Normal corolla sway bar in corolla sportivo

[2zz corolla]

Hi everyone

I have recently been looking at handling mods to my sportivo 05 as some of you may know. I was talking to superdave at a recent track meet and he advised me that I should get the normal corolla sway bar if I’m on a budget as its 21mm instead of 19. I am having trouble to find much discussion about this mod on the forum so I decided to make a dedicated thread to allow for some discussion/opinion on the mod and to allow for it to be easily found when using the search function in the future.

The main questions I have to ask is

1: has anyone else done this other then super dave.

2: If so how are you finding the mod, did it help reduce body roll or mainly just improve turn in.

3: Is there an easy way to know if my car currently has a normal corolla sway bar ( I know it’s highly unlikely but just want to make sure). I sadly do not have a decent measuring tool to measure my sway bar so I am hoping there’s some code on the sway bar that gives it a way ;).

4: Are sway bars as easy to remove as they look. To me it just looks like I don’t even have to raise the car and then just remove 2 bolts.

then again I have never removed a sway bar before)

5: Anyone know of any good wreckers where i could find a 03 to 06 hatch? Places I have called so far just have old bombs :(.

If there is any other information i need to know regarding this mod then please let me know.

Thanks

O and thanks super dave for letting me know about the mod

Dave

Edited June 1, 2010 by 2zz corolla

[CME-LFT]

1.Dont know, but im sure a few have.

2.^^

3.It looks factory, nah the only thing i can say is that my stock one compared to the whiteline one, is that the whiteline brace points on each size are welded as to become one piece, as with my stock one, it looks more like each end has its own coupling.(rounder ends, mind you last time i looked at my stock one was like 2-3 yrs ago)

4.It is as simple as removing 2 bolts, car doesnt need to be supported as nothing will fall apart (ive driven without the rear sway bar before) But its a bit fiddly to line the new one up and pop the nuts back in.

5.king wrecks fairfield is all i can think of.

[SuperDave]

1. Probably :P

2. Mainly helps by reducing understeer slightly. There could be a placebo effect, but you might also notice roll reduce a touch.

3. Best to measure it directly, if you have vernier callipers or a micrometer. If not use a shifter to clamp over it then measure the gap.

4. On the zze Corolla's it is that easy (at the rear at least). I have a guide in the workshop section on how to do it and with torque settings.

5. Capalaba Wreckers usually has a couple. Don't take their first price, haggle a bit.

[2zz corolla]

True well i double checked it today and it is 19mm so ill give those 2 wreckers that you guys said a call and see if they have any.

By the looks of it im the gunnie pig as not many people have done it by the looks :P

by the way cme-lift that is a bloody good point about the aftermarket swaybars being welded at each end where as standard ones are on a coupling thing .... that could play a big factor... maybe i might just coff up and by a white line one ...

[SuperDave]

by the way cme-lift that is a bloody good point about the aftermarket swaybars being welded at each end where as standard ones are on a coupling thing .... that could play a big factor... maybe i might just coff up and by a white line one ...

I'd trust the OEM design over aftermarket any day.

[JSTCHLN]

2zz Corolla - I have done it and for my car it did not make a noticeable difference. That being said I had already lowered my car, front strut brace and fatter rubber which already made it handle 500 times better than stock, so for me no noticeable difference.

Also I do not track my car and 'push it to the limit' of under/over steering so cannot comment in that regard.

Point I am trying to make is if your car is stock could be something to consider, if your suspension has been modified, maybe consider spending the extra money.

At the end of the day it only cost me $20 from a wrecker, thats a smirnoff double black at a night club in surfers :P

[2zz corolla]

Ok so I have spent about a week calling up places with only Capalaba wreckers having zze122s available. As i live on the north side, driving down to Capalaba is pretty inconvenient. I was just wondering for a last ditch attempt if any forum members have a normal sway bar they are willing to sell me (p.s should probs put this in the wanted/ for sale category ;))

btw jstchln thanks for your comment about the sway bar let’s hope with normal suspension there’s a bit of a noticeable difference ;P

Super Dave that’s a fair comment but i thought aftermarket suspension manufactures would spend allot more time manufacturing a product perfect for the car with no cost cutting.

My opinion is that car companies like Toyota just do cheap jobs good enough for the job to make so the car is more affordable where as aftermarket shops go all out. Just my humble opinion :) .

