Superdog

Last night I dropped the rear sway bar on my xb2 to see if I could improve my ride handling. With the bar off I noticed an improvement of 2% making my total 22% over stock. I haven't notice much difference in cornering yet but I don't race my car.

The rear sway was really easy to take off. No jacking required. I took off a plastic cover and four bolts on each side and it fell to the ground like a cheap walmart curtain rod. It weights about as much as one too.

Up next is shocks.

EDIT: This isn't the sway bar! This is both funny and good. Does anyone know what this is? I'm going to take another look underneath.

GDubya

Uhhh... I believe that's the support brace for your gas tank. You might want to reinstall that.

xBs don't come base stock with a rear sway bar, but the TRD (or aftermarket) option very much improves "spirited" driving handling. And I'd hit the (lowered) springs first and keep the OEM shocks till they die. That'd also be a great time to add a sway bar .

Martyr03

iTrader: (2)

where are you getting the numbers for a 22% increase from stock?

Superdog

The 20% was from higher sidewall tires with a high comfort rating. Obviously it's hard to judge and give a number.

The curtain rod that I removed bolts on to the torsion beam on each side. It does run below the tank but it does not bolt into it. Should I bolt the curtain rod back on? Does it need a walmart curtain rod?

GDubya

Silly Toyota engineers squandering $ on a stupid curtain rod, without even curtains...

And it sounds like you're not going to like lowering springs and the sway bar; nix that suggestion.

pyroman131

Superdog...

How are you generating these magical flower butterfly numbers like that out of the air? Whatever you just took off, put it back on! Then ADD a rear sway bar if you want more handling.

Big advice: if you don't know what it is or what it's for, don't touch it! lol!

CIONIDE

iTrader: (1)

You have wisdom beyond your years young grasshopper.

RicRat

ROFLMAO!!

Superdog

Chill out people. The curtain rod is back on.

I don't want to lower the car, I want to smooth out the ride but it keep it stock height. Per the search button, it's a common request here and there doesn't seem to be much of an answer as there is no one making OEM replacement shocks or springs that would improve the ride and keep the stock height. This must be the first car I've seen that's been out for 4+ years and yet you can't buy replacement shocks for it unless you move to a sport shock which is not what I want.

xtylerx

iTrader: (1)

Everyone knows that removing random parts that you are clueless about improves handling by 16%.

Curtain rods?... worst thread ever.

FromTheOld

This thread is hilarious. Well done OP.

BTW, the replacement shock isn't what I'd call a sport shock. It's barely more aggressive than stock. The reason the car is "uncomfortable" is because it uses a torsion beam setup in the rear. Get used to it or trade the car....sorry.

pyroman131

Hey guys, there's nothing wrong with wanting to improve the ride quality. But unfortunately, these cars are not designed with a great suspension to begin with. It's a basic MacPherson design (torsion in the rear).

So far, the greatest solution we have come up with so far as a community for creating a softer/comfortable ride is this:
1. Taller tires (e.g., 205/60/16 on OEM steelies or lighter alloys)
2. Sound deadening to create noise control ambience
3. Sway bars/strut bars to create chassis rigidity

And that's it. I applaud Superdog for trying to find other solutions. That's always a great plan to try to find other ways to make a smoother ride. Personally I feel sound deadening is your next step in order to help out. A quiet secure ride leads to a more comfortable ride.

Btw, sorry for being a wisenheimer. It's in my nature.

FromTheOld

Other than the fact that you've just repeated what people have been saying....there is something wrong with this thread, not with what he was trying to do. You realize he just randomly removed something, stated some statistics, then realized it wasn't what he was even trying to manipulate? This is sort of dangerous and the statistic statements just made him sound stupid.

EDIT: To clarify what I'm actually saying a bit more, the reason why he's probably getting ripped on so hard is because it is dangerous and stupid to remove random parts that you do not understand. Someone who is remotely smart would probably just use resources to find diagrams of the car layout, or just ask around (IE: Do we even have a stock rear stabilizer?"). I've seen people post up pics and ask what they were before, etc so this is not unheard of. If they had good mechanical knowledge and understanding, he might even realize the part he removed just isn't a rear stabilizer because of where it was attached or how it looks like. The problem here is that so many car owners (especially in this forum) do not believe in understanding what they are manipulating. They just throw in stuff that "fits" or they just remove random parts without truly understanding it. This is sort of a rant, and while this might make me sound like a jerk, I'm just a truthful straightforward person that doesn't like stupid people. There are just some people who should not have tools in their hands, especially near a car.

Toast_Burner

I actually thought the title of this thread was a joke.....

AAG

iTrader: (1)

If you want a better ride get an air suspension or trade it in for something with an independent rear suspension.

pyroman131

I should've been more clear with what I was referring to. Superdog has created several threads and posted in other areas where he is trying to improve the quality of his ride. He was talking about tires in other threads, sound deadening solutions in others, etc. So I was merely responding globally to all of this threads at his efforts... consider it my own form of specialized consolidation feedback. I apologize for not being clear. I was merely commending him for his efforts of looking for new ways we haven't explored to create a more comfortable ride.

I also already commented on his unsafe removal of something from the undercarriage. But the way I see it, there's nothing wrong with a car guy ripping apart a car to figure new things out. That's what I did to learn about my xB! I drove nothing but old classic cars before this one. I'm used to metal everywhere, not plastic and LEGO retention clips to hold everything together... but I digress. To comment further on superdog, making up blind statistics is something I don't agree with, as I already commented above. See post #6 in this thread.

pyroman131

What kind of cars did you drive before this one? There are not too many "comfort" modifications for the xB, considering this car is tailored for a very young audience. It's designed with as much cost-saving materials, including but not limited to a cheap MacPherson suspension with a solid torsion beam in the rear. The goal of Scion is to get young buyers to buy their cars, then as they get older they'll buy Toyotas and become Lexus customers.

For me, I drove classic muscle cars all my life. I'm used to solid, well-built construction. Getting into plastics and thin sheet metal was way different for me, but I started to get used to it as it is much easier to take apart a whole interior of a car using predominantly one tool: a panel remover (when compared to a slew of wrenches, ratchets, and WD-40 to take apart my old ones!). The sacrifices I had to make are having a much lighter car vulnerable to slight winds, interior road noise, and abhorrent rattling and creaking. My muscle cars were planted on the road at all times (even during hurricane winds) and never rattled and creaked as much as my xB does. And because of the weight and construction, they were MUCH quieter. They are just built better and last much longer than new cars.

But for practical reasons, my xB is a great purchase and I would potentially consider buying another Scion. I won't know for sure until I sound deaden my car completely. But because of the work I put into my Scion, I will definitely drive this car until it literally falls apart on me.

A-snell

iTrader: (4)

AMEN!!!!

burstaneurysm

Glad you put that bar back on. That was no sway bar.

That being said, if you want to soften the ride a bit, Monroe Sensatracs tend to be a little more compliant than the stocks and they won't lower the car at all.

DJ_Moonbass