I've been looking around and can't get a for sure answer. The SC400 Sway bars are the exact same as the SC300, correct? I have all the goodies needed to put TT Sways (Subframe Mounts, Bushings and Links) and want to make sure its still an advantage over the stock SC400 sway bars. If anyone knows for sure, a simple yay or nay would be much appreciated!

 

If it were me, I'd just change out the rear bar for the supra stuff. There are two thickness supra bars. The early style 96- is 22mm the newer 97+ is only 20mm.

In the front the Supra sway bars are the same thickness as the stock bar on my SC400. They might be slightly shorter but I don't think they'res much difference. Plus the supra bar on the SC400 is pretty dang close to the oil filter.

And after all it's more oversteer that we're after...so leaving the front bar stock and putting a supra bar on the rear will give you more oversteer than both supra bars would.

 

I had previously upgraded my SC400's rear sway bar to a 20mm Supra bar. I recently picked up a set of Supra bars and swapped out the 20mm for a 22mm rear bar while checking on some other suspension stuff. I had held off previously on picking up a Supra front bar because I remembered UpInTheLex's warning about it being close to the oil filter. But, I lined it up and couldn't see how it would be an issue. Turned out, it wasn't.

However, in torquing down the last of the 4 bushing bolts, the head sheared off. Now I've got some bolt extraction to do in tight quarters... Ugh.

I am a bit confused by the front bar specs. I thought I remember reading that the Supra bar is lighter and stiffer, but both are 30mm and the exact same weight ... 9 lb 3 oz vs 9 lb 2.5 oz, well within measurement error and manufacturing variance. Either a previous owner already upgraded my front bar, or the Supra and SC400 bars are identical. Anyone have any insight?

 

Check these out, sounds like someone already upgraded yours?

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sus...-bar-here.html

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...-jFl9K9P8CtWKg

http://www.supraforums.com/forum/sho...ar-differences

 

Thanks for the links. (The second Google one doesn't load for me.) I've actually seen that CL thread previously but had forgotten about it specifically. I didn't line my old and new front bars up side by side to see if I had the same size differences as LEXXIUM noted, but it's odd that both of my front bars are exactly in between his weight readings of the SC and Supra ones. I'm not quite sure what to make of that.

It could be that a P.O. wanted to upgrade both front and rears to Supra bars, but the rear was too much work because of having to source the subframe mounts.

Edit: I just checked my removed SC front bar against LEXXIUM's comparison pics and it matches the shape of his SC bar. Now I wish I had checked the Supra bar before putting it on to make sure I wasn't sent the wrong thing...

I only drove the car briefly after swapping bars yesterday, and it did feel a bit different in the corners and over bumps. Less float, but I didn't want to push it too hard with one bolt missing on the front bar's bushing. It may be strong enough to hold like that, with 3 of 4 anchor points... Of course, the one that sheared is the toughest to get to, with all the hoses and hard lines in the way. I'm not sure I can even reach it with the short-ish bolt extraction bits.

I suspect that last part isn't entirely true, since I have both 20mm and 22mm Supra rear bars in my possession and the 22mm is almost 50% heavier. Now, it's possible that they improved stiffness while hollowing out the later 20mm bars, but I'm guessing the bigger bar is substantially stiffer.

 

The 22mm MKIV rear sway bar is stiffer. To my knowledge the 22mm and 20mm bars are both solid but I could be wrong thinking that. Do we know for certain if the 20mm MKIV NA (and 97-98 TT) rear bar is indeed hollow? The mounting anchors and bar bends for the SC/Soarer rear bar vs the MKIV rear bar makes a lot of difference in our cars.

The 22mm MKIV TT rear bar I have in mine was substantially heavier than my stock SC rear swaybar and it did make a lot of difference in terms of roll stiffness and rotation potential. The car reacted much better overall after I combined the swaybar swap with an aftermarket suspension however. And the LSD.

The main thing I noticed is that once you switch to an MKIV TT rear swaybar it's better to get an MKIV TT or modified Lance TT alignment to dial the suspension in a bit more. My car was a bit easily tail happy before I changed the alignment. I'm also running staggered tire sizes.

t2d2... that sheared anchor bolt situation up front sucks. I cannot say how safe the car is with one of those missing. Do you think it would be easier to get to with an extractor on a lift?

 

The weight difference is too dramatic to be explained in any other way, IMO. (Edit: Unless the materials are different?) 22mm = 4 lb 1.5 oz, 20mm = 3 lb 0 oz. Both weighed with bushings and u-brackets on, so the percentage difference of just the bars themselves would be even greater. That's 21% more surface area, if my calculations were correct, but nearly 50% more weight.

Heavier, really? Mine is like 2 lbs lighter than my SC bar.

I did that after installing the 20mm bar. Not sure if upping it to 22mm would necessitate redoing the alignment?

Anything is easier on a lift. My driveway is unusable and the street is pretty sketchy for any jacking and working under the car. I had 4 jack stands for the sway bar work, and 2 of them were half tipped over from the lack of a level surface. I have been thinking of taking it by the mechanic to see if they can hit that sheared bolt with some more specialized tools. It's going to be tough to reach with any regular bolt extractor, regardless of whether the car is jacked or on a lift. I've driven lightly on it a couple times with it this way, but need to do something soon.

Edit: I got out the ramps and parked the car slightly downhill, which made for plenty of clearance to work. Didn't help much, though, as the sheared bolt is too recessed without major removal of other stuff. I could get to it with a few extenders, but they don't work with my extractor bits, so it's off to the mechanic on Wed.

 

I took it to the shop this morning and they were able to extract the busted bolt. Turns out, the bracket that the u-bracket mounts to is removable from the subframe. I was looking at that, but wasn't sure what all comes apart... I mis-assumed the part the sway bar bolt threads into is captive. But, the threads were a bit messed up, so it was worth having them take it off to clean up. So, if anyone has a similar problem, now you know how to get at it much easier!

I also had them take a look at the rear suspension wobble, and they found some worn bushings that need addressing. Not a totally wasted endeavor.