Thankfully, this isn't a post about twerking.

Instead, it's about my 2010 xD's handling. During high speed corners, such as on a highway, and over some rougher expansion gaps, the back end feels like it'll shimmy side to side. It's fairly worrying to me, because prior to the xD, I used my parents' xA. On a particularly rainy day, I had just merged onto the highway, started hydroplaning for a moment, lost the back end and slammed into the center divider. I ended up totalling it, but we were able to get it repaired.

I'd like it if something similar did not happen to my xD, of course. I'm not sure exactly what's going on, and therefore how to fix it. I'm thinking firstly of trying a sway bar, since it feels like the back end is swaying back and forth. I was also thinking of putting a small spoiler on the back, but I don't want to reduce its aerodynamic stability at highway speed.

I also don't want to mess around too much with springs or dampers, because I think it rides quite nicely to begin with, though I wouldn't mind some reduction of body roll.

tl;dr My xD's rear feels unstable over some bumps at speed. Can a sway bar help? Does anyone have suggestions?

 

You could try slowing down.

Sway bars could definitely help. lowering wouldn't hurt either.

 

But that's no fun!

That being said, the car will do this anywhere from 40 up to 70. I'm not too into lowering it since I live in New England, and our rough roads mean I'd like to keep the ground clearance as close to stock as possible. However, if it ends up fixing the problem I could see lowering it a little.

Anyway, would a TRD sway bar be an okay purchase or should I consider different brands?

 

TRD is an excellent choice for a sway bar.

Get it installed and see if you'll even need to lower your car.

 

Rear sway bar definitely helped stabilize my '05 xA. I could tell a huge difference in the curves. At that time a TRD was $100. Thinking about putting one on my xD.

 

There are multiple things that cause a side to side shimmy. Excessive sidewall on the tires. Fixable with better tires and/or bigger rims. To soft a suspension will allow weight shifting in a undesirable manner. Stiffer springs will help keep the weight from shifting. high speed aerodynamic lift. Fix it with a wing. Shocks will increase rebound and bump effects. Giving more stability into and out of corners at the cost of comfort. (like stiffer springs). Sway bars are the best option for what you have described. They decrease side to side weight transfer without compromising the ride.

 

one thing I was going to install was a rear anit-roll bar. but my xD, 2008, does not have TCS. Yes, I've spun the car twice. since ownership. tricky car to drive sometimes.