TRD Plus Rear Sway Bar

Just thinking about this sway bar upgrade... what's you're essentially doing is reducing the flex inherent in the trailing arm design by adding the sway bar. So essentially you are doing to the rear is making it stiffer(like a higher spring rate) as they work in conjunction due to sway bar. So is that the case, the rear end feels firmer?

 

Got it.. makes sense. You're right.. for the money, hard to beat!

"Only a commuter".. some of us might take offense to that..

 

I have a persona and about to install the ground effects kit. Do you think getting the sway bar and springs really make a difference? Moreover, does the car ride significantly lower and this hits and scrapes the floor? Thanks fellow persona. =]

 

I can't speak for sway, but springs do.

If you lower it, you will def. have a higher chance of scraping.

 

Point being the left and right is stiffened up to act together by sway bar. You see it as resist compression, I see it as lifting the outside wheel. We're saying the same thing.

 

Come to think of it, I have one that I can test drive with complete Plus package.. might just do that and report back if interested.. or perhaps start another thread...

 

I have only had the springs for a couple of days now. (I have been practicing stopping before the parking curbs...)

Before the sping install, I had one scrape on the bottom of my front bumper. Luckily, it was just paint and I was able to remove it. However, I never had a problem with the ground effects scraping anything. I exited a driveway today that has a slight crevace before the street with the car tipping down slightly and I had no problem. One of the people at that office has a Hyundai Sports Coup with 17's and he scrapes on that exit. It's a couple of inches lower with the springs, but I haven't had any problem so far and I've driven 150 niles with them.

What I can add is that the car definately seems more stable at 75mph. I wasn't correcting for sway, and on the way home, I had to take a turn faster than I liked. I let out the same, "Here we go..." as I always do when that happens and realized that the car tracked perfectly with no sway. Needless to say, I was very pleased and now instead of saying, "Here we go..." I just smile!

During the spring install I was briefly invited into the service area. While under the car, I noticed the added under panels from the ground effects kit. (I wish I took a picture, but the service mgr. saw me in the garage and ushered me out for insurance purposes (&**!@#!!!) I noticed little fins attached to the panel to direct airflow. I am assuming that with the ground effects kit and the lowering springs, the added aerodynamics may assist in off-setting some of the mpg loss from the extra weight of the the ground effects, 17's and anti-sway bar. I have to log my trips for business purposes and I did edge out 2mpg more via the display then I usually get to and from my destination of 57.1 miles, mostly between 50 and 75mph.

So, do I think you'll have a problem scraping? You will obviously increase your chances with the springs. But, IMHO, I don't think it's TOO low and driving carefully will reduce the risk.

 

I don't think anyone has asked this, but, when you did the install, did you have to purchase some bolt kit or something. I've seen conflicting results on this and would love to know.

 

The TRD kit I bought came with everything that was needed.

 

I completly agre with where you are going but because it does not mount to the unibody you don't get as much of that push-pull counter effect dynamic as you get from a "traditional" anti-sway bar. While i completly agree the TRD rear sway bar does an amazing job reducing body roll I see it more of a rear beam stiffener then a true to the roots sway bar. Non the less, it's an amazing upgrade for the money.

 

I don't mean to hijack your thread but since it's gone cold I'm hoping someone can help me out. I installed my rear sway yesterday and it's making a God awful clanging and banging noise when I go over bumps. When i get under the car I can't see where it's touching any metal to produce this sound and so I'm completely stumped. I did make sure to adequately lube up the bushings and all the nuts are tight so I'm lost on what's going on here. any advice or help would be hugely appreciated.

 

Did you disconnect the struts at the bottom in order to install the end links?
If so, did you tighten them back up with weight on the tires as per the instructions?

 

+1. Can you take close pictures of both endlinks, and both bushings for us? Maybe we can tell you by visual inspection of the photos.

 

I did take the struts off the bottom to install the endlinks, I did NOT put the wheels back on when I was re installing the bolts. I'll do this when I get home and take pictures of everything.

Thanks for the quick responses folks!

EDIT: I completely missed this line in the instructions
"1. This bolt must be tightened with the load of
the car on the tires.
2. If using a post lift or jack first lower the
vehicle and bounce it up and down several
times to stabilize the rear suspension."

Question though, how do I bounce the car up and down several times? (I'm probably reading too much into this)

 

Just sit in the rear hatch area and bounce yourself up and down. You could use any other method that would make the car bounce up and down in the same manner.

 

i can think of a few things...

 

Aha! That is what I suspected. I installed the end links without removing the struts in order to avoid this step. The only reason they have you unbolt the struts is to make room for your hand and the nut when installing the end link. Unless you have fat fingers, there is adequate room to complete this step without unbolting the strut.