I have a couple hundred dollars to spend. I will eventually get both but what first?

Rear Sway bar (what brand and ease of install - no drilling)
-OR-
TRD springs (is there another brand of springs that offer a 30mm-ish drop, I only want to drop it a little - roads are crap here).

Thanks
-PF

 

Id go springs... sway later

 

Nooooo do you swaybar first.....this will give you better handling over the lowering springs

 

I'm in the same dilema as you, but I just decided 5 min ago, to drop my car some more. So I ordered some Goldlines to replace my h-techs.

I will be ordering a Whiteline sway bar later this week. But it's your choice between Progress, TRD, and Whiteline for a rear sway, they're all the top performers.

 

Springs mean improved handling and a better ride height. I would go springs first. Take a look at either the Tein S Tech or Tanabe NF210 springs.

 

Well you may have convinced me to dip into the savings a bit and buy both.

 

Also... With installing lowering springs, at what point do I need a re-alignment. How low a drop that is, 1" 2" 3"?

 

Your going to have to have to realign no matter what drop it is. You start getting camber up front when you drop more than 1.8". I would go with the sway bar first. My car is done and ready and the only thing springs will give is a better look, but handling is just slightly improved. If you really wanna feel a difference go with the sway bar.

 

Springs first...or FRONT strut bar. Strut bar make huge difference compared to rear sway bar. At least when accelerating around corner. Rear sway bar only make big difference in really fast corner. Keep stiffness where weight ride first.
I just read this. sound like Tarzan. Or Frankenstein. or maybe Tonto.

Fire bad!!! Kimosabi!!

 

I just did TRD springs (1" drop), OTG rear spacer shims, and the Progress rear sway bar on my xA. I did the springs first and drove it a few days before the sway bar came. The TRD springs are only 10% stiffer than stock but it made the car ride flatter in the turns. Then the sway bar came and that made even more improvment. The OTG spacers made some differences although there was already so much improvment that it would be hard to quantify the difference. They do make a big difference in looks. I am very happy with the look and ride.

 

I'd suggest the bolt on progress rear bar for anybody, whether they intend to lower the vehicle or not. You'll never even know it's there, until you throw the box into a hard corner, find out that it stays flatter , holds the road better, and behaves in a more steering neutral fashion...

Unless you go with very stiff springs, a lowered vehicle will have a much stronger tendency for the suspension to bottom out on rough bouncy corners, and the sway bar will counteract that to some degree...

I haven't noticed my Megan front strut bar as having done much of anything, but I haven't really tossed the box around very hard since the install...

 

springs first
and the rear "sway bar" is an axle beam stiffener
and will limit the range of travel of the suspension

swaybars basically make independent suspension less independent by tying the two sides together

they are ideal in ceartain situations
that being : Band-Aid for improper spring rate
that is about all i can think of

we should really be asking what kind of driving you intend to do.....

 

Well, the Progress "sway bar" is basically the axle beam stiffener like you said, however the Whiteline sway bar, is an actual sway bar design.

 

I say get the springs first. You will see the most improvement from the springs and it will look better. Personally I say go with Hotchkis. The drop is near perfect and they still ride good. If you're interested in either the TRD or Hotchkis let me know.

TRD
http://www.trdsparks.com/displaypart...1&parts_id=314

Hotchkis
http://www.trdsparks.com/displaypart...1&parts_id=477

 

I would have to disagree about choosing a front strut bar over a rear sway bar (torsion beam stiffener). It has been stated over and over again by people who have front strut bars that they saw no significant change in performance with the addition of the strut bar. The likely reason for this is the fact that the strut towers are already so close to the firewall. With such a short engine bay there isn't a whole lot of distance to induce unwanted flex in the front end.

 

"nd the rear "sway bar" is an axle beam stiffener
and will limit the range of travel of the suspension."

That is incorrect. It will simply require a greater load to cause differential bottoming on one side vs the other, the actual spring travel remains unchanged...

"they are ideal in ceartain situations
that being : Band-Aid for improper spring rate
that is about all i can think of ."

Yeh, right. That's why they're used on virtually every racing machine in existence, even NASCAR, where money is basically no object...

 

i had a nice long argument written
but i deleted it because our belief converstion is not helping poor Pinchflat....sorry


get the springs, any springs (ok not Tenzo)
and you will enjoy it

 

Hehe.. ok.... I have actually scraped enough cash to get both so the big question is now...

What sway bar (yes I said sway bar)? TRD, Progressive, etc. I don't really want to drill anything just bolt it on if possable.

Also what springs and drop? TRD or Tein H-Tech to go 1" or so. OR Tein S-Tech or Tanabe NF210 to go 1.5" or so. Other brand of springs?

I will drive to work on the freeway 25 mile each way, 5 times a week. So I really don't want a harsh ride. Our roads are unpredictable here so it would have to handle some unexpected high and low speed hits (don't want to bottom the suspention every hit). Some of our driveway/curbs are crap. There is also a possability of the occational dirt road or driveway. BUT! there are alot of SWEET! canyons to race up and down.

I would love to slam the box but not here in Utah. So I need a good ride great looks excelent handling, did I mention great looks? Basically, I want everything and a great price too.

 

For sway bar, I'd go with whitelineif you want excellent performance, but Progress or TRD if you want comfort.

I have h-techs on my ride now, check my profile for pics. I'm running 16's too.

I'm planning on selling my h-techs soon which are still on my car, I'll be dropping mine even more.

 

I've achieved really good results with the progress rear bar, and I like the fact that it's easy to install, and there's basically nothing to wear out, either... no squeaks or maintenance... no links, bushings or clamps... elegant simplicity.