[Jakie99]

Hi all - this is a great site with a lot of information here. I have two question / I just purchased a 2016 Accord Ex-l V-6 and love the car but hate the handling. What size rear sway bar would you suggest - I have seen 22mm and 25 from Progress?
Also - It currently has 17” stock grand touring tires and I was going to change to Continental Extremecontact DWS 06 tires. I had 18s on my TL and was very happy with the performance. My question is - do you think I will see a noticeable upgrade in handling if I stay with the 17s? Thanks in advance for the advice.

 

[slimm1469]

The circumference of the rear sway bar should be equal or pretty close to that of the FSB. Since my car didn't come with a FSB, I did a 22mm match. I have a Progress 22mm on the rear. It's fine.

 

[Jakie99]

Thanks Slimm - did you notice a big difference in handling? Thanks

 

[A30N]

I have a 25mm Progress RWB in the mail for my '16 EX-L V6 coupe, I will install it next weekend & let you know how it feels.

I upgraded my '06 Eclipse GT to a 25mm RWD back when it was otherwise 100% stock, and let me tell you, going though curves at high speed gives the car an almost RWD feel. It's an amazing upgrade for any driving enthusiast.

 

[emeron]

Torsional stiffness is a function of the fourth power of the radius of a solid bar. Meaning when you go from 14mm to 22mm you are getting a sway bar that is (22/14)^4 = 6.1 times as stiff. If you go 16mm, it will be 1.7 times as stiff; if 25mm, then 10 times as stiff.

Even upgrading from 14 to 16 will give you a change that you will feel. 25mm will be dramatic, I would avoid beginning with such a heavy handed change. Try 16 first. If I am not mistaken your car has a 14mm diameter bar, sport and coupe have 16. Test drive an accord sport to see what going from 14mm to 16mm does to the body roll and go from there.





For your reading pleasure:

OEM Sway Bar Upgrade (CliffsNotes Version)

Greetings fellow 9th gen owners, Unfortunately, we no longer have the original sway bar thread, but I'm sure we can reproduce a useful, condensed version here. I4 owners Option 1 - 17mm rear sway bar from the Acura TSX (2009-2014) will be a slight upgrade that will reduce the understeer...

www.driveaccord.net

 

[Jakie99]

A30n - thanks definitely let me know.
Emeron - appreciate the explanation- I do appreciate it and my buddy is buying a Sport so I’ll check out the difference

 

[x06accordcoupex]

Hi all - this is a great site with a lot of information here. I have two question / I just purchased a 2016 Accord Ex-l V-6 and love the car but hate the handling. What size rear sway bar would you suggest - I have seen 22mm and 25 from Progress?
Also - It currently has 17” stock grand touring tires and I was going to change to Continental Extremecontact DWS 06 tires. I had 18s on my TL and was very happy with the performance. My question is - do you think I will see a noticeable upgrade in handling if I stay with the 17s? Thanks in advance for the advice.

I installed the 22mm progress rear sway bar on my 16 exl v6 and it improved the handling noticeably. Some say you might experience oversteering with the 25mm bar, so for a daily driver the 22mm bar should be just fine.

Lower the car for even better handling.

 

[ethan2014]

My first mod was the 22 mm progress bar on the stiffer setting. During cornering and curvy roads, the car felt like it was lowered when it was still with stock suspension. You will soon get used to the feel and it will make you want more suspension upgrades.

I read over 2 entire sway bar threads here. For the progress RSB, the 22 mm is solid at 11 lbs. while the 25 mm is hollow but lighter at 7 lbs. Although designed differently, they both have about the same torsion stiffness.

 

[Jakie99]

Are you all still on the OEM size 17? Or moved to an 18 or 19?

 

[slimm1469]

Thanks Slimm - did you notice a big difference in handling? Thanks

Massive! 8th gens have a lot of body roll on stock suspension, but tight, excellent steering which the car can't keep up with. The FSB and RSB plus Koni struts makes it Audi-like. Cornering and sweepers are a fun piece of cake!

 

[ethan2014]

Are you all still on the OEM size 17? Or moved to an 18 or 19?

The 2016 sport came with 19s with 235 mm width tires from the factory which made me choose the stiffer setting. The instructions do recommend the softer setting because the car can more easily "fishtail" in bad weather. Beware!

I wasn't planning on suspension mods but as mentioned by @x06accordcoupex, I ended up lowering my car an inch and adding a thicker front strut bar.

Are you all still on the OEM size 17? Or moved to an 18 or 19?

The 2016 sport came with 19s with 235 mm width tires from the factory which made me choose the stiffer setting. The instructions do recommend the softer setting because the car can more easily "fishtail" in bad weather. Beware!

I wasn't planning on suspension mods but as mentioned by @x06accordcoupex, I ended up lowering my car an inch and adding a thicker front strut bar.

 

[Sephrr]

Currently have the Progress 22mm sway bar in the rear but also have 235/45/18 Indy 500's on and that combo on my 13 6-6 coupe has been amazing. Very very flat through turns and the body roll has been cut down substantially. It will kick out the back end if you are cornering hard. I have the sway bar on the stiffer of the 2 settings. Tires will definitely make a enormous difference in handling on the vehicle too

 

[meowcat]

The circumference of the rear sway bar should be equal or pretty close to that of the FSB. Since my car didn't come with a FSB, I did a 22mm match. I have a Progress 22mm on the rear. It's fine.

Fist, yes, your car does have FSB. All Accords have FSB's, unless, of course, you took yours off.
Second, no, the FSB and the RSB should not be about equal in size. Every car is different. FWD, AWD, FWD bias, RWD bias, all make astronomical differences in how the front and rear sway bars should be sized. Obviously (or maybe not so obviously) the most critical and most important aspect of front/rear sizing is the vehicles center of gravity.

 

[slimm1469]

All Accords do not have front sway bars. FSBs started in 2013 with the 9th gen. 8th gen and earlier Accords have no FSBs. I've owned a 6th, 7th and 8th. No Accord has AWD.

 

[meowcat]

All Accords do not have front sway bars. FSBs started in 2013 with the 9th gen. 8th gen and earlier Accords have no FSBs. I've owned a 6th, 7th and 8th. No Accord has AWD.

You're imagining things. ALL Accords have front sway bars. Their handling would be deadly dangerous if they didn't. Or, maybe you're thinking of the strut tower brace??

 

[meowcat]

Here's a link to the parts. This is for VIN 1HGCP26349A176452. It is a base model, 4cyl. LX Accord, 2009 model year (8th gen, as you say)
Front Lower Arm for 2009 Honda ACCORD SEDAN | HondaParts
Notice item #3. That's the front sway bar. Now look at item #13. That is the strut tower brace. This car doesn't have a strut tower brace because it's a base model. Also note that item #13 doesn't appear in the nomenclature below. Now, If this car had no sway bar, it would not show item #3 in the nomenclature.