Anti-roll bars (aka roll bar, sway bar, or anti-sway bar) are the most isolated way of controlling the car’s roll behavior without affecting the suspension geometry.
Thicker anti-roll bars resist the natural rolling of the chassis in turns and are therefore more suitable on high-grip tracks where roll is not necessary to create grip.
Some cars also have settings for anti-roll bar end gap in their setup sheets, showing how far outside of the connector the roll bar should extend (see image above.) If the end gap is larger, the connector is farther inboard, and therefore, there is less bar available to flex, so it will behave as if a slightly thicker bar is being used.
Front anti-roll bar
Thicker front bar
- Less chassis roll / grip
- More off-power steering on entry
- Generally suited for high-grip tracks
Thinner front bar
- More chassis roll / grip
- Generally suited for low-grip tracks
Rear anti-roll bar
Thicker rear bar
- Less chassis roll / grip
- More on-power steering and stability in mid-corner and exit
- Generally suited for high-grip tracks
Thinner rear bar
- More chassis roll / grip
- Generally suited for low-grip tracks
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