Hi,

I just got an 08 xB automatic and have some questions about the suspension upgrades. I realize lowering it would probably improve its center of gravity, but I really like the current height, so I don't plan on lowering it. That leaves me with the 3 other options : front strut tower brace, rear sway bar, and shock absorber set.

I'm not really looking to spend money, but I do want our xB to have the best handling it can and I wonder what each of these upgrades actually does for handling. The softer the ride, the better it will be for my wife. I realize softer isn't always better for handling, so if I can make improvements to handling without making the ride rougher, these would be the ones I am interested in.

What does the rear sway bar accomplish? How does it change the handling and ride?

Same questions for the front strut tower brace?

Same questions for the TRD shocks - how do they differ from the stock ones?

Thanks,

Alan

 

from the three you listed and from the description, i think the rear sway bar is your best bet as a first step. the rear sway will promote more oversteer, which in the case of most production cars, will reduce the inherent understeer engineered into the handling setup from OEM and give more neutral handling. similarly, if you instead choose to go with a front sway bar, you would be inducing more understeer.
the rear sway bar essentially stiffens up the rear chassis area and reduces flex (most/all braces do this). the resulting ride quality should not be noticeably changed, however taking turns will be flatter and with less body roll than before.

the front tower brace stiffens up the front chassis area similarly.

the TRD shocks would have stiffer ride and would take more force to compress than OEM, so your ride would be better handling but would sacrifice daily comfort (esp if you have varied terrain and lots of bumps).

 

rear sway bar will help limit the flex of the rear of the vehicle in cornering, same with the front strut tower brace.

im not sure of the TRD shocks/struts, im sure they are just a stronger setup = better cornering & breaking, but a tad bit more rough on the ride as far as fealing bumps

 

so far with the trd struts, I feel the ride is actually smoother. Now I don't know if that has something to do with running springs as well, but I feel like the ride is smoother than stock with both of those upgrades. In all honesty, the trd springs don't lower the vehicle that much, but the handling is so much better

 

That's why I cannot wait to do my upgrade...darn wrong shocks!