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Howdy - rear stabilizer bars

Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2024 11:24 am
by Vibraphone
New here. Acquired '06 Vibe w/moon, tune & ABS -- but no alloy's -- from orig owner, purrrfct cond 184K w/a sheaf o' svc records.... my first Asian or American car. Pretty nifty; easy-to-work on, like the old Volvo's or VW's used to be.

Question. What are the diameters of rear sway bars on the Vibes? I see all sorts of numbers -- and no, not the pricy aftermarket bars. What bars fit Vibe, Matrix, Corolla... etc? It looks like many are same config and would fit Vibe -- prefer thicker ones. But can't find OE diameter for '06 vs '09-10 rear bars? Thx. Just tryin' to suppress some o' that gawd awful Toyota understeer.

Re: Howdy - rear stabilizer bars

Posted: Fri Mar 22, 2024 12:53 pm
by SeattleJeremy
Welcome to GenVibe!

I had a Progress Tech rear sway bar on my car.
The stock bar is about 22mm, the Progress Tech bar is 24mm. In autocross situations with the bigger bar, if you are braking hard enough in corners, the car will pick up the rear inside wheel. Which is great for turning in these situations.

However, this might impact ABS, but I'm not sure, as my car didn't have ABS.

I recommend having fresh rear struts installed. When the struts got weak on my car, the big bar ended up being too much on the street, and had some traction issues in the wet during normal driving.

I'm pretty sure the rear bar is the same from 2003 to 2010 (FWD cars, AWD cars had independent rear suspension)

Re: Howdy - rear stabilizer bars

Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2024 7:54 am
by Vibraphone
Thanks! Looking at the rear struts, they look very tired--prev owner evidentially replaced front struts. You just talked me into doing the rear struts. Thanks. It's not uncommon for even shop mechanics to recommend front strut replacement -- and completely forget there's a set of itty-bitty struts back there that are likely more worn out than their bigger brothers up front. Most people don't realize, springs age by years, not miles, with oil-filled struts not far behind.