Strut Bar vs. Sway Bar – Which One Is Better?

If you have landed on this article, then there are high chances that you are an automobile junkie and you love to have a lot of fun in your car.

Whether it’s drifting or making entire donuts with your cars you need some extra stability in your car if you perform these tricks.

We think for optimum performance, and most importantly for your safety, you should get really good quality and sturdy parts for your car.

So today, we will be discussing strut bars and sway bars, followed by a comparison of strut bar vs. sway bar to help you see what fits your purpose better.

Without any further talk, let us get right into this article.

Strut Bar

You may also know that cars have something called strut towers, but what you may not be entirely aware of is that there is also something called a strut bar that ties the two strut bars together.

You can say that the strut towers are a part of the suspension system but they are not connected directly to the main chassis, hence there is this flex in the strut towers.

Now, as the strut bar ties these towers together, what happens is that it decrease the inherent flex in them.

A good strut bar must be sturdy and rigid completely so it can handle all the tough things you do in your car.

The chassis flex is basically reduced because the bar takes a load of the tension from the towers for stable and sharp turns.

Recommended Strut Bar to Buy

When buying any parts for your car do not compromise too much on the quality because you need to have strong strut bars for your car if you are someone who drifts around.

Today, we will be recommending and reviewing three strut bars that are definitely worth a look.

DC Sports CSB1403 Gunmetal Carbon Steel Front Strut Bar

DC sports has made a name in the market for their high-quality products, and their carbon steel front strut bar is one of them.

These strut bars fortify the strut towers well and give the car better control and consequently better performance overall on the road, by substantially reducing the chassis flex.

A lot of you who might be working on your car yourself will be glad to hear that setting this strut bar up and mounting it to the towers is super easy and simple, as it requires no modifications at all.

It will fit easily in your car and more importantly, it will have a precise and great fit. The strut bar has a dual-bar design which is quite impressive actually, and it is made of durable steel which ensures long-lasting usage.

The bar doesn’t weigh a lot either, coming in with a weight of only about 7 pounds but don’t confuse the lightweight for the poor quality!

Although the good look of this strut bar is not all that essential, still it has a titanium grey powder coat that gives it a premium look and does not get all rusty and ugly after a short period of time.

Even though you will not need to have to stress about setting this up thanks to its easy installation, yet you will get the descriptive instructions and everything you will need to set it up.

You must also know a very important feature of this product, which is that it’s available for both the rear and upper front.

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AEM 29-0010 Strut Bar

If you own a Mitsubishi car and in need of a strut bar, you should consider the AEM 29-0010 Strut Bar as one of your options.

Even though this strut bar does not have a dual-bar design, it still has a very strong body and can endure a lot of tension.

It is 1 and a half inches in diameter and is entirely constructed of steel for maximum strength.

The good news is that, although it is sturdy, it has a relatively low weight of around 10 pounds.

This strut bar also reduces noise from vibration significantly in the toughest and extreme situations.

It is also quite easy to install so you don’t really stress about all that setting up process.

If you love the insides of your car to look sleek as well, you’ll surely like this because of its stylish charcoal gray coating.

All in all, we believe you Mitsubishi drivers who like to race around a bit will undoubtedly be satisfied with this product.

AEM 29-0011WR Strut Bar

The AEM 29-0011WR Strut Bar is the perfect product if you own a full-on race car!

Starting from the looks of the strut bar, it is entirely powder coated which has a red finish perfect for the sporty look, and not to forget it is also textured.

The bar is made durable and long-lasting thanks to its very robust full steel construction which also allows it to be perfectly fit into a sports racing car.

You will get improved feedback after you attach this strut bar. Since it bridges the two towers talked about previously in the article, your car will be able to handle sharp sudden turns better and also ensure your safety.

One of the more important features that makes it the ideal sports car strut bar is the surprisingly low weight of even less than 6 pounds!

Lastly, you can install this strut bar only with the help of a single wrench. Isn’t that great?

