I will be ordering a set of Whiteline sways soon and have heard many different opinions on which endlinks to get...Kartboy, WL, Perrin, etc. and which shape? My wagon is strickly a DD at this point, w/ a few mountian runs here and there. So, I would like to hear everyone's experiences/opinions. Thanks! Bonus points to those who have what I need for sale!!
I just did 27/24 front/rear whitelines and per some of the opinions on here, I just kept my stock endlinks. Mine installed w/out a hitch (once we figured out which way they went in) and matched up perfectly with the stock endlinks. I'm going to ride mine till they die as I've heard there's really not an advantage in swapping out endlinks for reasons other than rigidity. Could be wrong, though
None. Don't spend money on endlinks until you break one and need to replace it. The wagon may be different, but I have had a Whiteline 25-27, set to 27 in the front, and a Whiteline 22,24,26, set to 26 on the rear on my car for well over 3 years with stock endlinks, and have yet to break one. My car went thru an entire season of Auto X, an 8 hour session at Little Tally, a 30 minute session on RA by a skilled driver, and all the daily driving inbetween without any issues. I think it is a waste of money to buy endlinks if the stock ones will hold. If the stock ones break, then order away, and this thread will still get you ideas on which to go with. If you break an endlink, it is not the end of the world. Your car will still be drivable without it, just with more body roll while cornering.
I've also heard that you want to take bumps straight on and try to avoid having one side of the suspension flex without the other. I try and avoid the diagonal speed bumps or try and turn my car into them, and do the same when entering driveways that are on curbs.
i just ordered the WL's when i ordered my rear sway. so i couldnt tell the difference. but then again i didnt notice a whole lot of difference at all. i noticed more of a difference in the rear end when i put on my $30 ebay rear strut tower bar than when i put on my $250 worth of whiteline rear sway and endlinks. the L has only whiteline endlinks on it until i can find a way to mount this perrin RSB i have. and i have to tell you i can't notice a difference at all
I think that wagons may benefit more than sedans as they have plastic front and rear (sedans have metal front / plastic rear). Not sure about the STI. I would say do sways first and then endlinks later if you want to try / can afford them. You can save a bit looking for used. As far as shapes, I am not sure but I do know that wagon front endlinks are unique. Sedan ones will require shims (washers) to fit correctly.
everything ive read says that ANY aftermarket Front Endlink is a waste because they are almost exactly the same design as stock. whereas rears are clearly larger/beefier/metal not plastic
This is correct, the wagon front links are PLASTIC, you will notice a difference if you replace them with aftermarket parts. Furthermore, you should get the wagon specific endlinks, because the lower bolt hole is smaller on the wagons. On sedans, both bolts are 10mm, on the wagon, its a 10mm upper and 8mm lower bolt.
OH, you also asked "which ones" Get somethng like the kartboy or whiteline endlinks with bushings, spherical joint endlinks can get noisy and aren't that much better.