Rear Sway Bar

Hi F8L. I hope this doesn't make you go postal, but the shipping confirmation and the tracking confirms that its on its way here. Mine will arrive on Tuesday.

 

I'm pissed now. I still have not received a tracking number and the email I sent to shipping support shows that I have registered an inquiry but then I have not received anything else for the last 2 days. This is ridiculous!

 

F8L...just pretend the wait for the RSB is like waiting for the prius to get up to 80 from a deadstop...eventually it WILL get there

 

Call them again. They also have "instant chat" on their website but they never respond to that.

 

I called them right after this morning's post and they shipped it out today. The guy was cool and basically said they F'd up. I like honesty.

 

Mine came today. The bar is really solid and heavy.

 

Did you install it yet?

 

Nope. I'm not going to the shop for a while. How do you like the Progress bar? What kind of handling characteristics are you getting? Does the rear step out when driven hard?

 

Dang, I had a whole thing typed out but I lost it when I swiped my hand across the mouse. (darn you complex Apple OS w/ multi gesture trackpad features!!!). I'll re-type it...

The car feels a lot more solid and every time I drive I have this incredible urge to jerk the steering wheel back and forth, just for fun. I know it's dangerous if a motorcycle came up behind me though, so I don't do it. Plus I realized it gets me motion sick and other drivers may think I'm drunk or just crazy.

I have that urge because you don't really utilize the sway bar unless you're cornering or driving at high speeds. You won't feel it while turning into a parking lot or even at an intersection from a stop. You really need to be flying to feel the difference.

Which brings me to my next point - Unfortunately, it's a little depressing because now I have the handling, but not the power or RWD to go with it. You'll kind of know what I'm talking about when you try it. I so badly want to corner at high speeds, and I can, but it's hard to accelerate out of the corner, lol.

The good part is that the bar increases the tolerance for speed in turns. There's a stop light after an off-ramp I take to work, and sometimes it's a green light, so I'm still going like 35-40 mph on that turn. Before the sway bar, that would be a dangerous move to pull, which I once did and my tires would squeal. I've done it a few times since my sway bar, and though I have the same psychological anticipation (going into the turn still makes my palms a little sweaty knowing that I'm driving a Prius), there is less sway and no tire squeal. IOW, the car is much more planted and I feel much more relieved after the turn (*sighhhhh*). Also, after that turn, I look in my rear view mirror and no car is even close to me. Clearly ahead of the pack.

Unfortunately, in a fast turn like that, it's hard to say how my car looks to others from the outside. Can the other cars in the intersection tell that I'm in control with less sway? Or do I still look like a maniac? This I'd like to know. I would need a camera following my car, like in a video game or NASCAR jumbotron, haha.

 

Lmao@Mac.

I'll install mine during my lunch break or after my fire safe council meeting tomorrow.

I'll report back on Friday most likely.

 

I installed the bar this morning before work. I did it without a jack and it took about 15 min.

I was unfortunate enough to encounter morning traffic and light rain on my evening commute. I did get to test the handling for a little bit on my favorite twisty highway. The car's rear felt more solid. Almost heavy. I know the bar's weight cannot cause the feeling but it does feel heavier in the rear. Weird I know.

I will have to echo Mac's opinion that you only realize the enhanced handling during hard cornering. I had expected the bar to reduce what little body roll I had left but I don't notice much of a difference there. The body movement feels like it is coming from the front end so I will try and get the front bar installed asap and see if that helps.

In summary, I am pleased with the purchase but it did not produce near the handling improvement that the lowering springs and new struts did. That being said the car does handle better with the bar. I pitty the fool who tries to keep up with me now. lol

 

Lol, see??? I told you!!!! Post #92, last paragraph.

Agree 100%! It handles better but it doesn't feel like a "whole new car" as some people profess. I'm also guessing that every suspension upgrade hereafter will have even less and less effect. I would install this bar again...I think it's a necessary upgrade and certainly worth 100 dollars, but no more or no less.

 

Sounds like fun! I can't wait get mine installed!

 

My Prius suspension is unmodified except for the Progress bar. I do have the (ebay) tunnel brace and the (ebay Tanabe clone) tower brace. For me, the rear sway bar has made a significant difference in my cornering ability. I do still have a little bit of body roll, but not nearly as much as I used to. I am very pleased with the "most bang for my buck" difference this particular component made. I'm still thinking I might go with the front bar also.

 

Yup. and I thought you were just being weird.

I guess the bar is overshadowed by the lowering springs in our case. I'm glad it worked for you without springs. That means others can gain better handling without having to lower their cars.

