That's understandable, but disappointing. Off to Pick n' Pull to see if the '97 Camry links are shorter...

 

So what it looks like is if you plan to get either the Tein Basic coilovers, or the Hotchkis sways, you shouldn't get the other because they go scratch scratch pinch pinch. or is that only for those of you abusing your car in auto-x and what not? (I would think daily drivers would be fine)

 

Daily driving is just fine. It only happens under rare circumstances. Still, it isn't good if it can happen at all.

I'll be solving this problem and posting a cost effective cure soon.

 

Werd, PM me when with what you end up doing

 

My concern would be if running the Tein Coilovers that the stock would rub. (This is not a Tein bash either. I have a buddy that has them in his TC and they ride great.) The problem is as a manufacturer that you can not always anticipate or work around what other manufacturers do. We manufactuer it to work with the stock shocks.

 

Good point, and well said. This is a pretty new car, after all. But to play Devil's Advocate for a moment, it would be wise to anticipate something along these lines happening. I would find it hard to believe if someone were going to dump money into a suspension setup of any kind, that they would leave the majority of it stock.

Just don't try to convince me Hotchkis expects peope who buy this aftermarket stuff to remain over 90% stock.

I plan on buying the sway set reguardless because I will NOT be driving my tC in such harsh situations, so I won't probably see this somewhat limited problem.

 

Lo... let me know about the different endlinks...

Problem is no matter what sway bar you get your gonna have this problem.... So its not just a tein and hotchkis problem people... remember that... you go tein coilovers your gonna have this problem

 

I'm having a hard time believing Tein is unaware there is a problem if one exists. The OEM isn't tubular at this section, it's a piece of flat metal, and I doubt it would be possible to strike the OEM bar under any conditions. Again, it is very difficult to believe Tein didn't check this, just as it is difficult to believe Hotchkis would not do the same thing with the OEM struts. I'm sure both manufacturers performed their due diligence, and we've just arrived at a bad combination.

It's certainly not the first time I've had to either find a part or fabricate something to make two aftermarket pieces work together. I've got plenty of hours of lathe and mill time under my belt from making "bolt-on" parts actually bolt-on and work.

At any rate, I'll look for the least expensive options first and escalate as necessary. While it would be very cool to use a couple of rod ends and threaded tube to make adjustable links, they aren't practical for street use where they get dirty and bind up from neglect, and I surely don't want to be servicing them every 2 or 3k miles, so I'm looking for a factory style solution first.

 

is shortening the endlinks gunna effect the performance of the swaybar? it seems to me if you shorten the endlinks this would make the assembly stiffer. which isnt nessesarily a bad thing but might effect the balance hotchkis intended between the 2 bars?

 

I have the Hotchkis sways and TRD struts and my passenger side hits sometimes, especially in sharp right turns. No problems most of the time. Installed and centered correctly.
I want the knock to stop. Please keep me posted also.
Thanks

 

I bet yours is from you not spinning the clip on the boot like you have to.... and probally not centered

 

keep me updated man.

 

You raise an excellent point. If the OEM rod is effectively longer because the Tein mount is lower, it affects the geometry a bit. How much hasn't been quantified, but changing the length of the end links will change the geometry no matter how you look at it. Since it is ideal for the link to be parallel with the centerline of the strut, it would seem the design engineers at Toyco worked pretty hard to make it so.

When Tein did their work, I imagine they might not have been quite so diligent, but probably looked at it and said it's not enough of a difference to be a problem.

Now we need to move the Hotchkis bar back to the OEM static position, but the rod will be shorter. So the vectors affecting the swaybar force feeding into the strut body will be different and a lot more subject to angular displacement. It could also effectively lower the spring rate of the bar if the rod goes too far off parallel to the strut body centerline.

MORE homework. Just what I wanted.

OK, so one last question for Hotchkis: did you guys model the suspension and calculate roll center, roll couple, and roll axis, or do I have to do that myself too?

 

well my car is currently in the shop while they try to find the source of my noise, but I am lowered on stock shocks with Hotchkis springs. I bought the TVS1 kit and it has made the noise since about 2 days after the kit was installed. I checked and my clips on the boot are moved, but I'm experiencing the same things most of the guys here are getting. I also checked, and my brackets are on correctly -- slotted on the rear and regular on the front. I have relubricated the bushings twice, and here I am.

Pretty disappointed.

 

Hey i just installed my rear sway Sunday and i am also on Hotchkis springs....no probs so far and man what a difference in handling.....i want to do the front but all i keep hearing is problems with the Front Sway on top of a difficult install.....So whats the deal with the front ...Is ANYONE NOT having a problem with it!!!

 

the problem spawns from a conflict between tein struts and the hotchkis swaybar. if your riding on stock struts then you shouldnt encounter a problem if the bar is installed properly.

 

What about tein springs?

 

the problem is that the mounting point for the endlink is in a different position on the tein struts as opposed to the stock struts. so no the springs arnt going to make a difference.

 

Ok well my car went back to the Toyota/Scion dealer thursday so they could check and re-check my brackets on my sway bars. It turned out the fronts were on the rear, and vice versa. They swapped them, and called me to let me know the car was ready but the noise was still there.

I got there and drove to work, and wouldn't you know it, the noise was gone! I thought I had finally had it fixed, and the noise returned today with a vengeance. Same noise as before.

Stock struts, Hotchkis springs, Hotchkis F&R swaybars. Soon to be a stock front sway if a resolution isn't found soon. I also found out that it wasn't some lackey checking out my car -- it was the shop foreman and he's a great mechanic. I have basically gone through my options with the dealership. Considering the $150 I paid to have these installed (and the probability that I'll be paying again to have it uninstalled), I'm less than pleased right now.

 

confirmed problem on my car, keep me posted on a solution if one of you guys come up with one. i'm running hotchkis sways and tein ss-p. shows rubbing at the same places in the pictures.