My Ultra Racing rear sway bar install

[Twizzstyle]

Originally Posted by Twizzstyle

I just installed a 23mm Ultra Racing bar, and although the install was a piece of cake, didn't remove the wheels or anything, my only beef with the bar is the bolts that it came with were too large for the holes on the suspension beam. The only way they would fit is if I drilled the holes out, which would be near impossible without taking off the whole rear brake assembly.

So I didn't bother emailing MicroImage about the big bolts, cause I got it done with bolts I had... but I'm assuming he saw my post, because 2 days ago I got an envelope in the mail with two new bolts!

That's some great customer service!!! Thanks!!!

[cali yaris]

You're welcome, we have to change those out on every bar from that shipment. I'm sorry I had to send them along afterwards!

oh, and let us know how Auto X goes with the Yaris!

[Twizzstyle]

Originally Posted by cali yaris

You're welcome, we have to change those out on every bar from that shipment. I'm sorry I had to send them along afterwards!

oh, and let us know how Auto X goes with the Yaris!

No worries, and thanks again. The bolts I put on temporarily are pretty old and nasty, this will save me a trip to the hardware store :)

I'll post on here how the car does, on the street it feels excellent so far (ignoring the soft crap tires)

[Twizzstyle]

So after a good day of autox (probably 15 runs?) I can say this bar is awesome. The car is terribly slow, painfully slow in fact (but my subaru I usually race is ~350hp, so of course the yaris is going to feel slow).

The handling on the RE92's is pretty terrible, BUT with the new bar the throttle lift oversteer is sooo GOOD! I wasn't trying to drive the course well (it was an untimed fun run event) but just get the car sideways as much as I could. You don't even need to have much speed, just a little flick and off the throttle, and its completely sideways, another flick and blip of the throttle and its tossed the other way. It is SO tossable, but it goes exactly where I want it and not a bit further. If one didn't know what they were doing, you could spin it easily (a good thing if you're an experienced driver :) )

[cali yaris]

Good to hear!

[arunto]

installed my 23mm UR swaybar. fitment was great and it's hands down the best handling mod to do. even with the crappy OEM tires you can have the rear end step out with some lift throttle oversteer. very predictable. can't wait to do some auto-x.

[sickpuppy1]

With the 19mm it just feels planted, and stays much flatter than stock. I could see where tossing the back end out would come in handy, but for me, the predictability of the control without the excessive body roll is king.

[atomsareenough]

I just got my Yaris a week ago and I am seriously considering getting a UR sway bar from Garm... I'm not sure whether it's worth it to shell out the extra $25 for the 23mm one or just get the 19mm one. Also, I want to be a little more certain that it's not going to harm the car's suspension or anything. Other than perhaps letting you drive a little more aggressively, it's not going to put extra pressure on the car beyond the design tolerances, right?

[CtrlAltDefeat]

Originally Posted by atomsareenough

I just got my Yaris a week ago and I am seriously considering getting a UR sway bar from Garm... I'm not sure whether it's worth it to shell out the extra $25 for the 23mm one or just get the 19mm one. Also, I want to be a little more certain that it's not going to harm the car's suspension or anything. Other than perhaps letting you drive a little more aggressively, it's not going to put extra pressure on the car beyond the design tolerances, right?

no, it just transfers forces around the car... there's great info on what it does here and further up in this thread... as far as it being worth it, I bought mine back when the 19mm one was the only one available, and I've regretted it since...

[atomsareenough]

Thanks for the link to the other thread, CtrlAltDefeat.... Looking it over, it makes me think that a 19mm bar is probably the better choice. I don't do any autocross or anything like that, I just use the car as a DD/commute vehicle for the most part, and really my main issue is reducing wind-related wandering and body roll around corners, and making the car a little bit more fun to drive. I don't drive all that aggressively for the most part.

According to what Loren and others said, it sounds like the 23mm bar actually makes the car somewhat harder to turn in some ways and can actually be dangerous in the way it handles in extreme situations if you're not expecting it or used to it, because it can oversteer when you're not expecting it to. So, based on that thread it sounds like the 19mm should be more than adequate for my purposes. I don't have any other suspension mods or any aftermarket shocks or anything...

Does that line of reasoning make sense?

[CtrlAltDefeat]

sure it makes sense... also maybe a mild drop with some lowering springs. not too expensive, and helps a lot with stability in cross winds.

[RedRide]

Originally Posted by atomsareenough

Thanks for the link to the other thread, CtrlAltDefeat.... Looking it over, it makes me think that a 19mm bar is probably the better choice. I don't do any autocross or anything like that, I just use the car as a DD/commute vehicle for the most part, and really my main issue is reducing wind-related wandering and body roll around corners, and making the car a little bit more fun to drive. I don't drive all that aggressively for the most part.

According to what Loren and others said, it sounds like the 23mm bar actually makes the car somewhat harder to turn in some ways and can actually be dangerous in the way it handles in extreme situations if you're not expecting it or used to it, because it can oversteer when you're not expecting it to. So, based on that thread it sounds like the 19mm should be more than adequate for my purposes. I don't have any other suspension mods or any aftermarket shocks or anything...


Does that line of reasoning make sense?

I also use my Yaris for a DD/commute car and I have a 23mm bar.
I really like it an I have experienced no bad effects from having it.
It makes commuting safer and more secure feeling a highway speeds.

Having said that, a 19mm bar is certianally much better than none at all and you are shure to like it.

[darkmoon87]

UR 23mm swaybar the BEST mod i've done on my car, hands down.

[Midnight Drifter]

Originally Posted by Loren

That is a better description. Without the bar, you FEEL like the rear is going to kick out because of all the body roll back there.

But, in reality, the back end is ACTUALLY more likely to kick out with the rear bar in place. That's an important thing to be aware of. It's one of the downsides of big swaybars. They increase confidence by reducing body roll and making the car FEEL better... but, at the limit, they often have effects that the driver doesn't realize... until it's too late. They make the car less forgiving to big driver errors.

Find a safe place to push the limits of your car and learn what it's going to do! (even if your car is completely stock)

None of it even matters if he doesn't input the 'Konami Code' before clutching into first gear and triggers the magical ASM test mode warning light anyways; the nannie pulls throttle and adds braking long before he can find himself facing backwards.

That said, I want my ass to step out more, so looks like the 23mm will be the one for me. After almost getting blown off the road in a windstorm last friday on I-95 heading back up from Georgia, I can confidently mark down a sway bar as a 'safety feature'.