Ultra Racing Strut Bar

[Silver-Aurion]

Anyone having problems with their sway bar bushings? Mine started to squeak about 2 or 3 weeks after installation. Jacked up the car, lubed them up again....1 week later, starting to squeak a little bit again :(

At FIRST I had bad squeaking so I took the advice from here and rapped the bushings with teflon tape and greased everything up. It's been months and no noise what so ever. It's 100% gone.

[wushoes]

Anyone having problems with their sway bar bushings? Mine started to squeak about 2 or 3 weeks after installation. Jacked up the car, lubed them up again....1 week later, starting to squeak a little bit again :(

At FIRST I had bad squeaking so I took the advice from here and rapped the bushings with teflon tape and greased everything up. It's been months and no noise what so ever. It's 100% gone.

Will give the teflon tape a go. Cheers. :)

Edited June 2, 2011 by wushoes

[Robf]

Fitted my Ultra racing Strut bar thus week and makes a huge difference to the way the car points into corners.

I also got the 19mm rear sway bar but have not yet fitted. I have just tried to get the original sway bar off and have had no success manouvering it out. I don't have a hoist and was only able to jack the rear up to get the wheels slightly off the ground and put it on blocks.

I removed both rear wheels but cannot work out a way of getting it around the exhaust, I can't drop the exhaust easily as I have a Hayman-Reece towbar which makes it impossible to drop the rear muffler brackets.

Any suggestions on how to manouver it out would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers Rob

Edited June 4, 2011 by Robf

[Silver-Aurion]

Man, you don't need to take anything off like wheels and especially exhaust.

Putting on the rear bar is as easy as putting on the front bar. What you need to do is grab yourself car ramps and reverse onto them. What you need to make 100% sure is that both rear wheels are perfectly horizontal with each other so you can easily unscrew the clamps holding the bar in place. Then take off the two bolts on each side of the bar and the whole thing slides out like butter.

It's literally a 10 minute job.

[Robf]

Man, you don't need to take anything off like wheels and especially exhaust.

Putting on the rear bar is as easy as putting on the front bar. What you need to do is grab yourself car ramps and reverse onto them. What you need to make 100% sure is that both rear wheels are perfectly horizontal with each other so you can easily unscrew the clamps holding the bar in place. Then take off the two bolts on each side of the bar and the whole thing slides out like butter.

It's literally a 10 minute job.

Hi Silver Aurion,

Thanks for the reply. No problem getting all the bolts out, only took a few minutes. Which way do you slide it to get it out!!

It seems tucked in between the jacking point in the centre of the body and the floor pan

[Silver-Aurion]

if it's tucked in that means the car isn't level? Once the whole thing is free from bolts it should just hang lose on the exhaust and you can slide it out..

[Robf]

if it's tucked in that means the car isn't level? Once the whole thing is free from bolts it should just hang lose on the exhaust and you can slide it out..

Car was level. Can't slide it towards the rear as the jacking point is in the way. Can't slide it forward as there is not enough clearance between the exhaust and pan.

Looking at this pic which way would you suggest sliding to get it out?

[Silver-Aurion]

if it's tucked in that means the car isn't level? Once the whole thing is free from bolts it should just hang lose on the exhaust and you can slide it out..

Car was level. Can't slide it towards the rear as the jacking point is in the way. Can't slide it forward as there is not enough clearance between the exhaust and pan.

Looking at this pic which way would you suggest sliding to get it out?

hard to say mate because i cannot remember at all which way to slide it out. also since I did it with ramps nothing was in the way..

[mmm_sx6]

To anyone that ordered their UR RSB from eBay (Malaysia), how long till it gets to my door , roughly, because ebay never said..

Edit: also been reading about the squeaks that people are experiencing so i may as well take the precautionary measures before hand, was just wondering where exactly i apply the Teflon tape

Edited June 12, 2011 by mmm_sx6

[Robf]

To anyone that ordered their UR RSB from eBay (Malaysia), how long till it gets to my door , roughly, because ebay never said..

