Hi guys,

Just wondering if anyone can tell me which Veradas came with the factory rear swaybar, and how does the handling compare to cars without the swaybar?

Thanks

Also curious if the sportswagon came with one

Well i know the KJ GTV came with a factory rear sway bar. I have the rear end sititng in my backyard that i was going to use lol

also curious if the sportswagon came with one

get on your knees and check! ;)

I think the only verada would be the GTV/GTVi.

The wagons dont have IRS so not sure if the swaybar would even be compatible. It is a torsion beam rear end so there is already a pretty firm connection left and right

The TF - TJ sports
TJ-TW VRX
ALL TL/W
ALL KL/W
KJ GTV

All wagons have a stabaliser bar of sorts, is not really a sway bar, given the rear suspension design a proper sway bar would do very little

how does the handling compare to cars without the swaybar?

May be seat of my pants here, but when I put the VRX rear axle/swaybar onto mine the car felt a lot more planted when going through corners, especially when doing roundabouts a bit faster than recommended lol

So, a KJ series 2 would not have a standard swaybar?
Does the whiteline bar make the ride a lot more uncomfortable?
I have whiteline front and rear swaybars on another car of mine and they severely impacted ride comfort

KJ GTV(i)'s came with the VRX Suspension setup.. So they come fitted as standard with a rear swaybar..

Having a slightly larger rear swaybar from whiteline does stiffen things up quite nicely..

SuFz

And of what I understand I cannot easily put a VRX rear swaybar on a 3rd gen which did not come with the factory swaybar?

And of what I understand I cannot easily put a VRX rear swaybar on a 3rd gen which did not come with the factory swaybar?

Correct

Putting whiteline swaybar on my exec TF completely transformed the car. If you car about cornering at all, this is probably the best bang for buck handling mod you can do. I had orignal struts at the time and also started the swaybar off on the lowest setting and the difference was crazy!

And of what I understand I cannot easily put a VRX rear swaybar on a 3rd gen which did not come with the factory swaybar?

Not actually correct, I do these here all the time

I just get the rear frame from a wrecked VRX or TL/W and pop that in, if using the L or W frame you also need to change hand brake cables as they were a better design however aside from that, undo the top arm, couple at the bottom, hang the calipers out of the way, 4 nuts and the whole back end is on the ground (simplified version)

Not actually correct, I do these here all the time

I just get the rear frame from a wrecked VRX or TL/W and pop that in, if using the L or W frame you also need to change hand brake cables as they were a better design however aside from that, undo the top arm, couple at the bottom, hang the calipers out of the way, 4 nuts and the whole back end is on the ground (simplified version)

Its easy if you have this whole back end, but the stock swaybar on its own with just bolts wont mate up to a magna that didnt have one from factory. I think?

TF Sports, TH Sports, TJ VRX & Sports, TJ2-TW VRX & Sports/VR, Ralliart, and KJ2-KW Verada GTV/i (pretty sure the AWD has one too)

All factory models

Thanks guys for the input.

Madmagna, I think it is more trouble/effort than it is worth it considering a whiteline bar is available.

Neo, can you tell me how much stiffer the ride became? If at all?

And, do people think that a Sports model handles better, or a normal model + whiteline rear swaybar? All else being equal

Little bit of a threadmine!

So we're established a VRX/Sports swaybar doesn't bolt up to a TJ that has not previously. Can holes be drilled in the non-sports/vrx back end or does that cause issues with no longer both roadworthy and structurally sound?

Was there a difference between the swaybars fitted across the TH/TJ/TL/TW range?

Also how much a difference does one of those 22mm whiteline sway bars make compared to the factory ones (17mm?) ? My car is not used for racing but just the odd mountain run here and there. Is the difference really noticeable?

I read about the whiteline one cracking the frame and hitting things. I do go camping a bit so I don't always go on perfect roads and would not want the bar to keep smacking against the ground or other objects.

My whiteline one was great. Massive improvement over not having one at all.

It wont hit on the ground. Its more likely that the exhaust system would strike first.

Mine did knock when i had people in the back going over speed humps but it didnt bother me. Heasmans steering here in Sydney installed it and put in longer bolts where the subframe meets the chassis. With the bar installed on a magna without the swaybar mounting points from standard, the bar utilises existing bolts and mounts for the subframe. When the swaybar is installed, there isnt much thread for the bolts to clamp onto

Easiest way is to source a TL/W rear end with the swaybar already fitted. Swap the whole thing in. It's a job you'll be able to do at home in an afternoon, (including beers). lol

Is it worth it? Definitely. Will it hit anything? Unlikely if you install as above - its a factory fitted item.

