After a couple of days in the tC forum, I'll request to move this post to the equipment review section. I figured, however that tC drivers should specifically hear about the sway bar.

My tC came with the strut tower bar, so I can't really tell how much of a difference that piece makes. But last night I installed the anti-sway bar and the results were remarkable.

My biggest complaint with the tC (performance-wise) had been the body roll, and the sway bar completely solves this problem. The ride quality is essentially untouched, but the rear now stays much flatter through turns. The handling is thus more neutral, and in my proving run (with the softer, street setting) I was able to rotate the car predictably, making the back step out as much as I wanted.

Previous to this installation, I was hell-bent on getting the trd springs and shocks to flatten out the ride, but no longer. Now, I may still get the upgrades, but I'll probably wait until about the 40K mark when the stock parts begin to die anyway.

It is amazing that a piece that is only slightly thicker than stock, very cheap (160 from partznet), and easy to install can do so much. Most toyota dealers around here wanted two hours labor to put this piece on (about $180)...... I went to autozone and ponied up for jack stands, chocks and a jack ($50) and armed with little knowledge the whole job took me 45 minutes.

Anyway, bang for the buck is incredible. My suggestion for any tC owner on a mod budget would be to get the drop in K&N filter and the sway bar; $200, improved snappiness, sound and turning.

ten thumbs up.... get one and you'll see

 

You didn't experiement with the race setting, I take it? I'm looking for someone to detail the differences between the two settings.

 

One other thing - you say the ride comfort is essentially unchanged. Is this really true? I know on a smooth street with no potholes, it should be very close, but the sway bar is essentially tying parts of the back end together, yes? Is it really not changing the feeling much? I'm thinking of going for this, but my current car rides a bit harsh and I don't want the tC to feel the same.

Last question - when you install this guy, is it a completely new addition, or are you removing a smaller stock piece and adding this in?

 

The only time you'll notice a difference in ride is when one rear wheel goes over something and the other one doesn't. It will transfer more motion from one side of the car to the other. Honestly, I don't think you'll notice it at all. It's not like changing springs or shocks that can adversely effect the ride a whole lot. You'll primarily notice the improved handling and less understeer.

Yes, you remove the smaller stock bar and put this one in.

 

when i put my sway bar on. i decided to put it on the inner hole. it corners much better and does not understeer like a cow.

on a side note, i really hate those tires. they suck and so does the tread wear they squeal like pig in hard corners. and traction in the rain sucks ___. oh well, at least they are pretty decent for factory tires.

 

Yeah, ride quality is almost exactly the same. You'll notice a teeny (teeny-weeny) bit more action if one rear wheel encounters a pothole.... that kind of stuff. It really is almost exactly the same. I'm definitely not the kind of guy who would replace it if the ride were stiffened, but on the other hand, I was pleased that the item was virtually transparent until I started turning hard.

I have not tried the 'race' setting yet because the car rotates exactly the way I want it to right now. I threw it into a few off-ramps (the only good roads in South Jersey have exit #s) that I know pretty well and was able to induce some oversteer. I think the inside setting would be a bit much on the street. Especially in the northeast, where snow and rain are a part of life, the race setting would be downright dangerous with sub-standard traction. It will be easy enough, however, to switch to the more extreme setting for Solo autocross days.

I also agree with the above statement about our ____-poor tires. They really squeal like stuck pigs at the slightest provocation, and fail to grab fully in most situations. My seat of the pants evaluation is that the tires throw fits long before the car. And a 3000 lb sporty compact car doesn't really need anything bigger than 225/45/ZR17 tires (performance-wise)..... I'll probably upgrade the tires soon as I finish burning off the stockers (S-03s, P-Zeros, Eagle F1 sports, AVS-sports, KDW, something along these lines)

Anyway, forgive the repetition..... BUY the SWAY BAR!!!!! BUY the SWAY BAR!!!!!!

ahem, thanks

 

anyone got any pix??? thanks...

 

How thick is the stock sway bar vs. the TRD bar? My friends Civic had a 12mm stock bar and he replaced it with at 19mm RSX bar and it made a huge difference.

 

I got lucky and won a free "anti-roll" bar in a raffle from Progress Auto..... now I just have to wait for them to develope the damn thing!!!!

 

it is not really true, but you wont notice it unless you actually go over some seriously and completly bad road - I am talking about 3"-4" potholes, and a lot of them near each other for more than 20 feet. So essentially it is pretty good trade-off and very much reccomended.

I would also reccomend springs as well, since that wont disturb the ride too much but it will help cornering a lot. In fact, it will help out the ride over smaller bumps that you most likely drive over normally because new springs wont be distrubed as easily...

There is an stock sway bar, this one is just bigger and adjustable...

in short, both springs and sway bar will do AWESOME thing to the ride, and it will not become uncomfortable, highly reccomended and I reccomend doing it sooner than latter.

 

Cleancut: I don't have pix, but this piece ain't exactly bling..... The stock piece is completely invisible when on the car. The TRD piece is red and slightly visible from some angles, if you're _really_ looking for it. The stock piece has one more bend on each side with respect to the TRD piece. The end geometry is virtually the same, but the increased thickness and the fewer bends make for a much stiffer product.

Reign: I didn't measure them side by side, but it looked to be less than 5mm difference maximum. In fact, I was scared that the aftermarket piece was too similar to the stocker to make a difference.

What a perfect upgrade..... cheap, you can install it yourself, no adverse effects, solves a major shortcoming....... ahhhhhh...... can you tell how much I love it?