Bigfieroman

No.

And besides, if you are making an off-road truck, it should have a solid front axle (unless it is a pre-runner type).

MikeInABox

Well guys, I put the TRD sway bar in Friday night. So like I said, I'm posting my thoughts on it.

Can I tell a difference? Yes. Is it way different? No. Body roll is reduced, as well as the feeling of understeer. Where I could tell the biggest difference was on the interstate. In long curves, the car feels much more stable. Before when it went over uneven pavement, the car bounced and felt unstable. Now when I enter the curve and the suspension settles, it just kind of stays and goes on through. On windy back roads, I notice the reduced feeling of understeer the most.

I think those that think it doesn't do anything, expected a huge difference. There is still significant body roll, it's just not quite as bad. For someone trying to get the best handling they can out of the xB, I think going with the Hotchkis is probably going to be better. For daily driving with a little improvement, the TRD is probably enough.

I'm kind of wondering though, with stiffer springs, even just the NF's, if the TRD swaybar will have much effect.

CIONIDE

iTrader: (1)

With the NF's alone (no rear sway bar), the combination of lowering the center of gravity and the progressive rear springs completely changed the ride and handling. Small bumps are greatly smoothed out compared to the choppy stock ride with the rear bouncing around; and the chassis feels much more stable and connected to the road at all times, and especially in turns.

I'm guessing the TRD rear sway bars greatest benefit would be when transitioning through turns (left, right, left, etc.); and as you already mentioned, reducing the amount of understeer.

Since the rear sway bar is so easy to install, maybe you could take it off when your springs go on; see how it rides and handles with just the springs; then put the sway bar back on and see if it feels much different.

MikeInABox

Yeah, I thought about doing that. I have to take it off anyways to install the rear springs, so I might leave it off, drive it, and then put it back on to see if there's much difference. The hardest part of installing the swaybar is pushing the shocks back up to line up the bolt holes, and that isn't hard at all.

MikeInABox

Well, I installed my NF's on Monday. I'm 110% satisfied with the ride, handling and amount of lowering. Rides great and like Cionide said, it's not choppy over bumps anymore. Kind of unexpected going lower with stiffer springs and have a better ride but hey, I'm not complaining.

Took a couple pics today. I hate posting pics of my car being dirty, but the water freezes on the car before I can wash/rinse it off lol. I'll edit this post with new pics of the car when it's clean. The first pic is stock suspension (and clean LOL)



These two are with the NF's.

CIONIDE

iTrader: (1)

Now you're ready for new shoes and socks!

I'm really glad you're happy, since you decided to get them based on my post. I too was surprised how much BETTER it rides after lowering with slightly stiffer springs. I expected it to handle better with less body roll, I just didn't expect the ride to be SO much better.

Thanks for adding your impressions to this (now the official) NF210 thread!

ANYBODY WHO PUTS ON NF210's, PLEASE POST YOUR IMPRESSIONS ON THIS THREAD.
THANKS

MikeInABox

Yeah no doubt, new wheels will hopefully be a reality come summer. Gotta save up enough for something I'll be happy with. Deciding on what wheels I want will be harder than deciding what color I wanted when I bought my xB. But I think I'm gonna get HID's and the Anzo LED tails (when they come out) before I get wheels.

XD40tC

Gosh, those drops look perfect! I anxiously await my NF's...

Whispaz

mike- very nice. I'll hopefully be ordering them this week. cant wait

xBliever

I'd like to see the pics of whoever gets 225/40-18 wheel/tires on there with the NFs. I'm hoping they fill out the the fenderwell horizontally just a bit more....or are they the same diameter?

MikeInABox

Thanks Whispaz, you won't be disappointed. Hopefully I can get it washed and take some nice pics soon. The weather has been crap here.

xBliever, I put that size in the wheel/tire configure-o-meter that Cionide posted in the wheels forum. It's just a tad bigger overall than the stock setup.

CIONIDE

iTrader: (1)

Here it is again:

http://www.rims-n-tires.com/rt_specs.jsp?postId=906

Remember, stock is 205/55-16 with +45 offset.

xBliever, 2/10th's of an inch larger overall diameter on 225/40-18 vs. 205/55-16 = 1/10th inch more wheelwell filled out;
probably not enough to be visible to the human eye.

If you want to fill it out more, either 235/40-18 or 225/45-18.
Play with the calculator to see the differences. Keep in mind, bigger tires get heavier and change the speedo more.
235/40-18 will add 1/2" to overall diameter = filling out the wheelwell 1/4" more.
225/45-18 will add 1" to overall diameter = filling out the wheelwell 1/2" more.
If you head into 225/45 territory you will need to be very careful with offset in regard to possible rubbing, and your speedo will be off.
When speedometer reads 60mph actual speed will be 62.6mph: 4.3% faster.
The larger heavier tires could also affect acceleration and mpg, depending on the weight of your wheels.
Additionally, these larger tires are usually more expensive than 225/40-18, sometimes significantly.

That having been said, I plan on going with one of the two larger tires; which one will depend on which wheels I end up deciding on
(depending on weight and offset) because the tires I want only differ a few $$ for the different size tires.
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...ance&tc=FALHZB

jo_maoma

like cionide said weight is definitely an issue so chose wisely. I'm running a 225/45/18 Pirelli Pzeros that
are the same weight (21lbs) as the stock rubber, but some tires in that size can run up near 30lbs.

CIONIDE

iTrader: (1)

jo_maoma, I'm thinking about going with that size tire.

What springs are you running (if any)?
What is the width and offset of your 18's?
Any rubbing at all?
Do you have any pics that you can post?

Thanks

jo_maoma

not running anything yet but have got NF210s on the way
im running 5zigen 16 x 7.5 wheels with 43 offset
no rubbing at all (not expecting any probs when i go to the new springs but who knows)


this car is a replacement for our volvo v70 (absolutebiggestpieceof____madebyaoncereputablemanufacturerever)
so ride quality was the big priority. the 225/45 let me go to a bigger wheel, shed 18lbs of unsprung weight, and
still have enough sidewall for a decent ride. i'll post up some pics on monday when i'm back from the parker 425

Whispaz

ordered today!!! should be on by next weekend

CraigMBA

Tanabe NF210s, 18x7.5 w 42mm offset Rays Versus Campionato SS7s, 225/40/18 Kumhos.

I posted on another thread that I had NR210's and I was wrong.

CIONIDE

iTrader: (1)

Rumion window visors, rear spoiler and mudguards; very nice.

18's look great with the NF drop, thanks for the pic, and tire/wheel info.

generem

This post has convinced me to get the nf210's.

Thnx for the ebay post. I live about 4 blocks away from performance-r place. Hopefully they take walk ins so I can save on the shipping cost.. will find out tomorrow.

CIONIDE

iTrader: (1)

Happy to help out. They're great springs, and I enjoy them every time I drive just as much as I did the day they were installed.

I contacted the eBay seller (a different company than performance-r) to work out the pick-up instead of shipping. To satisfy the eBay seller agreement, I had to purchase on eBay, but my seller credited back the shipping cost before I paid through PayPal. If you're that close, I'm sure they'll help you out when you show up at their door.