. Its my 2nd C7, strange enough that I am much more comfortable in this one as compared to my Z51 2015 that i sold because it was causing me pain to sit in.

My question is, as I have searched the forum without a clear answer, with a non-Z51 car with MRC, does it make a difference if I put on the Z51 sways? I read a few places that the MRC automatically includes a rear sway bar as compared to a base car without MRC.

I had no need for the Z51 because this will be a 15k mile a year car, never tracked, DD and I wanted the slightly more compliant ride and chose the MRC so that I can still stiffen the car up when having fun on the backroads.

Do the Z51 sways make that much of a difference in body control even with MRC?

Strake

There is NO rear sway bar on a base car, with MRC. So far, I haven't had the strong desire to add the Z 51 Sway Bar kit.... might change though

kp

As stated above, non-Z51 with MRC does not have a rear sway bar.

To me at least, body roll (which is the reason to add the rear and larger front sway) is not pronounced at all with a non Z51 MRC car on sport+. Even in tour it does not feel as mushy in hard corners as my old '14 non-z51.

IMO its fine stock but its not expensive or it doesnt take much time to swap to Z51 bars to see if you like it. And to switch back if you dont..

jweiss12

I don't mean to sound ignorant regarding this topic, but what will be gained and what will the difference in ride/handling be if I add the sway bars?

It's such an inexpensive mod, but if not needed i won't do it.

kp

Mostly less body roll in corners, I never felt the need to do sway bars on my '14 non-z51 and I drive daily on curvy mountain roads - its where I live. The tires were more limiting IMO, but some people swear by adding the bars the car feels much better. There are plenty of threads if you search around with plenty of discussion but as far as I know no one has added them on a non-z51 MRC car yet.

Crossed Flags Fan

And I guess it depends on how and where you drive and how often you do drive that way.
If you are constantly driving at 9 or 10/10ths on curvy roads or every on/off ramp is a G meter test then you probably want to make the changes. But if you're just putting it thru its paces at 8/10ths then you probably won't realize any differences. As stated above the tires are most likely the limiting issue.
Is it worth the $, probably not if you are mostly hauling it at the 8/10ths mark and not tracking it in any way.

axr6

A good set of swaybars will transform the whole driving experience. I have always placed aftermarket bars on my cars, including my wife's cars. She is NOT into going fast and throwing the car around in the twisties. Yet, when I installed a set of proper sized bars on her cars, she invariably came back saying that her car was so much easier to drive and felt so much better than before.

Having said that the Stingray without a rear bar felt sloppy for me from the very beginning, be at normal highway driving or canyon driving. I have now gone through 3 different swaybar setup and finally, the aFe adjustable set gave me what I needed. Now the Stingray feels much more responsive, much better steering feel, a much more enjoyable driving experience.

You don't have to be a racing driver to feel the difference; it is there every time you turn the steering wheel.

motomanvette

I always mess with sway bars to get a slightly better handling experience. You will notice a SLIGHT increase in ride harshness though.

jcp911s

Sway-bars are a bit of a "cheat". Back when spring rates and shock valving were not adjustable, sway-bars give another tool to fine-tune the suspension dynamics in turns.

Basically, it allows a car to run a softer spring (for ride), and acts as a "torsion bar" to increase spring-rate as the body leans in turns, but race-car engineers are always chasing spring rates, shock damping and sway-bars to find the best compromise.

MRC technology can, effectively change spring-rates in milliseconds to control body roll... in theory, a proper MRC setup would make sway-bars unnecessary.

jweiss12

I actually called Cultural today and asked about the Z51 sways for my MRC base coupe.

They told me that i could do the Z51 sways or do the front Z51 sway and the thicker MRC sway in the rear.

I learned something new. The Z51 rear sway bar is not as robust as the Z51 with MRC

axr6

Go with the Z51 setup with the larger (31mm) MRC rear bar. It will give you more precision with the steering and better handling with no significant trade offs.