DeeBee3

Has anyone upgraded their 14mm rear sway bar with the 16mm bar from the sport package? Curious if it's a noticeable upgrade or if I'll have to pony up the cash for that Ultra Racing version that's $370ish

MattRX

It’ll be worth it, I tried my Highlander’s rear sway bar (they were all 16mm) and it made a noticeable difference. You just need the bushings, the brackets still work. 16mm is still pretty smaller and understeery for our cars though, the 19mm bar is much more suited.

On my friend’s RAV4 I went from the stock rear 22mm bar to a 24mm one from a Lexus NX300, it also made a noticeable difference. 2mm is still significant, but when I went from the stock 16mm bar on the Highlander to a 22.2mm Addco, that was insane. It was a little TOO much until I had to switch to a larger front sway bar.

DeeBee3

Thanks for the reply, I've been enjoying the updates on what you've done with your 08 BTW. I don't suppose the 3rd gen rear bars line up on our 2nd gen? I can pick up the 16mm bar for about $100 and bushings are cheap so I may go that route first to see if it helps for minimal cost.
OT but have you felt the need to replace the rear bushings in the traction and/or lateral bars? I used a Whiteline kit ( ) to replace both ends of the traction bars on mine and it helped with some laggy shifting I was having. Like the rear diff was moving too much and causing the trans to flare when shifting.

MattRX

Glad you found it entertaining to read! Unfortunately the rear sway bar on my 3rd gen won’t even come close to fitting my 2nd gen. It’s 21mm but like my friend’s 2011 RAV4, it has a mutilink rear suspension with control-arm-mounted end links, so you need a MUCH larger bar to achieve the same mechanical advantage. The 22.2mm rear bar on my Highlander is exponentially more effective than the 24mm bar on my friend’s RAV4.

The 3rd gen front bar has been on my Highlander for two years and soon to be on my 08 RX (probably by tonight) It is 26mm vs 23mm and needs 07-09 ES350 (thicker) or 07-17 Camry end links to mount due to the wider stance it has. This was done to tone down the massive rear bar on the Highlander which would make it a little too tail happy.

My only experience with the rear arms was replacing the rear knuckles entirely and putting Moog replacement ones on the Highlander. I was hoping for more of a handling improvement, but what I mostly noticed was extra comfort and a smoother takeoff. I’m sure those nice Whiteline bushings would improve them a lot though.

I would like to add that the 2008-2013 Highlander / 2009-2015 Venza rear knuckles are a direct fit. These are a little beefier and have 19mm strut mount holes instead of 17mm, which allow for some extra rear camber adjustment. The front knuckles fit too but there is no real benefit from putting them on other than a better brake dust shield and bigger wheel bearing, but they are heavier.

MattRX

For future readers: I put on a 16mm 2004-2007 Highlander rear sway bar, same part as the one that comes on the 2004-2009 RX sport package. A small but noticeable improvement, it feels similar to a stock Highlander now lol (well a little better, it has Eibach lowering springs and a 26mm 3rd gen RX front sway bar). I would just get an aftermarket one, but this bar was 15 dollars from the junkyard so it'll be a good stop-gap until I get a custom rear sway bar on this car like on the Highlander (19mm ain't gonna cut it after running 22 on the Highlander). It'll also let me use the stock rear bar as a template when I make the new one plus the beefed up rear brackets. It's the best bang-for-buck option for cutting down some understeer and body roll for sure. 2000-2011 Ford Focus front sway bar end links in the rear measure the same as stock, but are way heavier-duty, have a 15mm welded nut for easier removal/installation and are half the weight as they are aluminum. They're also SUPER strong as they're designed for a front sway bar from another car. Same 237mm length as stock, can't go go wrong with these and they're much better than factory.












As for the rear knuckles, I went with the 2008-2013 Highlander / 2009-2015 Venza rear ones and now have a 3-dot front camber bolt in the rear which allows me to add as much as -1.5 camber in the rear. These would add more camber in the front (about -3 max), so camber changes in the rear are a little harder to achieve, but these are being used for more adjustability should I get coilovers, rather than trying to make my car look horrible and eat tires. Finishing this up I used some 2009-2015 Venza rear dust shields, 2006-2014 IS350 310x18mm vented rear rotors, and 2010-2012 RX450h Euro rear calipers (these are also aluminum) to allow for vented rear rotors. This is what the car should have came with from the factory!

MheityRX

I am about to install the Cusco 18mm rear sway bar. I paid $263. MattRX posted about it on my coilovers thread (Thanks MattRX!!) I will likely not have a nuanced review of how my car drives, but I can report back what I feel and how it changes.

Also, mine is fwd so I would expect it to behave at least a little different, especially in the back. I have a set of Ceika coilovers with 10 and 7 springs lowered about 5cm from stock. I will be installing new front bushings at the same or nearish time as rear bar install. Curious what I will feel. Not going for much here.

MattRx etc, what is a good lubricant for bushings? I don't want to attract a lot of dust. Are the oem rubber bushings supposed to ever be lubricated? I do have a subtle groan/squeaking right rear after the coilover install. Also, my Honda Fit suspension squeaks on traffic bumps etc. but is quiet and smooth after a good rain gets it wet. Would lubrication be advised in either situation? A reputable shop installed my coilovers and would very likely have noted any wear points. The alignment guy did not need to use any of the camber bolts we installed. Cheers

MattRX

Thanks for update and good to know no camber bolts were needed! I wait for these updates like a kid does for his candy and they never disappoint! Lol. I never had to grease my hardened rubber sway bar bushings, back when I had prothane poly sway bar bushings on my Highlander and on my RX's Nolathane polyurethane steering rack bushings, I use heavy duty, super sticky & tacky silicone grease! I don't go easy on it either, they get smothered! I wonder if the groan or squeaking could be anything in the knuckle area? I would see if some silicone spray can help isolate it. Trailing arm bushing seems to be an equal culprit on AWD and FWDs.

I wish I could speak for the FWDs but I would think that the Cusco part’s material would have something to do with its effectiveness, size aside. Depends on Ceika's spring rates too, the sway bar should be the final touch after everything is installed. When the RX's sway bar gets made, I want to make it adjustable for autocross days, etc.