Hotchkis sway bars

the NBS chevy truck guys all go with Hotchkis, very good product

Hotchkis sway bars

Anyone here know how well the hotchkis sway bars perform? I was interested in getting some. . .

Supposively vamps is in the mail (that was what 1 or 2 weeks ago). Have you gotten any racing solution (if you see this)?

Hotchkis is a good company, very reliable. They have 3 settings for stiffness.

k thanks for the input guys. hey nomad17 where did you get them>?

I just installed them on my '01 this past weekend and the improvement is incredible. I have the rear on the stiffest setting and I think that's where it will stay, if I were to lend the car to my mom or something I might soften it up a bit because the rear will step out on you if you get careless with the throttle mid-corner (but quickly and easily catchable) but also allows a great deal of fun and short 4-wheel drifts if you really push it (it's actually pretty well balanced on the stiffest setting, the rear will only step out with a drastic weight shift from acceleration to deceleration). I would put them as my #1 improvement for handling (besides replacing the crappy wheels/tires). My car now feels like I had hoped it would after installing tein/tokicos but was left with understeer. I doubt this is even possible but the ride actually seems smoother now, I was expecting it to be harsh.
My only complaints are not the bars fault but the rear always seems to be a quarter step behind the front in quick transitions (softer spring rate maybe?), it doesn't have that all-of-a-piece feeling that an s2000 does but once settled into a corner it simply stays on track, even in full-throttle 2nd gear it will pull to the inside of the corner.
Also, the front bar is the lowest point on the vehicle now, literally 2-2.5" off the ground with the Tein S.techs (at the bottom of the grease fittings, the bar itself is about 3"), speed bumps are interesting but I've never hit the bottom while on the road.
If I were going to start over they would be my first purchase after replacing the tires, you won't be sorry if the ground clearance is acceptable to you.

how much u get em for?

I got them from Nopi for $246. First time I've bought from there and I know the hotchkis bars have been hard to get lately but I wasn't in a rush. They warned me it could take 2 weeks to get them before taking my money but they showed up less than a week later.

how long have you had them? Hey racingsolutions you have any?

I used a floor jack and jack stands. The front was no problem at all, the rear wasn't a problem but you do have to loosen the gas tank strap to get it out. You can then either separate the muffler from the mid-pipe an slide it out or remove a wheel and pull it out from the side as long as you're careful not to pull a fuel line out in the process.

I've only had them for 5 days and they shipped direct from Hotchkis, I think there's been difficuilty getting the corolla bars out for some reason. Curious if anyone has installed a rear bar only and how that works for them. Now that I've got speedbumps figured out I probably won't but for a while I was considering putting the stock front bar back on to get a little more ride height and leaving the rear Hotchkis on the softest setting.

my hotchkis rear sway is on, waiting to get the car on a lift so i can do the front..

i paid $167 SHIPPED for front and rear and new bushings...

rear sway is awesome.. it's weird, having only the rear on. the front feels a lot softer now, the rear basically doesn't give AT ALL in a corner. once i have front on, i'll let you all know.

I have my set... sitting in the garage. I don't know when I'll have time to install them.

make sure you take pics....cuz I think the front you have to drop the cradle, and I want to know how hard its gonna be (I know I need a lift).

CivicEater, where did find those bars for $167 shipped cuz that's bitchin.
Don't be stingy now spill the beans.

he has an xA, not a corolla

umm no. the front is a lot easier to do than the back for 98-02 because with the back you have to loosen the gas tank strap and the rear suspension.

ebay
or email: jessica@performancepartsstore.com

it's funny that it's more difficult on the rear of the corolla, and the other way around on the scion.. must be that semi-independant trailing arm suspension i got going on

the rear sway was on in 15-20 mins on my xA .. man i love this car

Hey Nomad,
What's your trick for speed bumps? I sheared my driver's side front zerk last week (at a low speed). Why didn't those f**kin' HalfWits Performance guys locate the zerks at the 3 or 9 o'clock position instead of 6 o'clock!!! Also, do you hear any creaking or popping noise from your sways? I'm about to re-grease the bushings. I hope that works.

I guess it's not really a trick, I see people do it all the time just never put thought into why they do. I just approach the speedbump at maybe a 25-30deg angle instead of hitting it head-on, and brake as the front tires descend so that there's no real compression of the front suspension. This way when the first front tire touches down on the other side of the speedbump the other front tire is at it's highest point, on top of the speedbump. Seems to give me enough clearance, and these were fairly tall speedbumps. I'm probably still only clearing it by a few millimeters, good thing for the Tein anti-sag guarantee!
I've heard absolutely no noise from the sways, but I haven't had them on long enough to need re-greasing.

I have only had mine on for 2 weeks and I started hearing noises the 1st day. I looked at the sways and the front bar is hitting on the driver's steering knuckle when I turn sharp. I guess that explains the popping noise.

I'm not nomad but another way to practice with dodging bumps is reheasing with model cars.. ye sounds silly but once you know what to do on the model car, just sort of apply it to real life.

if the bar is hitting the steering knuckle, its prolly not installed correctly.

all i know is that i got mine dirt cheap through them on ebay..

I re-greased my bushings today and the creaking noise is finally gone! I still get the popping noise going in and out parking spots. Has anyone had a problem with the thread engagement on the front bar where it connects to the stock sway bar link? I can't seem to get it tight enough and it looks like there are only a couple of threads holding the nut on the link stud.

So, do they have the hothkis sway bars for the Corolla 98-01 for $167 or are we still SOL?

167 are for scions

well, got the front bar on.. what a fukin pain.. had to drop the entire front cradle.. which of course disconnected the steering column from the rack assy, meaning without assistance (as always) i got it back together ONE tooth off.