Stock anti roll bars up to the job?

Hi

I bought an ST-branded anti-roll bar kit to retrofit to my 4-door Golf. The car turned out to be a "while I'm in there" kind of project, so the roll bars won't come on for some time.

The thickness of the ST ones are 22mm front and 26mm rear (16,5mm/20,5mm stock), which I have come to understand is more of a racing size. The rear one also connects to the lower shock bolt without any bushes between. I am going to run it on stock suspension, and am more after ride comfort than a sporty and harsh feel really.

So to the point, does anyone have on opinion on the stock anti roll bars - are they really doing anything or are most people replacing them with uprated ones?

Here's the kit I bought: https://www.vwheritage.com/wc411g1001-anti-roll-bar-kit-front-and-rear-vw-spare

The only thing I don't see in the kit are the straps for the front bay that ties it to the Control arms.

I never had an issue with my Cabriolets and the standard OEM ones from Factory.

Would you say the thicker and stiffer ARB's are overkill on a street driven golf?

I didn't pay any attention to the thickness when I bought the kit, and from what I read not even newer and twice the weight cars use the thicknesses of the ST ones. Seems it can induce other problems if they are too massive

Generally speaking a thicker ARB will reduce body roll through corners, so give flatter cornering. A knock on of this is that the lack of 'roll' will want to push the tyres out more (the forces have to go somewhere), so if you may (if pushing hard) see a bit of understeer at the front, or lifting at the rear. Unlikely unless you are throwing it round a track though. What they won't do is make the suspension feel any stiffer when hitting bumps, so it can be a reasonable compromise between handling and comfort. You'll potentially put more stress through the lower chassis legs, and upper mounts which is why folk fit upper and lower braces as well.  Personally, I'm not sure I'd fit them to mine, but if I had the cash knocking about, I might do!

Thanks for the info. I was fearing the stiffer ones would make the ride more harsh and bumpy since they make the struts less independent. I was hoping you'd say the thicker ones are overkill, but I'll probably pass them on anyway and source the stock ones at some point.
I'm part rich cash poor atm and the car needs some serious body work.. That's what you get for the while i'm in there mentality 

For the anti-roll bars, I would tend to use the Cabriolet ones from a breakers, as they would usually be cheaper, then I would source a "K" bar that ties the control arms at the lower point to each other and the chassis.  These can be found on the interweb or a Scirocco from the late 70's to mid 80's.  Be sure that when you go to the breakers that you get the mounting brackets for them on the chassis as well as the control arms.  Years and Years Ago in a Decade that is far far away, I can remember that lower control arms on the Golfs/Rabbits non-gti were "Special" as they didn't have the weld buildup as well as the holes for the sway bar mounts in them.  So verify that you have the holes in your control arms to mount the front strap.  

The Lower "K" and upper strut bar by Euro-tune along with the Stock Cabby bars will stiffen the frame very nicely, and with OEM struts front and rear you will have a smooth ride as well as a "Sporty" one…

In my humble opinion.

on my cabrio 16v i had standard gti suspension all round with -1 degree camber up front, standard front + rear roll bars and an aftermarket lower strut brace (K bar is better if you can find) new standard rubber bushes for wishbones, top mounts, bump stops etc and poly rear beam bushes (only becasue they were way cheaper than rubber!)

it went round corners like it was on rails

Hi, just wondered if you'v fitted your anti-roll bars yet?
I'm thinking of purchasing a set to.
Did the set come with the bush mounting brackets? Looks like they're missing in the image.
Cheers.
Andy

Hi

No I decided to sell them and fit the stock ones instead. The set didn't include the oem brackets, but the polybushes were. Note you don't need the outer rear brackets that slide on (171511433 + 171511453) since it connects to the rear strut bolt instead

Regards

edit here's whats included: