Noob Please explain these performance options

[Push]

TRD Front Strut Tie Bar

TRD Sport Lowering

TRD Rear Sway Bar

What will these thing improve on my stock yaris.

What should be bought first and is there anything else i need to get along with it?

[brickhardmeat]

This has been discussed again and again. Are you putting this on just to say you have it or are you really going to track you car and push it? I would say springs/struts alone will suffice for a daily. That will give the car a sportier feel and close that wheel gap a bit. Do a little research and consider your options. Use the search feature and you will find many opinions and many more options.

[nqd]

There are tons of threads about this already... try using the search button..

but IMO springs first

[WRBlue]

Originally Posted by Push

TRD Front Strut Tie Bar

Improve: Nothing. Technically, they tie the front strut towers together so they do not flex independtly of each other. I've never seen a car actually flex in its front strut towers - the cowl and firewall already tie the strut towers together. Moden cars don't flex that much. Now rear strut braces in a wagon/fast back, thats a different story...

TRD Sport Lowering

Improve: That depends on what you think is an improvement ;) . It lowers the car by limiting shock travel. To compensate, the spring rates are higher. So many people (inc. me) say it improves the stance of the car and the handling and kills alot of body roll. The trade off is shorter shock life and harsher ride.

TRD Rear Sway Bar

Improve: Lessens understeer, makes the car more neutral.

What should be bought first and is there anything else i need to get along with it?

Assuming this is a 100% street car, get TRD shocks and the springs and call it a day. Good tires too.

[Push]

Originally Posted by WRBlue

Improve: Nothing. Technically, they tie the front strut towers together so they do not flex independtly of each other. I've never seen a car actually flex in its front strut towers - the cowl and firewall already tie the strut towers together. Moden cars don't flex that much. Now rear strut braces in a wagon/fast back, thats a different story...



Improve: That depends on what you think is an improvement ;) . It lowers the car by limiting shock travel. To compensate, the spring rates are higher. So many people (inc. me) say it improves the stance of the car and the handling and kills alot of body roll. The trade off is shorter shock life and harsher ride.



Improve: Lessens understeer, makes the car more neutral.



Assuming this is a 100% street car, get TRD shocks and the springs and call it a day. Good tires too.

thanks for the breakdown and efficacious advice. I am new here and all i know about is tires and wheels. I will use the search button. thanks yall. I will just get that stuff done. I just need to tint the windows to hide the ugly tan interior lol

[brickhardmeat]

tan?

[Astroman]

As being a member who has installed a tanabe front strut bar, I have to disagree that it does nothing. I have had mine since november '06, and it has helped quite a bit. It is not noticeable in town, but on the highway it works very well. Even my g/f loved the improvement and she can't tell a camshaft from a driveshaft. And for under $100 the price is affordable. Now if you do have the money, get some coilovers and you won't have to worry about bars or braces. I'm getting tired of people saying a strut tower bar does nothing when they haven't tried one on a yaris.

[brickhardmeat]

Originally Posted by Astroman

As being a member who has installed a tanabe front strut bar, I have to disagree that it does nothing. I have had mine since november '06, and it has helped quite a bit. It is not noticeable in town, but on the highway it works very well. Even my g/f loved the improvement and she can't tell a camshaft from a driveshaft. And for under $100 the price is affordable. Now if you do have the money, get some coilovers and you won't have to worry about bars or braces. I'm getting tired of people saying a strut tower bar does nothing when they haven't tried one on a yaris.

yeah, I would think it would stiffen up the front a bit, but since I am going with coilovers I scratched it from my list, it looks cool when you open up the hood too

[Push]

i like the bar look. and i would think it would improve handling at high speeds. especially if you hit a bump. and brick i have the tan interior. some came with black

[Astroman]

Here's a nice view of my bar.

[kurokoma-kun]

Originally Posted by Astroman

Here's a nice view of my bar.

Whah happa? strut bar looks nice + clean tho

[brickhardmeat]

there's that puny litle horn, ha ha

[WRBlue]

Originally Posted by Astroman

As being a member who has installed a tanabe front strut bar, I have to disagree that it does nothing. I have had mine since november '06, and it has helped quite a bit. It is not noticeable in town, but on the highway it works very well. Even my g/f loved the improvement and she can't tell a camshaft from a driveshaft. And for under $100 the price is affordable. Now if you do have the money, get some coilovers and you won't have to worry about bars or braces. I'm getting tired of people saying a strut tower bar does nothing when they haven't tried one on a yaris.

OK, so your not going to change your mind even though you cite evidence that has nothing to do with a strut tower brack.

What I want to know is why if someone got coilovers they wouldn't want a strut tower brace??? If anything, you'd want one more. The forces will be increased...

[brickhardmeat]

you can put everything the world has to offer however with the stiffness and dampening of coilovers would a strut bar make a big difference or much at all on the street? I doubt it but 'eh go for it

I am sure the more bracing you add the stiffer it gets, ColinT has a ton of bracing and says his ride is extremely stiff, he also went with megan coils and they have very high spring rates

[WRBlue]

I'm saying the bar doesn't do anything in the first place ;)

If there was a stiffness issue in the strut towers, adding stiffer springs would make it worse, as more force would be transmitted to the upper hats and thus the strut towers. Think about it, every force applied to the wheels from outside the car has to go one of two places - along the LCA or along the strut. Theoritically, any lateral forces transmitted along the strut will effect the strut tower and cause it to flex laterially - and at a different rate than the other side of the car. Harsher springs will cause more forces to be transmitted because less is absorbed. Think about how much your body feels the bumps on harder springs than OEM stuff. The rest of the car is feeling that too ;) . Thus there is more force going through the strut towers than with an OEM suspension.

[brickhardmeat]

ok but I thought the difference was felt more in hard turns, and hard driving, limiting the roll of the car? isn't this the point of the strut bar and braces and even sway to some extent, to stiffen and lessen the rolling into turns, up an down certainly is going to get more and more neck bracking the stiffer you go and tires your number one damper are nice to have

[Astroman]

Originally Posted by WRBlue

OK, so your not going to change your mind even though you cite evidence that has nothing to do with a strut tower brack.

What I want to know is why if someone got coilovers they wouldn't want a strut tower brace??? If anything, you'd want one more. The forces will be increased...

What do you mean I don't cite evidence? My first mod with stock suspension and wheels was the bar, and I noticed a difference on the highway. If the bar didn't make the difference, then what did?? The TEIN yaris has the coilovers and they didn't add any braces.

[Astroman]

Originally Posted by brickhardmeat

there's that puny litle horn, ha ha

Yeah, that has got to go. I think they used the same horn on my Yamaha scooter, lol. I have a nice strong sounding horn from my LeBaron that I am thinking of swapping. Although being Chrysler, might catch fire...