Related Guide: Monroe Quick-Strut or Gabriel Readymount

Sway Bars

Sway bars are also known as stabiliser bars or anti-roll bars that have the basic purpose to prevent your car from toppling over when you are cornering at high speeds.

The structure of this bar is almost U-shaped and it is generally constructed from steel which is connected to each of the front wheels.

When you turn at a high speed, the weight of your car shifts to one side. Here, the sway bar will give you extra control over your car and will help to keep it more stable and level.

When you’ll take a turn, the sway bars on your wheels will compress the suspensions of your inside wheels so that the weight of the car is more or less equally distributed on the four wheels and does not do a body roll.

Recommended Sway Bars to Buy

As you have learned from the last few paragraphs, sway bars are more or less an essential component in cars, so we must say that you shouldn’t even think of buying a low-quality one.

To make your life easier, we will be discussing three amazing sway bars.

Toyota Tundra Rear Sway Bar PTR11-34070 TRD

Even if you are not an automobile junkie, we’re pretty sure that you have heard of Toyota.

So this sway bar is made by Toyota and TRD. It has a red powder coating that prevents corrosion and rusting, and we must also add that they are glossy.

For more stiffness and strength, the bar is made of top-notch steel which consequently will give you decent control when you are about to turn.

The cornering stance is very stable, so this product definitely serves its purpose very well!

Something that should be noted is that the item is not light by any means, to be precise it weighs about 30 pounds which isn’t really less.

To top it all off, all the hardware required comes with the package so you won’t have to worry about modifications and whatnot.

Hellwig 7254 Rear Sway Bar

You will not be disappointed with the Hellwig 7254 Rear Sway Bar because of its satisfactory performance that checks almost every criterion.

Whether it is your 2 wheel drive or 4 wheel drive Sprinter (2008-2018), because of the heat-treated 4140 Chromoly steel that comes with polyurethane you will not only get better handling experience, but you’ll also have your tires last longer!

The 4140 Chromoly steel is no joke because it gives this item the stiffness and sturdiness it needs.

You can probably already guess that this means that you will have improved control and reduced body roll.

You can assemble this bad boy using simple tools at your disposal by its bolt-on installation.

Dorman OE Solutions 927-100 Replacement Sway Bar

This 927-100 replacement sway bar from Dorman OE solutions is a good bargain at its price point.

It has a deep glossy black color that has a strong finish which resists corrosion quite well.

What’s special about this product is that the direct replacement fits every time which just makes everyone’s life that much easier!

Rubber bushings and end links come with the whole package, and they are Dorman-improved, meaning it is of great quality.

As for the material of the bar, it is entirely made of steel which is not bad by any means, but it is certainly not the best.

The sway bar is actually not all that heavy, coming in with a weight of approximately 20 pounds.

This package comes with an almost entire kit of items and it is apparently tested by the company so it meets the high standards and is durable enough to give you decent control when taking turns.

Strut Bar or Sway Bar?

At first glance, to a newbie in the car world, strut bars and sway bars might appear to be quite identical, but actually, there are some key differences between the two that you must know.

Placement

First of all, these two bars are installed in different places of a car; the strut bar is between the two strut towers of your car, and the sway bars are place in the front or rear wheels of the car.

You must also know that the strut bar isn’t a direct part of the suspension system, while the sway bar completely is.

Build

The build will actually slightly vary from brand to brand, but generally, both the strut bar and sway bar is made entirely of steel or mixed steel.

The strut bars usually weigh much less than the sway bars though because sway bars are much greater in length.

Purpose

Sway bars and strut bars have different purposes although they might seem to be the same to some.

So, what the strut bar does is reduce the chassis flex in the strut towers and the sway bar makes sure the car stays level and reduces body roll, flex, and much more.

Conclusion

Finally, we must clarify that the sway bar is more of a necessity than a strut bar in most cases.

However, in some cases, both bars should be installed, for example, if you are driving a sports car.

We hope that you have found this strut bar vs. sway bar comparison and the reviews to be useful.

If you have any more confusion, feel free to drop them down in the comments section below.