dumb question about understeer.....
 

.....does modifying the rear sway bar really (notably) affect the tendency of FWDers or AWDers to understeer?

i'm dubious because most FWDers and AWDers still have the 60/40 weight distribution.

A lot of a4 and s4 people put in an rs4 sway... :dunno:

there's a lot of people who put M badges on non-M cars, too........fact is still fact, but not necessarily congruent with the inquiry, no?

Yes.

I vaguely remember E46Fanatics threads where they ended up in the ditch backward during a rain storm after installing UUC sways and setting the rear to full stiff.

A stiffer rear sway also increases rear wheel lift thought, so you spin one wheel more easily. It's not a perfect solution.

Sway bars tend to decrease grip at the end of the car at which they're installed.

So yes.

What's the relationship again? Stiffer sway = less grip?

That's the only reasonable answer I can see. Stiffer sawy leads to less independent movement of the wheels, which leads to less compliance with the road, which (adversly) affects the size of the tire patch making contact.

But I admitedly know nothing about car suspensions.

Instead of starting with a solution, what is the problem you're trying to solve?

Actually, the size of the contact patch doesn't change.

You mean collectively? I would think it would vary on any given tire.:dunno: