Hotchkis Sways

I think I'm going to order some after nopi, along with the trd springs.....need to make sure that I have cash for the show and whatever else I do down there, if you go look out for the white rolla in the mazda forums section.....buahahaha.

Congrats, I'm still waiting for mine to show up, should be any day now. I believe the rear is adjustable, out of curiousity which setting did you go with?

The rear is adjustable. I went with the middle position for starters. Hotchkis claims the middle setting 268% stiffer than stock. I will probably try the stiffest setting very soon.

How difficult was the installation?

I know the strut tower bar (in front) is very simple...how about front sway?(same thing?)

Do you need the front and rear? (neeed)

Price for one vs. set?

That is sure interesting that you could really notice the difference. I think once things get settled down in the cash department i will start tweakin my corolla.

My Hotchkis kit showed up today, but I have to order new end links because they were all rusted up. When I went to remove the nuts after soaking in rust penetrating oil the rod where the allen wrench goes rounded out.

Just to let everyone know it cost me $177 to order all four end links from Toyota (RIP-OFF). It cost almost as much as the sway bar kit.

Dai Shan:

Installing a front tower bar is very simple. Installing the front sway is more challenging but not too bad if your hardware isn't corroded. The front took me about 45 minutes with jacking the car, etc.

The rear was a major pain in the ###### and it took about 2 hours. I had to remove the gas tank (good thing it was almost empty!) and remove the muffler. To add more fun, one of the muffler bolts was corroded and sheared.

The Hotchkis sways come as a set for about $300.

TRD makes a rear bar only for about $200

Put mine on this weekend. I have it on the stiffest setting and it's not nearly as frightening as I thought it might be, the only scary thing now is speedbumps and that front bar.

Be sure ot test the settings on a turn wiht some bumps or broken pavement. Thsi teh the "real " test of a suspension.... and something that traditionally mapherson srut set-ups are not good at handling. Too stiff on the rear could cause oversteer on a bumpy turn.... while too soft in comparison ot the front could result in oversteer on smooth pavement.

You can also play with tire pressures to find the perfect balance. But ultimately you're still fighting chAssis stiffness, high center of gravity and poor weight disrtibution.

I've been exploring the new limits lately, problem is they're so high now that to get the car to break loose takes speeds that put my life in jeapordy. Went to a parking lot last night but only got about 10 minutes before an officer arrived asking me what the hell I was doing, I'm sure it looked pretty ridiculous.

I understand what you mean about rough surfaces, but the corolla's never been good with that. With the hotchkis bars I've only had the rear slide out once so far and that was after a weight shift in the middle of a high speed corner when I realized I was going too fast and lifted off the gas suddenly (rookie). Even then it didn't completely break loose, just slipped a foot or so to the side and hooked up again.

In fact, the only time I've lost the Corolla in a terminal spin was with stock suspension and tires, the new set-up actually gives me a decent chance to recover before it's a problem.

what WERE you doing?

I was trying to figure out the behavior of the car with the rear bar at the stiffest setting, to determine if I should soften it for safetys sake. I wanted to figure it out in an empty parking lot instead of finding out the hard way on a public road, when the need for an emergency maneuver arises. I don't like surprises.

The sway bars made a big change to the balance of the car, I wanted to know exactly what that change meant under different conditions. I didn't want to hurt my car, myself, or anyone else in the process.

I don't know what the hell I was doing, I was bored.

My end links showed up, so this weekend I'll be installing mine. Glad to hear everyone is saying their new bars are making a difference. You guys are soooo lucky you didn't have to buy end links. ($200) I wonder if you can put rubber caps over the threaded portion like they put over bleeder screws to keep from rusting.

Dai Shan:

Installing a front tower bar is very simple. Installing the front sway is more challenging but not too bad if your hardware isn't corroded. The front took me about 45 minutes with jacking the car, etc.

The rear was a major pain in the ###### and it took about 2 hours. I had to remove the gas tank (good thing it was almost empty!) and remove the muffler. To add more fun, one of the muffler bolts was corroded and sheared.

The Hotchkis sways come as a set for about $300.

TRD makes a rear bar only for about $200

I went with Hotchkis because I wanted both front and rear bars. TRD only makes the rear.

I put my sway bars on yesterday, what a difference. I noticed a big improvement especially in the front. I still noticed a little jello wiggle at highway speeds in a straight line if you hit a slight dip. I set the rear bar at the firmest setting. I might consider a set of Tokico HP's with stock springs and see if that helps.

I have Tokico HPs and Tein H tech springs. Together they made a big difference in overall handling. When I added Hotchkis sways, I made the ride even better.

I have Tokico HPs and Tein H tech springs. Together they made a big difference in overall handling. When I added Hotchkis sways, I made the ride even better.

H tech is progressive front and rear. The drop isn't as much S tech springs but the ride is way better than stock and I haven't bottomed out yet.

Since adding my sway bars I now have a rattle in the suspension over bumps. It sounds like it's coming from the front, but the funny thing is it doesn't do it all the time. I got the car up in the air and checked everything under the car to make sure everything was tight including the exhuast system and found nothing. Is there something I might have overlooked? At first I thought the front sway bar (because of it's bigger dia.) was hitting the lower control arm but doesn't appear to be. I have brand new end links also.

Since adding my sway bars I now have a rattle in the suspension over bumps. It sounds like it's coming from the front, but the funny thing is it doesn't do it all the time. I got the car up in the air and checked everything under the car to make sure everything was tight including the exhuast system and found nothing. Is there something I might have overlooked? At first I thought the front sway bar (because of it's bigger dia.) was hitting the lower control arm but doesn't appear to be. I have brand new end links also.

I have stock suspension. (01 Corolla CE)

I have the same problem when I turn a sharp left. The left spindle is hitting on the end of the bar where it connects to the link.

Mine looked like it would have clearance problems when we had it jacked up, but then when it was lowered again it cleared by a pretty good bit, what setting do you guys have the bar on? I have a strange rattle when I step on the gas now, I guess I need to check what that is......

Doh, just realized you guys had 98-01 Corollas, that explains why we didn't have the same problems......I need bed.