I picked up some Urethane sway bar end links from Summit Racing this week to install on my Xa. They need a little modifiation to fit so I'll work on that this weekend. I'll post a couple of pics when it's done. They also sell some 15/16" sway bar mount bushings that should be a nice fit, those are next....
ken

just a quick question, whats the benfit putting those in?

absolutely nothing with a stock sway bar......upgraded sway bar is different....the solid endlinks make it alittle more stiffer so under extreme hard cornering there is no flex in the endlinks or the sway bar....stock....its so flemsy they arent worth it till you go to a thicker bar

Not true.... Urethane end link bushings replace the soft rubber bushings which allow some movement of the suspension before the swaybar begins to work. The urethane swaybar mounts eliminate the flex in the stock rubber bushings. By installing the urethane bushings in the mounts and end links the swaybar becomes MUCH more effective and you may find you don't need to spend the $$ on larger sway bars.

As a side note, the stock Xa sway bar is nearly 1" in dia.--- that's pretty beefy for a small car.

I recently installed some on my modified BMW 320is and noticed a large increase in swaybar effectiveness. I expect the same benefit on my Xa. I have solid end links with rod ends installed on my mini van which make it even more effective, there just isn't room for rod ends on a Xa.
ken

did you get grease with them? How much were they?

The end links don't need grease and they cost about $15 for the kit but it needs modification to fit.

The sway bar mount bushings need grease and I will buy the set with grease fittings already installed. They are also about $15 for a pair.

ken

absolutely nothing with a stock sway bar......upgraded sway bar is different

thats what i thought

What kind of modifications are you having to do to it??????

The center sleeve needs shortend a bit and the urethane bushings need shortend also. The factory links are only about 3" from bar to frame and there isn't much clearance between the link and upper frame.

I have them modified now, I just need to get it to work and install them on the drive on lift. I think installation will be easier with the suspension loaded rather than jacked up and the suspension hanging.

ken

so making the swaybar closer to the control arm will help with control? :? Just checking.

No, making it closer does not help. Taking the slop out and firming up the mounts helps a lot. I shotend the sleeve bucause the kit was too long. I also had to buy a couple of bolt a little shorter than what was included in the kit.

ken

I finally got a chance to put my Xa on a lift today and installed the end links. It's too wet and stormy to test them out, not enough grip on the roads....

I also fabed a lower chassis brace to replace those cheezey factory tubular braces. For about $8 in materials I built a brace that is stronger than the aftermarket braces that sell for $200! Damn, talk about mark up!! I used .090" wall 3/4" square tubing for most of it. The mounting points are made from 1.25" dia. round tubing so the bolts are recessed. It barely reduces ground clearance by .5" at the mounting points.

I took some pics and will post them on my website when they get developed.

Now I'm thinking of how I can strengthen the rear suspension mounts.....

ken

Now the rear will be tough....i do agree

i want to see your brace!!!!!!!!

Yes, the back suspension will be tougher. I'm thinking of boxing the lower side of the pivot mounts and building a brace from side to side and fwd to the subframes.

For those of you that would like Urethane end links- Call Summit Racing and order the link kit with the 1" spacer tube. The "inside" urethane bushings need shortend to about .400" in height (not counting the little locator lip). The point is to end up with a center to center length close to the stock end links. When you install them just snug them up fairly tight.

After driving the car this evening it seems more stable when changing lanes and on initial entry into a corner but again the weather sucks so I could not push it much.

Pics will be coming...

ken

Just a quick update:

It is a beautiful day so I ducked out of work and went for a drive through the hills of "cow country" for an hour or so.....

The new end links and chassis brace definately tighten up the feeling of my Xa when slamming corners. I can easily exceede the corner speeds of my modified BMW 320is. Now, if I only had 50% more power to accelerate out of the corners, this car could become a GREAT corner carver.

ken

absolutely nothing with a stock sway bar......upgraded sway bar is different

thats what i thought

too bad you are both wrong isn't it?

