Strut Bars vs. Sway Bar

It is all about balance. With a good set of lowering springs, the weak point in the suspension is the rear swaybar. Chassis stiffening only serves to tighten up the entire platform. This falls inline with what the others have stated. You will be suprised how much tires fit into this equation.

What do you mean by "lifting the car"? Most people do the strutbar first as it is rather easy to install, looks good, and realtively inexpensive. However, you will not notice (perceived) much improvement until other suspension components are upgraded like the rear swaybar and/or springs.

The rear swaybar can be upgraded without changing the front swaybar or even adding a strutbar. This upgrade will make the most change in corner transition for the price. Installation is not too difficult but requires the car to elevated either by jack or lift. Suggest that you pull the rear tires off for better access. This also makes the perfect time to paint your calipers/rotors! Dezod sells upgraded end links for the rear swaybar that are adjustable.

You can peruse our 'How-to' articles for step-by-step installation instructions.
http://www.club-tc.com/forums/suspension/

There may just be a little truth in that fiction. First, it sounds as if they are talking about the sway bar and about putting pretension on the bar to make it stiffer. There is simply no truth in that as you have to change the position of the end-link connection on the bar, resize/shape the bar, or shorten the end-link itself to make it stiffer. What that are alluding to is actually the lower control arm and rear link bars on RWD axles. If you were to remove these units then replace them, you have to torque the mounting bolts while the arm/link is under load (weight of the vehicle). To do so with the vehicle weight off on jacks) them, then the rubber bushings would be under pretension. Then when you lower the vehicle to the ground these bushings would be placed in a bind and cause poor suspension motion. As for the strutbar, yor not going to be able to move the shock towers witha floor jack.

This is an exerpt from the Scion tC maintenance manual.

STABILIZE SUSPENSION

(a) Install the front tire.

Torque: 103 N*m (1,050 kgf*cm, 76 ft.*lbf)

(b) Lower the vehicle and bounce it several times to
stabilize the front suspension.

14. FULLY TIGHTEN FRONT SUSPENSION NO. 1
LOWER ARM SUB-ASSEMBLY LH

(a) Fully tighten the 2 bolts.

Torque: 137 N*m (1,400 kgf*cm, 101 ft.*lbf)
NOTICE:
• Keep the nut from rotating while tightening
the rear side bolt.
• Make the tire condition contact ground with a
4 post lift.

Thank you. We may be a bit slow at times to answer, but those answers will be most helpful. It is sad to say that other forums (not just autos) are filled with fluff (bickering). That is what drew me and many others here a long time ago.

What is it that you want to improve or change on your suspension? We should be able to hook you up with the info that you need to make a good game plan towards that goal.

Hotchkis Stage I TVS system. Since you already have the rear strut, you will have to order the springs and swaybar separately. Suggest that you get the adjustable rear camber links as anything lowerin drop than the TRD springs goes beyond the adjustment capabilities of the stock camber bolts. The fronts really don't matter on Hotchkis springs. Just have the Dealership align to the TRD springs specifications and your golden. The springs have not settled and dead even tire wear after 40K miles since install. 90% of the pics of my car are with those springs. Not too low and ride quality good. Handling is superb.

Installing the front swaybar will be more of a challenge, but can be DIY. Not required but easier done on a lift and with pneumatic tools. A quality torque wrench is required though. Suggest that you also get the Energy Suspension Master Bushing Set while your at it. This will be time consuming, but if you wanting a super responsive ride, then these are what you need. Next upgrade will be tires and/or wheels.

Yes you could, but you paid for those stockers so why not use them? The tires are fairly descent. My Bridgestone Potenzas actually did fairly well in the traction department, especially, in the rain. What the tC needs up front is suspension tweaks. If the suspension is sloppy and you have sticky tires, you will get more traction. The traction won't be as good as it can be and the tires will wear out faster than normal. Spend alot of money on tire upgrades and you would hope that you will get full life out of them.

Be aware that some strutbars don't mount properly. The Greddy bar also covers the spark plugs making them difficult to remove. I know the Hotchkis and the TRD fit very well.