Which would be a more noticeable and effective upgrade front or rear strut bar?

 

a rear strut bar would be more effective, front strut bars are mostly for looks. Do you realize your title says sway bar? I suggest getting a sway bar, a rear sway bar. Thats probably the most effective suspension upgrade you can get.

edit:
and just to make sure you understand, there is a BIG difference between a strut bar and a sway bar.

 

A rear strut bar would make a larger improvement than a front strut bar. I suggest Ingalls four point rear bar.

As far as sway bars (in the title), they either come as just the rear or as a set. A rear bar like the TRD piece is a very nice improvement over stock. If you go the other route (front and rear), you'll notice an improvement greater than the TRD rear but you will lose some ride comfort and handling ability over rough pavement.

 

A front strut bar is more effective than a rear strut bar. The front shock towers moving while cornering causes the alignment to be off during the corner, hence the effectiveness of a front strut bar. I would say a rear strut bar is the least effective suspension part you could buy. A front is only a minor change on this car due to the tower placement. But you should know that a strut bar does nothing for body roll. They are there to keep the shock towers in line during a corner.

Now, the question he asked was about SWAY bars. Sways control body roll.

Neither is more effective. They both serve the same purpose and play a role in handling.

A stiffer rear pushes the car more towards oversteer. A stiffer front pushes it more towards understeer. Since this car has too much understeer stock (like most fwd's) a rear bar is what you want if you go with one. In that case, run the trd on track setting. This is the same setup I am running.

If you go any stiffer than the trd, you need to get a set to balance it out. So you would swap the front and rear.

The stiffer you go on the sways, the less independence you end up with in your suspesion. So you will notice some difference on city streets.

 

TRD rear sway bar on track setting is fantastic. I suggest you do this.

 

Me as well. But most importantly, get some new tires. First and probably largest change in this car handling wise. After that the trd springs and rear sway are a great improvement

 

engifineer's been here, so I don't have much to add to the conversation, but I would like to say, if you're talking about STRUT bars, the front strut bar on our cars will be more effective than the rear, although NEITHER is a good money-spending decision. The rear towers are nearly a complete solid unit, and the front towers are so close to the firewall there isn't much fear of torsional flex, but a front strut bar will help more than a rear strut bar, albeit, not much at all.

If you're talking SWAY bars, and a rear sway bar alone, TRD on race setting is a great upgrade, and the Progress rear sway bar being nearly the same design and is the same diameter would be a secondary option.

Tires are the most important handling upgrade to be done on ANY car, all the suspension in the world won't help you if your tires let go.

 

..... so the real question is.....

what was the question? strut or sway?

and if sway.... rear sway FTW.

 

I guess I stand corrected.

 

as do i...haha

 

I have both front and rear greddy strut bars.. as well as the TRD rear sway bar. And the strut bars do not really help out that much, you cant really feel the difference on the street. With track use it is lightly noticesable. On the other hand, the TRD sway has a noticesable improvement on the cars handling characteristics. If you want looks get the strut bars, if you want performance get the Sway bar. IMHO i would get both gotta have looks and performance . .

 

thanks alot sorry for the strut/sway confusion i just meant sway

its looks like im going to go for the TRD rear sway from what everyone say.
where can i get one for cheapest?

 

probally here....

http://trdsparks.com/displayparts.ph...1&parts_id=326

 

I just got my TRD sway from TRD Sparks, very fast shipping and great to deal with.

And the sway is awesome! Going hard into turns you can definetly notice less and less understeer, you'll love it!

 

Hey, i just read the entire thread and I also made up my mind on buying the rear sway bar from TRD.

My only question is if when i install it, Should I keep it on Race standards or street?? Because theres 2 ways to mount them and i wasn't sure if installing it for Race and left it in that mode would do any damage.

any info would help thanks!

 

Set it for "Race", the "Street" setting makes little difference over stock. It's a warranty part, so it won't cause any damage if installed properly.

 

Thanks 2Fast!

 

what would be a good suggestion to put in the front if you get the TRD sway bar in the back?

 

Nothing. The only time I would say you will need to go stiffer on the front sway is if you go stiffer than the trd on the rear. The trd rear on the race setting balances out the car pretty well, so going with a stiffer front will just start causing more understeer again.

 

I have the Hotchkis Front and rear sways......Deffinately worth every penny! Rear set to the hardest point and front to softest.....100 times better handling over stock