Looks like the slippery slope have started for me for the Prius. Got her on the lift today and installed the TRD Prius Plus rear sway bar. A definite improvement to body roll. This is also the first time I ever had a Prius on my lift, I am sure all my other car friends are cringing at this picture that I posted on my facebook. The sway bar install was super easy, didn't need to take the shocks out was able to get my fingers in there to get the bolt in.
Very cool. Enjoy the improvement! I'm gearing up for the same slippery slope when the weather warms up and I get all the salt off of the car. The longer it takes, the more ideas I find online though! Did you do springs too?
I haven't done the springs, still debating if I wanted to do that. I've heard of people scraping with the lower ride height. Anyone with Prius Plus package springs would like to comment? Does the lower spring also come with different spring rate? Can it be used with the standard shock or require shocks with different damping? The last thing I want is the car to bounce up and down dips due to mismatched spring and shocks. Seem too many cheaply modified boy racer Civics does that on the road.
You can use the oem shocks, they are the same as the Prius Plus, however, many say that lowing springs reduce the shock life. A lot of folks like the look with aftermarket wheels as well as the handling improvements but some also talk about issues with speed bumps and road kill. If you just do a search on the forum for springs, you should find a ton of info.
I didn't get a chance to weight them, the tire shop didn't have a scale. I was curious with the larger tire and wheel how much un-sprung weight I was going to sacrifice. Don't care too much about the MPG loss, because I am getting much better traction.
Gave in and bought more parts.... TRD Prius plus lowering springs, HID upgrade kit, front under brace, mid section brace. Now I need to decide on a strut tower brace. Which one is the least intrusive? Are the 2012 and 13 model the same? Were there any changes?
Do the springs at the same time as the strut tower bar. 70% of the spring install covers 90% of the strut tower bar install. yes 12/13 are the same. All STB's follow the same general concept of tieing the towers together. I would just shop price. People will always tell you the one "they have" is the best. Ignore the adjustability crap. Unless you plan to remove your lower/upper cowels & windshield wipers they are set and forget. Besides that, physics tells me there is very... very... very... little need for adjustment. Between all the different ones i have installed i would just buy the cheepest.
How's the ride with the trd Prius plus sway bar installed? Is the ride more harsh with it installed? How about the handling does it improve much?
Nice additions! Why are you getting new shocks? Are they worn? What kind of shocks are you going with?
Rear sway bar does nothing to prevent body roll on a torion bar. It not attach to the body. It restricts what a torsion was design to do! In fact less traction harsher ride!
I'm not too familiar with the Prius rear suspension (yet) but I would think if the bar's function is to restrict suspension travel relative to the wheel on the other side, then by definition it controls body roll as well as making the ride stiffer. I'm sure TRD has a reason for spec'ing such a bar on a sportier Prius version. I may do just the bar and that's it. The car feels front heavy (I come from a BMW so maybe that's why). I feel what one poster said about the springs. I definitely do not want to scrape this car. I already scraped it once or twice on regular driveways going slow. Too much front overhang and too soft of suspension. Otherwise I shouldve just stuck to my BMW whose mechanical grip and balance are on a very high level. Prius is great at what it does =)
I'm thinking of just the rear sway bar to titen up the suspension a little it's a commute car not a sports car.
