Mastering Suspension: How Sway Bars, Control Arms, & Bushings Boost Performance

The Suspension Components That Make All the Difference

We know that a great suspension will absorb the abuse from potholes, but there’s really much more to it than a purely comfortable ride. They’re actually the secret sauce that determines if your car feels sharper than a scalpel in the corners, or soggier than a water-logged sponge. When you get it right, it turns every on-ramp and backroad into an addictive thrill ride. But if it’s not dialed in just right, what you’re left with is a dogfight with body roll, vague steering, and a ride that just feels like it’s there because it has to be, not because it wants to be. 

Luckily, this kind of scenario is where sway bars, control arms, and bushings can swoop in to save the day and your ride. It’s true that these aren’t the flashy, “show-off” mods that you’re sure to boast to everyone who will listen, but these behind-the-scenes upgrades will completely change your drive in a way that will make you want to tell people about it. You’ll feel tighter turns, sharper feedback, and more control, something you’ll feel in your bones that creeps its way up into a smile before you know it. 

Why These Components Matter

If it helps put things in perspective, think of the sway bars, control arms, and bushings as the inner circle of your suspension setup. These parts work together to quietly decide whether your car will feel locked in to the pavement or float through corners as if it were daydreaming. They might not sound critical, but they play a hand in determining how your ride’s weight shifts, how the tires bite, even how your steering talks back to you.  So join us on this journey, we’re going to start by pulling back the curtain on why these mods can entirely rewrite your vehicle’s personality. 

MAPerformance Daily Deals

Sway Bars

Most of the time, cars already have a stock sway bar that’s fine for your average driving, but c’mon, we aren’t ever going to settle for fine. The sway bar’s job is to link the left and right-side suspension, which helps resist body roll when you corner. When you can stiffen it up, the car will feel flatter, more planted, and quicker to change directions. You eliminate sketchy leans in tight turns, leaving you with a chassis that’s ready to carve it up instead of wallowing through your drive. 

If you’re looking for good brands, you can never go wrong with Eibach, Whiteline, or Hotchkis, they excel at turning a sway bar into an art form. Featuring tunable stiffness levels, these suspension brands let you dial in precisely how aggressive you want your setup to feel, whether you’re using it to gun for lap times or you just want that extra bit of confidence on your canyon runs. When you find the right sway bar for your suspension, you’ll start to wonder how you could ever drive your vehicle without it.

Control Arms

Control arms might determine how your wheels move, your tires bite, and how stable your chassis can feel when it's under load, but they’re never an upgrade that you’ll find sitting in the spotlight. Upgraded arms will give you the adjustability and muscle to nail true precision that stock versions just can’t touch. You’ll be able to fine-tune your camber, caster, and toe so your car always feels planted, even through high-speed sweepers and tight corners. We’re talking about upgrades bigger than just numbers on an alignment sheet, it’s a tangible difference between “crossing your fingers” and “confidently dominating”. 

For solid control arm brands that give you exactly what you’re looking for, Cusco, Megan Racing, and SPC are always reliable options to get control arms made from stronger materials, with reinforced designs, and full adjustability compared to stock options. This means you’ll be able to tailor your setup for the track, street driving, and anything in between. When you’ve got the right control arms equipped, your suspension stops being a compromise and can start feeling like a tailor-made weapon. 

Shop the Right Suspension Upgrades Here!

Bushings

Bushings might be one of the few suspension components that are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, but their impact on how your suspension performs is anything but small. Your stock bushings are sure to degrade over time, which makes your steering become progressively sloppier, and your suspension components will start to wander more under load. But when you swap them out for aftermarket bushings, you’ll feel your chassis become tighter, more responsive, and even more predictable than ever before. 

If you want to find the best of the best for bushings, look for options from Energy Suspension, SuperPro, and Whiteline to replace your factory mush with more durable, long-lasting options. The resulting payoff is incredible: sharper steering feedback, less deflection during hard cornering, and even a more direct link between yourself and the road. New bushings will never be considered a glamorous upgrade in any sense, but when you take that first hard turn after installation, you’ll be able to feel the difference and appreciate the job they do.

What Suspension Setup Is Right for Your Car?

Get the Best Sway Bars, Control Arms, & Bushings for Your Ride at MAPerformance!

These suspension components might play very different roles, but when they work together, they create a suspension system that feels tight, predictable, and ready for anything that you’ll never get tired of. It doesn’t matter how you like to drive, any setup can use these underrated upgrades to better turn their ride into a pure driving machine. So don’t wait around, you can find all these components and more at MAPerformance in our online store. We have free shipping and quick delivery on all purchases, not to mention some great financing options to make every purchase easier and more affordable than ever before! And in case you have questions or need some guidance, our world-class customer service team is always available to point you in the right direction. Your suspension could be begging for a few simple upgrades to really lock in its potential, so just listen to it and you’ll feel the difference the first time you throw it in drive.