I feel like there is too much body roll when making simple turns on the road. I went on Toyota Nation and they recommend a few aftermarket sway bars and strut bars.

For sway bar they recommend "Ultra Racing" but will it fit on my ES350?? The website list two kinds, 19mm and 23mm, what is the difference?

http://www.nextgentuning.com/shop.ph...r&Look2=Search

For front strut bar, they recommend "Megan Racing".

I think I would go for the sway bar first cus it is more noticeable, what do you guys think?

 

It's an ES350 so if you want performance get an IS-F. You won't get what you are looking for with this car.

 

While jagtoes' comment is somewhat accurate, you actually can reduce the body roll of your ES by increasing the diameters on both front & rear sway bars. However, you will be changing the dynamics of your car's suspension, and there may be undesireable results, such as more oversteer than you want, or some squeeks & rattles could show up.

This is a situation though where baby steps are more appropriate than giant steps as you could easily hurt the ride of your ES and regret the changes. Personally, I wouldn't increase the bar diameter more than 2-3mm from the stock/original size, and I wouldn't start with the 23mm. To keep the handling neutral, BOTH front & rear bars will need to be changed at the same time. Increasing the size of the rear only will increase oversteer & doing the front only will increase understeer.

That web site you posted has terrible navigation--at least for me. I didn't find any bars for the ES and finally gave up, but the Camry bars ought to work. Since the ES has independent rear suspension, it will have a bar on the rear now. Measure it before you buy. Unless you are looking for race car handling, a modest increase in bar diameter may give you what you want.

Of course, it's possible that the ES just won't do what you want and you will have to consider a different car.

 

Great response. Sorry for the website navigation, I think i posted the wrong URL. However, if you search "Toyota Camry Rear Sway Bar" in the Ultra Racing website, it will show the 19mm and 23mm bar. There is no bar for the ES350 but the Ultra-racing guys said the toyota 2007 one "may" fit.

I guess I have to buy both the front strut bar and the rear sway bar to keep the ride neutral. I will go with the 19mm rear sway bar and have to see the difference first. Don't get me wrong, I like the ride quality of the ES (when it is going straight), I just get irritated when making simple turns. Maybe I should change my driving habit and turn slower? lol

 

Just a reminder: Be sure to measure the diameter of the stock bars first. Who knows, you may have to find another supplier if that 19mm bar turns out to be twice the diameter of the stock bar. It could happen, but doubtful.

Please remember my comment about baby steps--I would only change one component at a time for several reasons: 1) that limits expenditures, 2) easier to remove one component if you don't like the results, and 3) if you change several components at once, you won't be able to tell which component did what to your handling. It's possible that just increasing the size of the rear sway bar may give you what you want. Or maybe not.....

 

Trying to make a ES350 handle a whole lot better is the same as trying to make a Buick Century handle better. Not in the DNA.

 

i noticed the heavy body roll as well. Like others said, the ES350 is not meant to handle like a sports car. Its catered to those who want comfort over performance.

 

Do you have good tires on yours now? The roll on mine was horrible when I bought it a year ago. I finally upgraded the crappy tires that were on there to Michelin Primacy and the difference was incredible.

 

Now that I think about it, my 2007 Ultra with 58,000 miles riding on Kumho Platinum Excel tires (1/2 worn) cornered better than my 2011 with Bridgestone tires at 1,500 miles.

 

Looks like I'm going to be the only proponent of modifying suspensions (DNA modification) to improve handling. So be it!

I am one of those people that have always believed that you can improve the handling of ANY car or light truck as long as you have a few things to begin with:

1) A strong, maybe even overwhelming desire to keep the car rather than buy something else that handles better out of the box.
2) A clear and concise idea/goal of what you desire--write it down so you don't forget.
3) A willingness to experiment with your suspension, knowing that some changes may need to be reversed.
4) A willingness to accept trade-offs. There's no doubt that the ride will be affected, which may be a negative for you.
5) The knowledge to know when to stop if you just can't achieve your documented goal.
6) Last but not least: An endless supply of money! The #1 requirement before you start. Not only do you have to buy parts, but you may need to have them installed, and you MUST get your car re-aligned if you have affected the geometry.

Also, I should have mentioned earlier that new tires (and maybe wheels) can make an amazing difference in how a car handles. If you still have the OEM tires, the best money you ever spend might be on a set of better tires. I won't venture a guess as to which tires may be best for you. I'll leave that to the tire experts.

However, I recently had a set of Michelin Primacy tires put on our ES350 and they really transformed the car. Tighter steering, slightly firmer ride, better cornering, etc. All without affecting the ambience of the car. It had some Bridgestone Potenzas on it when we bought it--why I don't know, as those are NOT recommended for the ES350 from what I read online.

 

I have the Bridgestone Turnaza tires on my new '11 and your right, the soft tire is most likely the problem.

 

Thanks for your inputs.

I will get a nice set of tires first because my tires are pretty worn out. The reason I didn't get good summer tires is because I spent most of my money on winter tires since it snows here.

If that doesn't do the job, I'll go with the anti-body roll sway bar (19mm).

Any recommendations for good summer tires or winter tires ($800-$900~)?

I am using the stock 17" rims that comes with the 2007 models (215/55/17).

 

Michelin Primacy

 

Summer: Falken Ziex ZE-912
Winter: Hankook W409 Winter i*Pike

Tires: 215/55/17

Suggestions?

 

Wider rims, grippier tires, and coilovers will do wonders for any car lacking in the performance department. I went from 16x6.5 to 17x7.5 and finally to 18x9.5 and noticed the difference in each stage