[matt_glad]

Ok so I have spent about a week calling up places with only Capalaba wreckers having zze122s available. As i live on the north side, driving down to Capalaba is pretty inconvenient. I was just wondering for a last ditch attempt if any forum members have a normal sway bar they are willing to sell me (p.s should probs put this in the wanted/ for sale category ;))

btw jstchln thanks for your comment about the sway bar let’s hope with normal suspension there’s a bit of a noticeable difference ;P

Super Dave that’s a fair comment but i thought aftermarket suspension manufactures would spend allot more time manufacturing a product perfect for the car with no cost cutting.

My opinion is that car companies like Toyota just do cheap jobs good enough for the job to make so the car is more affordable where as aftermarket shops go all out. Just my humble opinion :) .

Sounds interesting I will try do this too, was this front or rear?

[2zz corolla]

Sounds interesting I will try do this too, was this front or rear?

Just the rear , havent looked into the front acturly. From vague memory the front sway wont work on the sportivos but not 100% sure on that.

[SuperDave]

Super Dave that’s a fair comment but i thought aftermarket suspension manufactures would spend allot more time manufacturing a product perfect for the car with no cost cutting.

My opinion is that car companies like Toyota just do cheap jobs good enough for the job to make so the car is more affordable where as aftermarket shops go all out. Just my humble opinion :) .

Aftermarket companies spend less time and money on development; they don't have million dollar budgets backing them.

Sounds interesting I will try do this too, was this front or rear?

Just the rear , havent looked into the front acturly. From vague memory the front sway wont work on the sportivos but not 100% sure on that.

The front anti roll bars between the zze122 and the zze123 are slightly different due to the end links. Can't remember which way it was, but one of the models has larger end link bolts. Same stock diameter.

[surfwagon]

Hi everyone

I have recently been looking at handling mods to my sportivo 05 as some of you may know. I was talking to superdave at a recent track meet and he advised me that I should get the normal corolla sway bar if I’m on a budget as its 21mm instead of 19. I am having trouble to find much discussion about this mod on the forum so I decided to make a dedicated thread to allow for some discussion/opinion on the mod and to allow for it to be easily found when using the search function in the future.

The main questions I have to ask is

1: has anyone else done this other then super dave.

2: If so how are you finding the mod, did it help reduce body roll or mainly just improve turn in.

3: Is there an easy way to know if my car currently has a normal corolla sway bar ( I know it’s highly unlikely but just want to make sure). I sadly do not have a decent measuring tool to measure my sway bar so I am hoping there’s some code on the sway bar that gives it a way ;).

4: Are sway bars as easy to remove as they look. To me it just looks like I don’t even have to raise the car and then just remove 2 bolts.

then again I have never removed a sway bar before)

5: Anyone know of any good wreckers where i could find a 03 to 06 hatch? Places I have called so far just have old bombs :(.

If there is any other information i need to know regarding this mod then please let me know.

Thanks

O and thanks super dave for letting me know about the mod

Dave

I have a 05 Levin that I changed the stock 21mm hollow rear bar for a Whiteline 22mm solid rear bar and it made quite a difference to how the car handled, still on stock springs and shocks.

The handling is much more neutral and flatter.

The bar was quite easy to replace, just those 2 bolts although the Whiteline bar was about 1mm short as I just couldn't get the bolts back in, so had to heat the bar up (sun and boiling water) so that I could get the bolts through and it was easy after that.

Cheers Col.

[2zz corolla]

Thanks for the post yea there a good rear sway those whitelines , Sorry for not updating my status in regards to getting a zze122 sway bar in so long i have been having a massive problem trying to find one. Capalaba they have corollas there but someone has already taken the rear sway bars :P. Found one today though fresh stock but was unable to get the bolts undone , broke 2 socket wrenches and bent a shifter trying to get the bolt undone, after that i gave up. the guys at the wreckers wouldnt even let me borrow one of their rattle guns or give me any poles to help use as leverage ........

Might go back and have another go with a meaty wrench and a very long pole but its about an hour drive so I might just bite the bullet and get a whiteline ......

Ill have an update in a week or two

p.s they also wanted $77 for the sway, sounds a little pricey to me (they were absolotly non negotiable in regards to the price to )

Thanks

dave

Edited July 31, 2010 by 2zz corolla

[2zz corolla]

Quick question guys

Are the normal corolla and the sportivo's sway bars both hollow. If so is the metal the same thickness in each sway bar.

Thanks for your help

dave

[wil_rolla]

maybe its worth giving Gunni a pm, as i sold mine to him afew months back and he also tracks..

yes they are both hollow, as far as thickness i'm not too sure..

Edited July 31, 2010 by wil_rolla

[2zz corolla]

maybe its worth giving Gunni a pm, as i sold mine to him afew months back and he also tracks..

yes they are both hollow, as far as thickness i'm not too sure..

thanks very much