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After installing a 22.2mm Addco rear sway bar on my '02 Highlander, it handled a lot better, but it felt loose up front and I figured the front could be beefed up a little. Looking at both of the front sway bars on my 2014 RX and my 2002 HL, they appear to be almost the exact same shape. I could have tried the 25mm Cusco one (#: 924 311 A25) for the 2RX, but I didn't want to make an expensive mistake if it didn't fit. I measured both of them with a caliper to see if there was a difference. The RX sway bar is 26mm, and the Highlander one is 23mm. Knowing that the 1st gen Highlander has practically identical suspension (and much more) to the 2RX, I decided to confirm it and did a bit of searching. As I thought, the 2RX indeed shares the exact same front sway bar as the 2004-2007 Highlander. After some eBay searching, my '02 Highlander shares everything else with the 04-07 and 2RX, except that the sway bar has a slightly larger hump to accommodate the older, seemingly taller transfer case. There's no way it would fit the 400h as that has a drastically different-shaped front bar, but also uses the same brackets, bushings and end links.
After my power steering rack failed, I went to the junkyard and got a used one then I decided to just chance it and order a front sway bar from a 3RX. I figured I'd chance it because I was going to be in there anyway. This bar is also shared with the 2008-2019 Highlander, but I chose this particular bar for its great price and condition. The 4RX actually has a slightly larger 28.5mm sway bar, but they were outrageously priced, and I didn't want to make the car understeery like before, so this was a happy medium. When the bar arrived, the brackets were slightly too short - so you'll have to reuse your old ones. The bushings on the other hand were practically identical in size to my original 23mm Highlander ones, except they had a little rubber nipple on the bottom that had to be ground off. After this, they fit the original brackets almost too perfectly.
Original 23mm bushings
26mm 3RX bushings
I yanked my original sway bar out and lined it up with the 3RX one, I noticed that the bushing clamps were in the exact same place. However, I also noticed that the 3RX bar was actually physically wider, I'm guessing due to the 3RX being wider and having more spaced out front struts compared to what is used on the 2RX and the 1st gen HL. You'll see this cause me a minor problem down the road.
The sway bar actually bolted right into the car seemingly perfectly, wow! But... unfortunately it was too good to be true - for now. The bar was contacting the t-case and I since I was so deep in the creek, I decided to grind down the top cooling fin of the case to get it to fit. After all of that, I was presented with a SECOND problem. The front sway bar end links would rub against the strut if I turned the wheel too sharply! Looks like it was time to make another guess and after some Rockauto scrounging, I ordered some 2013-2018 ES350 (MOOG K750123) end links to hopefully push the end link away from the strut!
Well, that ended up working and it has been over two months now without any clunking, rubbing or contact of any kind! The 26/22.2 setup is in my opinion, what should have came from the car from the factory! The SUV feels noticeably more stiff up front, without any noticeable increase in understeer, and far more stable as well as planted - a great addition to my lowering springs and KYB Excel-G replacement struts! It handles a LOT better than the 2014 F-Sport (sorry RX!) and most sedans I have driven! Body roll is very minimal now all around, and it is still a comfortable (although not Lexus smooth!) daily driver, except with some added spice to it!
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This is definitely an affordable upgrade for 2RX owners who already have an upgraded rear sway bar! 3RX front sway bars are plentiful, cheap and are now the largest ones that'll fit as far as we know! Mine was only 60 dollars shipped to my door, with bushings, end links and everything. This is definitely not the easiest task to complete, but the improvement was well worth the effort and cost!
Last edited by MattRX; 01-02-21 at 01:33 AM.
Reason: Cusco bar is actually 25mm instead of 26mm, Grammar
Thank you for sharing your work.
That's been one of my biggest complaints about our Gen 2 RX330 cars and the "lack luster" handling.
On the highway at speeds 70+ with cars and semi's zooming past, I wish the car felt more stable and tight to the road.
Already done new struts but maybe a new rack would tighten it up at 155k miles not sure how much improvement to expect though.
Compared to my old MB CL500 which could comfortable do 100+mph and the car felt like it was glued to the road the RX330 handles poorly...
I’m glad I’m not the only one that believes an SUV doesn’t have to be destined to have sloppy handling! I should add that the replacement KYB Excel-G struts and H&R lowering springs (for a Lexus RX300) also made a huge improvement in the handling of the car.
Highway speeds of 100+ MPH can be handled with relative ease and with confidence, sometimes I don’t even realize I’m in the same car. Sound deadening I installed throughout the car helped with this too. I’ve had to make some emergency maneuvers and the car responds very nicely.
The icing on the cake would be some proper summer 245/55R18s tires with a rim that’s 8” or wider. My Perrelli Scorpion Verdes on 17” RX330 rims are working way too hard and are now the weak point of the car. They’re only 6.5” wide with a 225 tire on them.
i noticed too that my 07 rx350 is handling is starting to get a little sloppy which tells me that possibly some of the suspension or other components are starting to wear out which means my next big job aside from doing the one front lower control arm bushing thats starting to tear is to put in new components depending on what needs it etc and when i get the money to consider doing so.
