TRD sway bars are installed - review
05-24-09, 08:39 PM
#1
TRD sway bars are installed - review
I installed the front TRD blue sway bar Friday night. Took about two hours, mostly because of the excessively tight space in my garage. I jacked up the whole car up thinking I would do both the front and back sways but I couldn't unbolt the rear endlink bolts, so after struggling with them for about half an hour I decided to just leave the stock rear for now. Anyway with front TRD and rear stock bars the car handling was noticeably better.
Sunday afternoon I decided to tackle the rear sway bar again. I disconneted the end links from the lower control arm and then unbolted the sway bar with the endlinks still bolted to the bar. I put the sway bar on my bench vice and tried an allen key to keep the endlink pivot bolt from turning while I wrenched at the nut. Well the allen key fitting started slipping so I new I was starting to get into trouble with the endlink. I finally got the link unbolted by using needle nose vice grips to hold on to the pivot stud just past the rubber boot. The nut came off pretty easy after that.
Anyway I got the rear sway all bolted up and went for a test ride.
All I can say is wow! With just the front TRD the ride was really good, with both front and rear sways installed the car feels like a real sports car. Just like everyone else has said, it really is like night and day. I have Bilstein sport shocks, and L-sportline springs (same as Eibach or L-tuned except slightly lower height and a bit firmer). With the stock sway bars my Bilstein shock/spring setup felt harsh. With the TRD Sways, the car actually feels more compliant. Bumps in the road seem to be absorbed more smoothly as apposed to the jittery feeling I got with the stock sways. Others have commented that the TRD's give a firmer/harsher ride. I think with my Bilstein sports, the TRD's have actually given me back the smooth almost stock like ride on bumpier roads. The ride is smooth but when it comes to twists and turns it is definitely way better than stock. This is the sport sedan setup Lexus should have offered all along - maybe as a factory option.
Sunday afternoon I decided to tackle the rear sway bar again. I disconneted the end links from the lower control arm and then unbolted the sway bar with the endlinks still bolted to the bar. I put the sway bar on my bench vice and tried an allen key to keep the endlink pivot bolt from turning while I wrenched at the nut. Well the allen key fitting started slipping so I new I was starting to get into trouble with the endlink. I finally got the link unbolted by using needle nose vice grips to hold on to the pivot stud just past the rubber boot. The nut came off pretty easy after that.
Anyway I got the rear sway all bolted up and went for a test ride.
All I can say is wow! With just the front TRD the ride was really good, with both front and rear sways installed the car feels like a real sports car. Just like everyone else has said, it really is like night and day. I have Bilstein sport shocks, and L-sportline springs (same as Eibach or L-tuned except slightly lower height and a bit firmer). With the stock sway bars my Bilstein shock/spring setup felt harsh. With the TRD Sways, the car actually feels more compliant. Bumps in the road seem to be absorbed more smoothly as apposed to the jittery feeling I got with the stock sways. Others have commented that the TRD's give a firmer/harsher ride. I think with my Bilstein sports, the TRD's have actually given me back the smooth almost stock like ride on bumpier roads. The ride is smooth but when it comes to twists and turns it is definitely way better than stock. This is the sport sedan setup Lexus should have offered all along - maybe as a factory option.
05-26-09, 10:02 AM
#3
Yeah, I found that the TRD sways gives a dampening effect. It's like when a speaker reverberates... not harsh at all. Maybe, with FIGs arm - I can tighten the rear a little bit and see how that performs on a curve (hope someone can test his design).
As a side note: I have low profile tires on 19 and it's not such a good combination because when it hits a pot hole- you can really hear it thump. My setup is bilstein sports with eibach springs (+ 3/4 RCA front). I may end up with a slightly taller tires to help with potholes on my 19's.
As a side note: I have low profile tires on 19 and it's not such a good combination because when it hits a pot hole- you can really hear it thump. My setup is bilstein sports with eibach springs (+ 3/4 RCA front). I may end up with a slightly taller tires to help with potholes on my 19's.
05-26-09, 10:33 AM
#5
good decision, these sways really do make everything feel more solid & connected. I think like one person said they were harsh and it gave them a bad rep from the get-go. I've read like 20 reviews since the 1st that all said the ride wasn't harsh, but felt better in every way 
05-26-09, 11:27 AM
#6
Until recently, TRDs were known to be 'harsh' but I think its because they dont know what harsh really is. Most people are use to the OEM lexus ride so anything stiffer would be a negative thing. When I first had my TRDs, they were anything but harsh. I liked it much more than the Daizen bars I bought afterwards.
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05-28-09, 10:13 AM
#12
I think so too 
Just playing! Have you had any more success with the Daizen bars? I am looking forward to comparing my experience with the TRDs to yours with the Daizens.
If my ride ends up harsh...I'm going to go postal! Thankfully that stigma seems overplayed, but we'll see.
Just playing! Have you had any more success with the Daizen bars? I am looking forward to comparing my experience with the TRDs to yours with the Daizens.
If my ride ends up harsh...I'm going to go postal! Thankfully that stigma seems overplayed, but we'll see.
05-28-09, 10:25 AM
#13
I think so too
Just playing! Have you had any more success with the Daizen bars? I am looking forward to comparing my experience with the TRDs to yours with the Daizens.
If my ride ends up harsh...I'm going to go postal! Thankfully that stigma seems overplayed, but we'll see.
Just playing! Have you had any more success with the Daizen bars? I am looking forward to comparing my experience with the TRDs to yours with the Daizens.
If my ride ends up harsh...I'm going to go postal! Thankfully that stigma seems overplayed, but we'll see.
As far as the ride quality, I did not note any difference. My wife however did - but she has this stupid habit of driving around speed bumps, and driving over them with only one side of the car. Obviously with a stiff sway bar the suspension is less independant, so that explains it.
But of course I did not inform my wife that I molested, errr, modified the car with they sway bars. I told her that the shocks are probably on the way out, and it will give me a good excuse to get a set of Bilstein sports in the nearmost future. Of couse I will tell her they are Lexus stock shocks. Of course I will have to come up with another excuse after the ride becomes even stiffer with those new shocks
