i just bought some Tanabe DF210's for my '05 XA..

i was just wondering if a sway bar is essential after i install them. i kinna ran out of money..being the broke college student as i am...hahah . i was going to buy a Sustec Tanabe Front Strut bar soon.

bottom line is: if i do install them w/o the sway bar, i can still run on them without any probs right? just making sure because im afraid of some premature body wear or something...

 

You should be fine without the front sway bar. Granted the the factory one is still in there. Just making sure.

I just installed springs and haven't gotten around to installing my sway bar, and from everyhting that I hear, it should be fine.

 

You do not need a strut bar. For our cars, it's purely asthetic engine dress up.

 

hehe arrighty, coolio...thanks for the feed back guys. good to hear that i could save a little bit, haha.

i should be getting my springs in about three days...im hyped and i can't wait.

 

it's not necessarily PURELY asthetic, i have the tanabe myself and my car feels more solid when turning. yes, our cars are pretty rigid already, but nothing's wrong wtih making it more rigid! plus, it'll make you're suspension move in unison rather than independtly...which is good. But the thing is IMO, if you're just gonna drive it fast around the street in a straight line and do normal turning (ie into you're driveway or through the intersection) than don't bother you won't really notice the difference. I take my car mountain roading all the time so I most definately feel the increase in ridgity! And no, it's not just placebo. Second day I had my strut bar I took my car to Palomar Mountain (a very twisty mountain pass in San Diego county) ran it with the strut, then again without, turn in felt so much more solid with the bar. So yeah, they arent PURELY asthetic, just my two cents. Oh yeah...and no you wont need one...

 

Moved to CC...

 

The strut bar makes a huge difference in everything from torque steer to turning to wheel hop. I installed one in my car, and it was definatly more solid than before. think of the front of the car as a U shaped frame. A U can twist very easily. The stryut bar creates a box "0" shape. Which is much harder to twist and turn. This makes the car more stable, and the tires are fimly planted. think about it, it makes a lot of sense.

 

you can have your springs on without upgrading the swaybar, its ok. Also if you do install a swaybar, make sure that you have a shop install it and not do it yourself. That thing take some labor to install it.

 

oh yeah im aware about what a strut bar can do..i would get one eventually. its just that im pretty broke now...haha.

 

I heard that it was good to use them when you go with larger rims. Especially in the rear where there would be the most flex. This is just what I heard.

 

WHOO HEY GUYS I GOT MY TANABES!

 

Where are the before and after pics? :D

 

oh hahah well, theyre at home...im still about four hours away getting my ___ worked by midterms.

ill be going home this weekend though..ill try to take as many before and after pics as possible. maybe even some simple install pics.