 

I installed my rear Progress bar today. I did what a few of what you guys did, and installed the bar myself in the garage with the car sitting on the ground without jacks. It's somewhat of a tight fit working underneath the rear of the car, but I was able to get into position where I could get enough leverage to get the bolts off.

During my initial try, I did not think that I was strong enough using hand tools. I yanked a few times but the bolts would not budge. I then decided to reposition my body, with my legs against the inside of the wheel to get traction, and pulled really hard. Unfortunately, I was only able to pull with one hand because the position that I was in I could not swing my body where I could use both. I pulled and pulled and finally I felt it gave. I undid the bolt on one side and went to work on the other. The other side proved to be more difficult, probably because my hand was already worn out! I did manage to get the other side off as well.

Installing the new bar was pretty much a breeze. I had minor issues aligning the bar and for the bolts to go through both the top of the torsion beam, but after a bit of shifting while working underneath a tight space, I was able to get it done.

As far as handling performance, I definitely do feel a difference. I can't say that it reduced body lean because I felt that the car was pretty stable before when driven with spirit. I don't push my car hard so I can't say how it'll go or what the change would be. In all, I pretty much got the response I expected. The car is more neutral in turns, and I even think the directional control altogether when driving straight at freeway speeds, seems to be more direct and willing, as oppose to it being a bit sloppy before. Is it a huge improvement? No, but it's a good improvement, and well worth every penny. I've always been a big fan of upgrading anti-sway bars, because I feel that they give the best bang for the buck without much sacrifice. I've upgraded the anti-sway bars on the last 6 cars I've owned. Handling is always subjective, because everyone's taste of handling is different. What I really enjoy about having an upgraded anti-sway bar is the feel of increased "Balance" and control of the vehicle. Also having a car that feels more neutral under normal driving conditions is a plus.

On the down side, the larger upgraded bar seemed to make the rear torsion suspension link more solid. In return, it seems to me that when the rear end goes over uneven road surfaces, there is more "jolt" that is transferred into the ride, particularily in the back. I can't say if this is true, but my butt tells it is. It does make some sense, since the bar really does reinforce the rear torsional beam, making movement on one side of the wheel transfer to the other side.

As for mods, I have the standard touring suspension, tunnel brace, and front tanabe strut-tower bar. Adding the rear Progress bar does make a very good and noticeable improvement.

Now that we know the "Corolla/Matrix/Vibe" bar fits and works on the Prius, the $1000 question is why haven't ANY of the aftermarket bar manufactures label the bar as fitting/proper for the Prius as well? Do they know something that we don't know? What is keeping them from marketing these bars to the Prius models as well? Could it be that their R&D department never tested it on a Prius? Seems unlikely given the amount of Priuses that are available. Anyone want to take a guess?

 

I'm glad you got yours installed finally. Your experience matches ours. To aid in getting the bolts lose I used a short 15" pipe as a breaker bar. That kept me from busting knuckles or anything else

I agree with you on how the car feels after the bar installs. I'll get my front bar installed soon and see if that tightens up the front. If not then i'll look into a front strut tower bar. Regardless, the mods I've done so far make for an excellent handling car that would surprise most people who expect the tuna boat handling the. Prius exhibits in stock form.

Thanks to everyone for bringing this bar to my attention. Ohh and the instruction sheet that came with the bar did list it as 24mm instead of 22mm. It's much beefier than my OEM bar

 

^"Beefier" is an understatement. My neighbor lifted it and was like "jeez this thing is heavy. Might lose a mileage point or 2..."

 

Could be one of several things:
1) Perhaps they perceive the market for this bar is larger for the corolla/matrix/vibe and they don't want to associate it with a "wimpy" car like the prius. Although that would not stop them from selling it under a different part number - but then they would have to stock it and sell the "other bar" to a much smaller market (not everyone with a prius modifies their cars).
2) As I've said before, this bar probably transfers greater stresses to other parts of the suspension that are not built to handle it, which is exactly why we should not be pushing it too hard.
3) none of us have tried these bars on slippery/icy/snowy roads yet. I will be doing that in a month or so...
4) Like you said, maybe they just never tried it.

Glad you like your bar. I too feel the road a bit more in the back of the car - but not really at a level that it bothers me. I've just gotten used to it.

 

It's always a good idea to take your car out and push it past it's corning limits after a change in suspension balance.

A lot of things can change with more roll stiffness. Even if the front/rear stiffness balance is right, the point where the car breaks lose is more sudden and you will be going faster when it happens, it will also be harder to recover.

If the front/rear balance has been seriously maladjusted, surprises at the limit can be even bigger.