Just a quick update:

It is a beautiful day so I ducked out of work and went for a drive through the hills of "cow country" for an hour or so.....

The new end links and chassis brace definately tighten up the feeling of my Xa when slamming corners. I can easily exceede the corner speeds of my modified BMW 320is. Now, if I only had 50% more power to accelerate out of the corners, this car could become a GREAT corner carver.

ken

uh....

something with a twist beam rear suspension out cornering a bmw?

you must have way better tires on the scion

absolutely nothing with a stock sway bar......upgraded sway bar is different

thats what i thought

too bad you are both wrong isn't it?


Sorry Mr. Perfect......can I beg for forgiveness

absolutely nothing with a stock sway bar......upgraded sway bar is different

thats what i thought

too bad you are both wrong isn't it?


Sorry Mr. Perfect......can I beg for forgiveness


to see someone learn is thanks enough!

:)

Yes, the Xa has much better tires/wheels and the rear suspension still feels a little funny when cornering near the limit but it's a pretty amazing car for what you pay for it. I don't like the torsion beam either but it's WAY better than my old bug... Can you say "swing axle tuck under"??? Talk about pucker factor!

My BMW also needs some rear suspension upgrading, the front is now much better than the rear.

The most noticable improvement with the urethane end links is when transiting a series of fast corners with no striaght in between them. The car used to lean a little before the swaybar "grabbed" it then going into the next corner it would flop to the other side (quickly, but I could still feel it) before the swaybar "grabbed" it agian. Now I don't feel anything like that at all. There is a series of 5 corners close together with hills thrown in.... It's more fun than a rollercoaster!!
ken

need pic!!!!!!!!!!!!

Patience, I have a roll going in today and another to finish off and get developed.
ken

I give you props for your hard work man

Thanks, my wife thinks I'm nuts for modifing a new car... she thinks I need rehab! She says "it does everything well, why do you want to mess with it?" I respond "yes, it does everything well but there are some things it could do BETTER!". She'll never understand so I just tell her it could be worse, I could be going to bars and chasing other women! She just shakes her head and goes back in the house...
ken

http://www.dtmpower.net/forum/images/smilies/lolup.gif

dude Ken, are you going to the Sacramento meet? We need to get together and talk shop, so much this little grass-hoppa can learn...

I may make it up there, don't know yet. If I do I'll look for you.
ken

Pics at last....

http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4287633223&congratulation_page=Y

The half of header is for a BMW 320i 1.8L. The pipes are tacked and ready to be Tig welded and coated. I will finish the other 2 pipes this week. Just thought you might like to see it.

ken

ken, there's a password on the album... PM me if you don't want to share it... else post it here, pleeeeease! :lol: :D

Sorry, I've never used that before so I learned something new... Password removed! Let me know if there is any more problems.
ken

Sounds interesting. I'm gonna try this one.
So, we need something like this:
http://store.summitracing.com/default.asp?target=partdetail.asp&autofilter=1&part=ENS%2D9%2D8122R&N=115+4294844371+4294891681+4294804421&autoview=sku

Thanks

i just finished putting the end links on tonight. i bought the red ones from summit.
autozone has them too in sizes larger than 1", which is okay considering that it needs to be trimmed anyway. i think that they want $20.

i used a band saw to trim down the polyurethane bushings by 3/16" each. btw, use something to hold the bushing if you use a band saw. i held it with a thin piece of scrap wood that i shoved into the hole.

i used a belt sander to take 1/8" off of the metal bushings.

i replaced the bolts with 4" long 3/8" bolts.

i don't have a lift, so i had to turn my wheels to the extreme for each side.
i found it difficult to get the nut onto the end though. so i put the nut on without the last bushing in place. then i jacked my car up and put a jack stand under it. then i used the jack to lift the A-arm up closer to the anti-sway bar. worked like a charm.

i tightened it until about 2-3 threads were showing.

i don't know how it reacts yet. hopefully, i will notice a difference at the solo 2 next weekend.

ken, have you gotten the greasable bushings yet? i might try that next, but it looked a little hairy under there.