Celica Forums General Discussion Engine and Performance Rear Sway Bar for a 7th Gen

Okay well first off this question is directed to someone that knows suspension on an 03 Celica.

Im building my car strictly for auto-x. As many know im big into it and a lot of people disagree with how I wanna build my car. However, i'm looking at getting a rear sway bar for my 03 Celica GT. I'm not looking at paying more than 200 for the sway because I've been recommended (by people at the auto-x events) that a suspension techniques rear sway bar 7/8" would be a great buy.

however i just wanted to see if they had any other celica's on here that may auto-x and recommend a certain type of sway bar and WHY they recommend it. any feedback would be much appreciated.

Oh and i looked at the Hotchkis Auto-Cross sway bar but its way too thick. It's 1 inch. Keep in mind im not running on fullout race tires. Im running on Falken Ziex's. This car is also my daily driver but i dont mind the stiff handling ride to work and back.

Thanks again

get some azenis...tires play a big part in handling. they translate the info from driver to car to ground...

as far as suspension for auto-x ron, steven and kim may help you out.

in my personal opinion you should get hotchkis comps front and rear (i have the street and it's great). a front and rear strut bar and maybe some coilovers...

Stick with the ST rear bar. When you autox you dont want a front sway.

or you can try the c-one rear sway bar

Interesting... can you explain ? thanks.

He doesn't know what he's talking about.

Get the set (front and rear) Hotchkis competition stiffness swaybars and a new set of tires. Wider, lighter wheels are also a good thing to buy.

ya i know about lighter wheels and tires and i have a set on the side already heh. but i was just looking on different brands for rear sway. im not getting a front sway at this moment cause i dont need to tighten the front end just yet. would cause a bit of oversteer. FWD cars should be tightened in the rear first.

as i said before. i have the Ziex's because azenis have little tread life. this is also my daily driver. azeni's bald too fast. long story on why i have 2 sets of wheels and y i have my stocks on right now with falkens as compared to my arospeed's. anyways. thanks for the advice guys but i had a little help on the side.

i just ordered a Suspension Techniques Rear 7/8" sway bar.

thanks again

Intelligent The front sway will pretty much be overkill for autox with inside wheel spin, especially on tight corners. The majority of the top celica drivers in stock classes are using the oem front bar which could legally be changed but what do they know. Not to mention the difficult install and money that could be spent elsewhere. But sure, you can use it.

finally... someone that knows what they are talking about!! hehe... who woulda thought that he'd be all the way in ohio..

HEY! Ohio is not that bad! These forums help a lot. I wouldnt know half the stuff I know without them.

you have to remember that just cause it works for 1 person doesnt mean it'll work for you. I prefer the over steer so I run NO rear sway bar. granted I'm not the best driver out there but I don't do too bad either.

I run dunlop FM 901's (not to happy with them at the auto x) and last event I went to I placed 3rd over all for the novice class and 1st place in my stock category.

the best peopl eto ask would be steven, CID498 (ron), and TAE machine. I have been to the track with them and they are very good. they also know a lot more then I do about proper auto x setups

but your setup does highly depend on your driving style. you don't want a "good setup" that someone else uses if it conflicts with the way you drive.

ya i guess that makes sense lucky. but i think ill do better with the rear sway bar to start. ill get the front when im done with the rest of my setup.

but ya, i just ordered the ST 7/8" Rear Sway bar and it should be here friday. I also gotta go pick up my new helmet later today from harley davidson of new orleans down the street its the HJC CS-5 Open face. Due to SCCA making new rules, they will no longer allowing full face helmets. I've been needing a helmet so i decided to just get the open face, even though that rule isnt set in stone yet. It should be passed though.

just curious about installing this. any tricks or anything i should know before i dissect my rear end. is it true ill have to lower my gas tank and everything? if so i guess it would be better if i waited til im low on gas to do this.

im gonna do this install myself with some supervision but just need to know if there are any tricks i should know first. ty

k... i didnt have to touch the gas tank, thank god. i got to fool around once i got the car on my stands and it wasnt that bad. hardest part was getting the rubber exhaust mounts off. it was easier getting them back on though cause we lubed it up just right. ill have pics soon of the install as well as a tutorial for anyone else interested in the future

here are the pics

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/vibranceco...m/ph//my_photos [pg.photos.yahoo.com]

the rear sway is not hard at all to install. Remove your exhaust, heat shield, take off you oem sway bar, and bolt on the ST one. Youll want to "fishtail" a little during your autox runs for the very sharp turns..so the rear only is a good mod for the car. But..the main thing that gives you the best times is the driver (yourself). ive seen Kias(with good tires) beat celicas and other cars in autox events.

thanks haha.. little late though m8 incase ya never saw the pics. ya im very happy with toyota on a couple of things. being that the car already had an OEM rear sway bar made it so i didnt have to drill or anything to put an aftermarket one on, and the spring loaded bolts on the exhaust made it an easy removal.