Hello All
I recently brought a ADR strut bar for my 06 XA. It felt a little better in handling and turning on corners. But still getting roll overs for the folks that sits in the back.
Now if I get the Rear Sway Bar, would that make any differences?
Also I notice the strut bar is slap on top of the car and the sway bar down the bottom,
what are the cons for having that kinda of setting.
Btw, I looking forward to getting the TRD rear sway bar.

Thanks, any input would be appreciated.

 

I have the DC sports front strut, and Progress Rear sway, 7.5inch wide wheels and RS*R springs and I have very little roll, stays pretty neutral and flat.

 

anyone else??

 

i got a fx front strut and a progress tech rear sway and a gspect front lower arm brace , without changing struts gots great control cornering and no roll and even dampens the ride of my 17x205x40 wheels

 

Your setup is stiffer than stock in front. This will provide better steering feel, but will increase understeer (even more than stock). In a turn, the roll in the rear of the car will lift the inside front wheel (losing front tire grip).

You will see a huge benefit with a rear sway. Much less understeer as the roll in front and rear is more similar. More balanced setup between front and rear suspension typically translates into more grip from your tires.

 

i think you will get more Over steer , thats what most i noticed but just get use to it

 

I have the DC strut bar and prgress tech sway bar set up. After I had the rear sway bar it definately was a different ride in a turn. The sway bar tightened up a little but not as much as the rear sway bar. I also have the TRD shock, spring, and strut set up. Better at cornering crazier over bumps for rear seated passengers. . . remember going over bumps in the big yellow school bus'. . . well the xB could be a small yellow school bus, fun for the kiddies bad for older people. . .hehe. Rear sway bar from anyone will make a difference from what I here but progress and hotchkis seem to be the favorites on SL.

 

Thanks alot for the input Jomo
That was the answer I needed.

 

Now guys, if I just have the Strut bar and rear sway bar istall. Do i really need the front sway bar???

 

No the factory one works fine

 

I hear some racers ditch front sways on their front wheel drive car. This induces major oversteer. This can be used to your advantage through corners by sliding the rear through a corner. Totally dangerous for the amateur. Try slamming on your brakes in a corner when you are going too fast......360's galore.....

 

from what ive seen most of the aftermarket front sway bars are not much differnt from stock , not to mention its like major drama to change it (thats what ive heard) with my setup front strut-rear sway- lower arm brace i feel major control and actually less bumpiness with the lower arm brace.

by the way the progress tech is a solid 22mm bar i belive the hotchkiss is 12mm , i love my progress tech and partshippers.com are best to buy it from.

 

General consensus seems to be adding either the Progress or TRD rear swaybar, strutbar in front, maybe, leaving the front swaybar alone. Installing the rear bar is pretty easy, and dealing with the front bar involves some major surgery, at least from the instructions on the Hotchkis site...

The late model TRD bar and the Progress bar are virtually identical, both bolting on to supplement the stock bar. Definitely put the rear of the car up on stands, remove the rear wheels- makes it a lot easier, and it's impossible to torque the bolts with the stock wheels in place. I just finished doing it, and reaffirmed the truth- I'm not smarter than the instructions...

My progress bar came with nifty nut plates, which help a lot, and I wired the center of the bar up temporarily to whatever that box thing is under there. I also used loctite blue on the four bolts, just to be sure, and pulled them up tightly with a long handled 1/2" drive ratchet....

That was just before coming in to relax for awhile, so I haven't had a chance to test it out yet, but it should significantly reduce understeer and reduce body roll...

 

maybe this is a dumb question but has anyone ever heard of using a 'rear' strut tower bar? It appears that the XB would take one perfectly... any comments?

 

There have been quite a few people to run a brace between the two shock towers. And I think there are even a couple commercial companies with kits available. I am sure if you spent some time searching the site you could find some examples.

 

All the bracing you can add to these cars will make them corner flatter and with more control in general. I have the HG performance upper front and rear strut bar, lower front and mid chassis brace, and will be adding the Progress rear sway bar soon. The only issue I have now is rear roll which will be greatly reduced once I add the rear sway bar. Im also running a 3" drop in the front on Dropzone coilovers and running stock springs in the rear. That situation doesnt help rear chassis flex at all so I will also be getting a set of TEIN H-Tech springs for a slight drop in the rear...

Bottom line, get lots of bracing.


Oh yeah, APR makes a rear upper strut bar that is very nice. Buy it from Partshippers.com

 

i talked with some people about the rear strut tower bar and they told me it was pretty much a waste of money , on the rear sway , if your wheels are big enough , like 17's , you dont even need to put the car on jack stands or remove the wheels to install , i just slid myself under my car and put it on and just snaked my hands around to install the bar, mind you I had/have a severly sprained arm so it couldnt be that hard for most people