Edit: also been reading about the squeaks that people are experiencing so i may as well take the precautionary measures before hand, was just wondering where exactly i apply the Teflon tape

About 10 days for mine

[Robf]

Finally got the rear sway bar fitted after being away for a few weeks.

It is almost impossible to jack the car up high enough to get enough clearance to manipulate the sway bar out.

On car ramps approx 10" inches high it becomes very easy to get it out and the new one in.

Takes about 20 minutes all up

Cheers Rob

[wushoes]

Just a quick update. The squeeks have disappeared. Maybe the rubber was just too hard and has finally worn in a bit. Either way, I'm glad I don't have to lube them up again.

[julian040859]

I am going to get the front strut bar next week. What is the torque setting when you re-tighten thr strut nuts?

Edited July 31, 2011 by julian040859

[DJKOR]

I am going to get the front strut bar next week. What is the torque setting when you re-tighten thr strut nuts?

85Nm (63ft/lb) if you want to follow the service manual.

[julian040859]

I am going to get the front strut bar next week. What is the torque setting when you re-tighten thr strut nuts?

85Nm (63ft/lb) if you want to follow the service manual.

Thanks for that setting info DJKOR, what amazes me is that my son has a 2004 2.4 litre Camry Sportivo and they came standard with the Strut brace, it handles better than my Prodigy but doesnt have the grunt. I wonder why they didnt put the Tower Strut brace in as standard equipment on newer faster cars like the Aurion Spotivo and TRD?

[Andrew357]

Thanks for that setting info DJKOR, what amazes me is that my son has a 2004 2.4 litre Camry Sportivo and they came standard with the Strut brace, it handles better than my Prodigy but doesnt have the grunt. I wonder why they didnt put the Tower Strut brace in as standard equipment on newer faster cars like the Aurion Spotivo and TRD?

The All New Camry (Gen5) was tested for about 50,000km @ Anglesea on a hundred or so different suspension/chassis settings for a sportier feel, which would explain it.

They put s big emphasis on the new Camry Sportivo being a finely tuned vehicle. Another reason why our Gen5 camry is quite different from the US version

[Adamsy]

I am going to get the front strut bar next week. What is the torque setting when you re-tighten thr strut nuts?

85Nm (63ft/lb) if you want to follow the service manual.

Thanks for that setting info DJKOR, what amazes me is that my son has a 2004 2.4 litre Camry Sportivo and they came standard with the Strut brace, it handles better than my Prodigy but doesnt have the grunt. I wonder why they didnt put the Tower Strut brace in as standard equipment on newer faster cars like the Aurion Spotivo and TRD?

Aurion Sportivo and of course TRD (as every TRD started life as a SX6 or ZR6) do actually indeed have a strut tower brace located in the cowl panel area. The Sportivo/TRD chassis features many external and internal bracing to firm up the chassis for a more "alive" direct driving experience.

:)

[julian040859]

I am going to get the front strut bar next week. What is the torque setting when you re-tighten thr strut nuts?

85Nm (63ft/lb) if you want to follow the service manual.

Thanks for that setting info DJKOR, what amazes me is that my son has a 2004 2.4 litre Camry Sportivo and they came standard with the Strut brace, it handles better than my Prodigy but doesnt have the grunt. I wonder why they didnt put the Tower Strut brace in as standard equipment on newer faster cars like the Aurion Spotivo and TRD?

Aurion Sportivo and of course TRD (as every TRD started life as a SX6 or ZR6) do actually indeed have a strut tower brace located in the cowl panel area. The Sportivo/TRD chassis features many external and internal bracing to firm up the chassis for a more "alive" direct driving experience.

:)

My Prodigy has a black metal cowl panel assembly between the struts, it is pretty flimsy if it is supposed to be a brace, are the Sportivo and TRD ones any different? Anyway, just ordered my Ultra Racing 2 Point Front Stut Bar, can't wait to get it and see how much it improves handling in roundabouts and "S" bends.

Edited August 2, 2011 by julian040859

[Steven]

Interesting, stumbled across a potentially different option - currently only listed for the America Camry, it's a 4 point rear sway bar/brace combo (3 parts in total).

