TRD anti-sway bars installed in my FR-S

[babydriver]

I spent the morning at DIY Austin installing TRD sway bars in my more or less stock FR-S. First, the job was not difficult although it took some time. Second, Damn it Toyota!!! Put some directions in the box!!!!! Nothing, not even a hint about what to do. I got information from this site about installing sway bars generally for the FR-S, and that was basically good enough.

At the same time, I replaced the rather pathetic stock end links (both front and back) with the much more sturdy Perrin ones. Very well made, of course, and absolutely clear instructions! Toyota, take notice!!!

I was very careful and went slowly on the work because this is a suspension component and I didn't want to do it wrong. If you blow a motor, it may be expensive, but isn't usually fatal. People can die when suspension stuff goes haywire.

My initial driving impressions are that the car is now a gazelle, with very flat cornering and great response in the curves. It has become glaringly obvious, though, that the stock tires just aren't cutting it. Sort of like a great halfback trying to play while wearing penny loafers. Traction just goes to hell when you make quick cuts. Soon I will be changing them out for the Pilot Super Sports.

Always a good day when I get to play with "Baby"!

[7thgear]

why would Toyota bother making instructions when you could just go to a Toyota dealer and have them do it for you!

[Createddeleted]

You just didn't know how to find the instructions that a dealer has to print and put in the box for you.

Here you go.
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/01..._mcdonough.pdf

[babydriver]

Originally Posted by Createddeleted

You just didn't know how to find the instructions that a dealer has to print and put in the box for you.

Here you go.
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/01..._mcdonough.pdf

I searched the internet at length looking for such a document. Google and Bing were not helpful. Thanks anyway, I appreciate having it for future reference.

[babydriver]

Originally Posted by 7thgear

why would Toyota bother making instructions when you could just go to a Toyota dealer and have them do it for you!

You are so right. Fortunately, I'm even more stubborn than they are.

[babydriver]

Here are my impressions after three days of driving:

The TRD anti-sway bars, in combination with the Perrin front and rear end links, work very, very well. I attacked one of the most windy roads in our area, Lime Creek Rd, near Lake Travis. This is about 4 or 5 miles of really tight hairpin curves, some wider sweeping curves and lots of changes in elevation; even a few "reverse" crowns where the road crowns the "wrong" way for the curve. The car performed very well, with the exception of the tires (stock Primacy). I could have pushed the car much harder if I had something like the PSS tires on it. My next purchase.

What was surprising to me was the improvement in the ride. I suspect that this change was due more to the Perrin end links, which are really nice, rather than the sway bar upgrade. Whatever the cause, I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy LESS jarring on rough roads, speed bumps and potholes! I did not try the sway bars alone (that is, with the stock end links) but I suspect that the ride improvement is due almost entirely to replacing the flimsy stock end links.

When I dropped the stock rear sway bar out of the car, several guys working on their vehicles in the rent-a-bay facility I was using had a good chuckle at how thin it was! One said, "You could hang a shirt on it."


To sum up, there is just no down side to replacing both the stock sway bars (with the TRDs) and the stock end links. Better handling AND a better ride.

[gtslow]

What I found was amazing was how thorough the install instructions were for my TRD springs, and they even included 100% brand new hardware in Toyota bags for the install. I'm disappointed to hear the sway bars don't offer the same.

[Createddeleted]

Originally Posted by gtslow

What I found was amazing was how thorough the install instructions were for my TRD springs, and they even included 100% brand new hardware in Toyota bags for the install. I'm disappointed to hear the sway bars don't offer the same.

But in most cases they do include instructions and they do include new hardware. I know, because I bought them both.

See what's included here.
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61880

[babydriver]

Yes, I had good instructions for the TRD cold air intake and it was a snap to install. The dealer in this case was Momentum Toyota in Fairfield, CA, through eBay. It sounds as if the lack of instructions was an oversight by the dealer's parts department. Good price on the anti-sway bars, though, $400 with shipping. They have one more set left at that price, as of July 13, 2015, if anyone is interested:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Scion-FR-S-T...5968cb&vxp=mtr

BTW, the kit did come with new hardware. Only the instructions were missing.

[avishenoy1]

Originally Posted by babydriver

Here are my impressions after three days of driving:

The TRD anti-sway bars, in combination with the Perrin front and rear end links, work very, very well. I attacked one of the most windy roads in our area, Lime Creek Rd, near Lake Travis. This is about 4 or 5 miles of really tight hairpin curves, some wider sweeping curves and lots of changes in elevation; even a few "reverse" crowns where the road crowns the "wrong" way for the curve. The car performed very well, with the exception of the tires (stock Primacy). I could have pushed the car much harder if I had something like the PSS tires on it. My next purchase.

What was surprising to me was the improvement in the ride. I suspect that this change was due more to the Perrin end links, which are really nice, rather than the sway bar upgrade. Whatever the cause, I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy LESS jarring on rough roads, speed bumps and potholes! I did not try the sway bars alone (that is, with the stock end links) but I suspect that the ride improvement is due almost entirely to replacing the flimsy stock end links.

When I dropped the stock rear sway bar out of the car, several guys working on their vehicles in the rent-a-bay facility I was using had a good chuckle at how thin it was! One said, "You could hang a shirt on it."


To sum up, there is just no down side to replacing both the stock sway bars (with the TRDs) and the stock end links. Better handling AND a better ride.

Did you install the Perrin PU end links or the Steel Spherical Bearing ones? I'm planning to replace my sway bars with stiffer ones from Godspeed and thinking about getting the Perrin end links as well after reading this post.

Here's a link to both types of Perrin end links.

[SVLTE]

My TRD sways included all the extra hardware and extremely detailed instructions... That's a shame yours didn't because it made the install a breeze!

[weederr33]

It's good to hear about the TRD sway bars as that's my next upgrade in the near future

[arjarn]

Originally Posted by 7thgear

why would Toyota bother making instructions when you could just go to a Toyota dealer and have them do it for you!

How much would they charge? I just bought the TRD lowering spring and the sway bars.