I've got a '97 sports that I'm pulling apart and transferring all the springs/struts over to my '98 executive. I'm gonna try and fit the 18mm rear sway bar from the sports with maybe some home made brackets. Has any one done this without swapping the whole rear end? after reading some of these positive posts, I'm definitely going to try and fit it instead of selling it like I first thought.

My whiteline one was great. Massive improvement over not having one at all.

It wont hit on the ground. Its more likely that the exhaust system would strike first.

Mine did knock when i had people in the back going over speed humps but it didnt bother me. Heasmans steering here in Sydney installed it and put in longer bolts where the subframe meets the chassis. With the bar installed on a magna without the swaybar mounting points from standard, the bar utilises existing bolts and mounts for the subframe. When the swaybar is installed, there isnt much thread for the bolts to clamp onto

Cheers for the response Dave!

I definitely like the idea of tightening up the back end and reducing both understeer and body roll. Everyone commends the difference a sway bar makes. I'm just wondering if the factory sway bars are much worse than the aftermarket ones or are more than adequate in a good suspension setup?

Glad to hear that even an aftermarket sway bar won't hit against things.

My concern is having any unusual noises. I definitely would not like to have noises in the car like that. It seems these bars can also lead to cracks in the frame - could the cause be that the bolts are too short? I like what the workshop did - I'd definitely follow suit. Thanks for sharing that info!


Easiest way is to source a TL/W rear end with the swaybar already fitted. Swap the whole thing in. It's a job you'll be able to do at home in an afternoon, (including beers). lol

Is it worth it? Definitely. Will it hit anything? Unlikely if you install as above - its a factory fitted item.

Thanks Ascall! I'm more inclined to go down that path than anything else. Mal mentioned in anouther thread that the TL/TW's had a different hand brake setup. Not done too much work with handbrakes so not sure if I should muck around with that.
I quite like a factory setup but if its poor then I'd spend the little bit extra for an aftermarket one. I could easily do the swap in the backyard lol

One last question would be regarding the weight of the rear end. I suspect it's probably going to be very heavy? Any potential for two people to lift it and load it onto the backseats of the magna? I'm thinking of picking one off a wrecked car.

Two people should be able to lift the subframe.

Further to the aftermarket rear swaybar, for the love of god make sure you have good tyres on the rear, especially if its an adjustable one and you have it on the highest setting. I had the rear end try and overtake me a couple of times. Its not exactly manageable either unlike my current car

Cheers for that.

I would make an educated guess that the subframe would likely be too heavy for one person to lug around?

Tyres aren't a problem - I definitely do not settle for dodgy tyres. I choose life!
But I have heard that overly stiff swaybars can make the back end a little tailhappy. However unless you loose traction at the fronts regaining control shouldn't be too hard.

Aftermarket bar is poor, the brackets use 2 of the frame mounts thus the nuts are barely holding on, where they attach to the lower arm they use std u bolts, are very crude

The ones I fit here are a complete back end, the handbrake cables are no big deal, just take them out attached to the frame, that is what we do

Aftermarket bar is poor, the brackets use 2 of the frame mounts thus the nuts are barely holding on, where they attach to the lower arm they use std u bolts, are very crude

The ones I fit here are a complete back end, the handbrake cables are no big deal, just take them out attached to the frame, that is what we do

That aftermarket one definitely doesn't sound like its very well mounted at all. Wouldn't want the subframe to be held on so poorly.

Fitting up a factory back end sounds like a more safer solution. How much difference would a 20-24mm one from whiteline do compared to the factory (18mm??) one?

Also Mal with those backends you have - is it possible for one person to pick it up and take it home? It's something I'm happy to fit up myself.

Thanks!

One person can lift it & fit it. lol It's an awkward size but not overly heavy.

I did one by myself about a year ago. As Mal says, fitting the h/ brake isn't an issue if it's still left attached to the hubs. Just a matter of removing one & feeding the other through into the car. Obviously if you're swapping your own rear discs on, you'll need to adjust the h/ brake afterwards anyway.

Just make sure you get a full 4 wheel alignment afterwards. :)

I've had a rear whiteline bar for 4 years and 70,000 km on my TJ Advance. There is just enough thread for the nuts and I've never had the subframe cracked yet. The only problem I had was the bushes binding up causing the car to behave like the bar was on a really high setting, making the steering really sensitive on initial turn-in. I had to relube the bushes, now I give a spray with some teflon base stuff every few months. So much for a low maintaince car.

Can I just confirm that all TL/TW models had the rear swaybar?

In the case, what difference was there between a GTVi and an XI/EI in terms of handling/power? Just slightly lower springs from the VRX and similar engine tune?