I'm bloody tired right now so I could be wrong but it looks like the Camry version doesn't connect to the link pins.

[Adamsy]

Hey , hey

Nah that picture doesn’t really show it all that well, in that image you see there is a 19mm rear anti-roll bar and either side of that there is a brace that comes off the suspension sub frame mounting to the trailing arm joint bracing the suspension further, again much like the front one not allowing the suspension geometry to "walk" around under hard cornering, Note though that this bar will still fit Sportivo an TRD models even though they have a factory brace in that region. In fact this UR brace will perfectly compliment the factory brace as the factory brace, stiffens and braces the suspension from the chassis rails rearward to the trailing arm mount and the UR product braces from the trailing arm mount to the suspension sub frame.

[Steven]

Hey , hey

Nah that picture doesn’t really show it all that well, in that image you see there is a 19mm rear anti-roll bar and either side of that there is a brace that comes off the suspension sub frame mounting to the trailing arm joint bracing the suspension further, again much like the front one not allowing the suspension geometry to "walk" around under hard cornering, Note though that this bar will still fit Sportivo an TRD models even though they have a factory brace in that region. In fact this UR brace will perfectly compliment the factory brace as the factory brace, stiffens and braces the suspension from the chassis rails rearward to the trailing arm mount and the UR product braces from the trailing arm mount to the suspension sub frame.

It can be had for around $110 delivered so I'm thinking of taking the plunge... once the tax man has come and gone

[Adamsy]

Hey , hey

Nah that picture doesn’t really show it all that well, in that image you see there is a 19mm rear anti-roll bar and either side of that there is a brace that comes off the suspension sub frame mounting to the trailing arm joint bracing the suspension further, again much like the front one not allowing the suspension geometry to "walk" around under hard cornering, Note though that this bar will still fit Sportivo an TRD models even though they have a factory brace in that region. In fact this UR brace will perfectly compliment the factory brace as the factory brace, stiffens and braces the suspension from the chassis rails rearward to the trailing arm mount and the UR product braces from the trailing arm mount to the suspension sub frame.

It can be had for around $110 delivered so I'm thinking of taking the plunge... once the tax man has come and gone

yeah it's a pretty cheap mod, will probably notice the difference more on non Sportivo's but will compliment the factory brace on Sportivo pretty good as well.

[julian040859]

Wow, got my Front Strut Bar in 14 days from ctech, fitted it in 10 minutes and the difference is well worth the $116 on special. I cant believe such a low cost mod would make such a difference. The Prodigy goes through corners and roundabouts so much better. Definitely more pointier, less roll and lots of fun. The dilemma now is do I try to keep tweaking it or leave well enough alone. If i did one more mod for body roll through corners for day to day driving, which one should I do? I'm not sure if I want to do anything out of fear I may wreck what I have just gained.

[Adamsy]

Wow, got my Front Strut Bar in 14 days from ctech, fitted it in 10 minutes and the difference is well worth the $116 on special. I cant believe such a low cost mod would make such a difference. The Prodigy goes through corners and roundabouts so much better. Definitely more pointier, less roll and lots of fun. The dilemma now is do I try to keep tweaking it or leave well enough alone. If i did one more mod for body roll through corners for day to day driving, which one should I do? I'm not sure if I want to do anything out of fear I may wreck what I have just gained.

Don't be scared, put the 19mm Anti-Roll bar in. that's where the biggest difference is :)

[Andrew357]

Wow, got my Front Strut Bar in 14 days from ctech, fitted it in 10 minutes and the difference is well worth the $116 on special. I cant believe such a low cost mod would make such a difference. The Prodigy goes through corners and roundabouts so much better. Definitely more pointier, less roll and lots of fun. The dilemma now is do I try to keep tweaking it or leave well enough alone. If i did one more mod for body roll through corners for day to day driving, which one should I do? I'm not sure if I want to do anything out of fear I may wreck what I have just gained.

There is no doubt the strut brace tightens your steering responsiveness but I found I noticed my body roll more in my Camry as I didn't put in a bigger rear sway bar for another.

But definitely put in a bigger rear sway bar. You can really notice the difference.