after doing a bit of research on them i'm gathering that you need pretty good tires for these, like bigger than stock for better gripping. i just bought 14" 80,000 mile tires so i guess they might be a little harder and also i live in seattle where it rains. since roll helps with gripping during a turn, i'm a little concerned about putting on swaybars esp. during a rainy situation...am i right in this assessment?

 

oh it's a wagon too

 

You don't need more tyre for a car to handle better with swaybars. Swaybars reduce roll, which makes the tyres you already have work better, by reducing load transfer to the outer tyres in a turn.
Personally, if I lived somewhere that rained a lot, I'd be spending money on decent tyres first.

 

well they aren't horrible tires, falken sn211, just combined with swaybars and not being lowered etc, thought it might be a concern.

 

if you're looking for really good raintires, check out the current version of michelin 'primacy' mxv4. these are nothing like the older mxv4's, they are very smooth and have awesome rain grip. I live on the central coast where we just had one of hte wettest winters in history and they were great.

swaybars reduce body roll, but they don't really change the amount of downforce on the wheels, they just redistribute it some. I would match swaybars with slightly stiffer shock absorbers, but not as heavy duty as if you are also using stiffer sport springs. of course, stiff springs and shocks makes for a rougher ride. I personally dislike lowering street cars, it makes them impractical and uncomfortable, but I'm installing IPD swaybars on my 740 turbowagon along with bilstein tc(touring) shocks and a few bushings that are worn, and the shock strut mounts and stuff.

frankly, if you're cornering that hard in the rain on the street, you're asking for trouble.

 

i didn't say i was gonna corner hard or wanted to in the rain, i just wanted a little better handling and feel and was curious about what swaybars would do exactly, but thx for your response. i was planning on installing sachs turbo shock and rear ipd overload rear springs and replace all rear bushings in oem(replaced front already). didn't want to do anything too drastic and keep original stuff and feel just a bit tighter maybe. will probably put in the ipd poly stock swaybar front bushing mount if not the expensive thick sway bars.

 

I'm pretty sure you want a heavier sway bar in front if you put one in back or the car will act funny in high G corners

 

I've run the 25/25 bars on my 245 for some time. Unlike the 7 series, the big bar on the back does not make the rear end swing out much easier. Sways on a 2 series are a wonderful improvement; less so but still measurable on the 7's. 7's have a twitchy rear end and a 25 on the rear makes for a rear end that will break loose in no time. The 25 in front is fine but on the rear of a 7, I think the best is a 21 or 23mm.
80k tires in Seattle might make sense but being so much harder, would not get it here in Texas. The sidewalls would crack and weather check long before the tread was gone. I run my tires 3 summers and then ditch 'em regardless of wear. Consequently, I buy high traction, soft rubber compound tires.
I can't imagine a stock n/a 245 getting "out of shape" as a result of heavier sways. Not sure those 114 ponies will break it loose unless you really really tried.

 

sure you can break traction on a 240... full throttle launch from a stop directly into a hard U or right turn and you'll spin the tires on paint stripes on a wet day

 

LOL! Providing the tires are thin and the gas tank is nearly empty AND you're headed downhill!!!!!

 

Dood, you forgot the 50mph tailwind! Trust me, I've tried!

 

nah, paint stripes in the rain is all it takes, on a hard turn, in 1st gear.

 

LOL, I actually got thumbs up from a guy in a built Miata today, I was keeping up with him on a twisty road....for about three corners! Then the Prius slowed us down and our fun was ruined.
I was hoping to find some good suspension upgrades too...a strut tower bar up front is sounding pretty good.

 

I've got my IPD sway bars, bilstein tc shocks, and a lower front brace sitting in my toolshed awaiting install. I still need to get the front strut mount top things and bearings. don't think I'm gonna bother with a strut tower brace, the front of the 745 seems pretty solid already and I'm not installing sport springs or anything.

 

740's don't need an additional brace, the factory took care of the important load path. Side to side strut bars are seriously over rated as far as chassis rigidity in most vehicles. Especially the strut bars that have bends in them and flimsy attachment points.
It's fair to say 75% of the strut bars out there offer at best a placebo effet.

 

Later 960's had a lower front brace from the factory, and I've been told by several folks who are good with this stuff that it definitely helps smooth out and quiet the car on rough roads, which we have a ton of around here...

I put a Neuspeed upper strut brace on my 89 Jetta (Type 2) and it was quite obvious that the chassis became more rigid, but that car already had stiffer than stock sport springs and boge progas shocks, and going around hard turns on rough pavement it was obvious the front end was flexing, and the brace almost completely eliminated that. But, yeah, the 700/900 is much better to start with.

 

Afraid I must respectfully disagree. A few months ago, I ran across a "cash for clunkers" car in the junkyard, an '87 760 turbo wagon. What caught my eye was the chrome upper strut brace (manufacturer unknown) and I wondered what else it might have. Long story short, a proud former owner had apparently gotten hooked on the I.P.D. catalog. I got braided steel brake lines, lower chassis brace, 4 Bilstein HD shocks, the exhaust system, front and rear sway bars, and of course the upper strut brace, which was the first thing I installed on my '91 740. It made a very noticeable difference, enough that I installed the lower brace the next day, and again was very pleased with the results. Unfortunately, the front sway bar didn't fit; different part number in the IPD catalog, and I didn't want to do just the rear so I saved up and ordered a new set during IPD's "garage sale". Put the front one on yesterday. Interestingly, while it definitely improves the handling, the difference was not quite as dramatic as I had hoped; the change seems to be more evident on a sweeping curve than when just turning a corner. Probably why they sell them as a matched set. Unlike my 240, my 740 wagon has no rear sway bar at all, so the rear bar may be the more important part of the package. My point is that by making only one change at a time and then driving the car for a day or so you can get an idea of the effectiveness of each change. "Placebo effect"? Nope, more like scientific method, dealing with only one variable at a time. YMMV, but I doubt it...