The widest someone went without spacers was 255/55 on the stock 7” wide 18” rims. I think that’s too wide for that narrow of a rim so I imagine you will experience some sidewall flex. 255/50R18 will keep the diameter near stock - but how common is a 50 profile tire? Not very unfortunately!
I tried my 19x7.5” F-Sport rims and they actually fit, although the rear had very little clearance near the strut spring perch. 235/55R19 and the diameter was a little higher so my speedo read slower. Had some Michelin Pilot Sport A/S +3s on there and you could bet that thing handled. No sidewall flex anymore and finally an appropriate tire for the car. I do believe they are pretty overkill on my 3RX as the suspension cannot keep up with them. Could hardly get them to squeal on my Highlander however (without wanting to do anything absolutely crazy of course).
The widest someone went without spacers was 255/55 on the stock 7” wide 18” rims. I think that’s too wide for that narrow of a rim so I imagine you will experience some sidewall flex. 255/50R18 will keep the diameter near stock - but how common is a 50 profile tire? Not very unfortunately!
I tried my 19x7.5” F-Sport rims and they actually fit, although the rear had very little clearance near the strut spring perch. 235/55R19 and the diameter was a little higher so my speedo read slower. Had some Michelin Pilot Sport A/S +3s on there and you could bet that thing handled. No sidewall flex anymore and finally an appropriate tire for the car. I do believe they are pretty overkill on my 3RX as the suspension cannot keep up with them. Could hardly get them to squeal on my Highlander however (without wanting to do anything absolutely crazy of course).
The 255's will fit a 7'' thru a 9.5'' width & the 235's fit up to a 8.5'' width....The main key on wheel fitment is offset.....Start w/ a 15-20 mm offset vs a 30-35mm oem offset....Then if you wanted to run a 265-50, w/ no issues....Your 235-55x19's are a tad bit bigger diameter then a 255-55x18 thou...
The 255's will fit a 7'' thru a 9.5'' width & the 235's fit up to a 8.5'' width....The main key on wheel fitment is offset.....Start w/ a 15-20 mm offset vs a 30-35mm oem offset....Then if you wanted to run a 265-50, w/ no issues....Your 235-55x19's are a tad bit bigger diameter then a 255-55x18 thou...
Wow ya'll really know about tire fitment on our cars so I will definately coming for advice when the time comes.
I am tempted to try a little wider tire but might leave sway bars alone for now.
Very good point about the offset. I wish Toyota had some more choices for some lower offsets around the 25mm mark. I’m looking at some 18” 2016+ RX base model rims once my 17” tires wear out. 30mm offset instead of the stock 35mm and a 8” wide tire is plenty wide. Love the way they look too.
As for sway bars, I noticed a lot less body roll with my thicker bars versus wider and lower profile tires. Tires were able to take advantage of the more planted cornering stance the car had with my bigger sway bars. With the skinny OEM size tires, the car still handled a lot better but you could feel that it was wanting more from the tires. I think the bars are the best bang for buck on our cars without sacrificing hardly any ride quality.
Your stuck w/ a 30mm offset, as well as there are a lot better wheel choices in the aftermarket.......And at what their charge for oem recon wheels & used ones, your best off getting the right offset to begin w/ as well as better looking choice of wheels........Like I mentioned earlier, your wanting a 15-20mm offset w/ a 8.5''-9' width, I went w/ TSW's accent wheels......A 235 tire will go up to a 8.5'' width wheel. A 20mm offset will get the rear flush with the body & the front sticks out maybe a couple mm's thanx to the wider track width......similar to the gmt400, 800 & 900's, but no near as like the GMT's....as they're 2''+ wider track width up front.....Now lets get rolling on a $8k Carli suspension on a Tremor.........& since your there, pulling the tank, to remove the left spring, great time to add a 60 gal S&B fuel tank...
I suppose I’m a sucker for the OEM look. Usually I wait a bit on someone who is desperate and I snag up some good condition used OE wheels for cheap. The 20mm offset with 8.5” rims you mentioned definitely is the more desirable choice. Gives our cars a bit more “pop” when it comes to the wheels and fills out those fenders without the need for spacers. I’ll save my OEM “balloon setup” 225 on 6.5” for winter tires.
I suppose I’m a sucker for the OEM look. Usually I wait a bit on someone who is desperate and I snag up some good condition used OE wheels for cheap. The 20mm offset with 8.5” rims you mentioned definitely is the more desirable choice. Gives our cars a bit more “pop” when it comes to the wheels and fills out those fenders without the need for spacers. I’ll save my OEM “balloon setup” 225 on 6.5” for winter tires.
.btw you can get 8.5x18'' w/ a 20mm offset, Vision 142 Legend 5 wheels fairly cheap at Discount as well as TSW wheels for a little more. Both those wheels beat the oem wheels.....
I have a gen 3 RX and a gen 1 Highlander - which shares the platform and most parts with a gen 2 RX.
I am contemplating doing the gen 3 upgrade on my Highlander, have you been able to fit bigger rear brakes as well? Going to do it for sure when I toss my 16s as they won’t clear the brakes.
01-02-21, 01:14 AM
3RX Front Sway Bar (Affordable Upgrade)
