[tirwin]

Originally Posted by zeusdog

In my experience, the sway bars did not increase the vertical firmness of he ride. However, the significantly increased roll stiffness and the decreased independence of the suspension might be perceived as a "stiffer" ride.

To illustrate this, consider what happens when your left front wheel encounters a bump in the road that your right front tire misses. In a car with no sway bars or soft sway bars, the left tire sort of "steps over" the bump quite independently. In a car with stiff sway bars, the upward travel of the left suspension causes the sway bar to apply upward force on the right suspension, making it "feel," to some extent, like both front wheels had hit the bump. In that sense, the ride may feel stiffer.

I think that is a really good explanation.