I've owned an 89 Camry for about 2 years til something went wrong with the engine and I ended up buying a tC and I'm loving it. One thing I noticed about the handling of the tC is that it's stiffer than the Camry and I want to know how I can soften the bumps when I go over speedbumps (which btw I used to go 25+ MPH in the Camry). Would changing the springs or shocks or strut bar do anything? I want to know what I can do to my tC to have a smoother ride. I'm not a car fanatic so I don't want to do too much but I just want a softer car ride.

P.S. BSP ROCKS ALL

 

I wouldnt know where to get softer suspension for the tC. Most everyone is going with lower/stiffer springs, not the other way around.

 

get tires with a larger sidewall - you will feel less bumps. You can either try to put larger ones on the stock 17's or get 16's or gasp... 15's. Might not look good... but if you make your intention clear that you want a more "luxury" suspension feel... get some larger sidewalls and definitely steer clear of runflats and ultra-reinforced low-profiles

But as for changing suspension components to get there... I wouldn't recommend it.

 

I can live with the current suspension of the tC but could someone explain what the following does to the car:

Front Strut Bar (what does this do?)

Rear Sway Bar (stiffer turns so the car isn't tilting as much, right?)

Springs (Yes it drops the car, but does it make car handle any different?)

 

springs lower the car, which lower the center of gravity and improves handling. sway bars and strut bars help when ur cornering/turning. it'll prevent the car from rolling. when u turn quickly ur body gets pulled towards the outer side of the turn. strut bars do the same thing basically as the sway bars do except the strut tower bar is on the top of the car and the sways are under the car. on the tc bigger sway bars do more than strut bars would do because the struts are connected and supported by the firewall so it's already pretty stiff. i had the trd rear sway, and that helped alot-but i just installed the hotchkis front and rear sway bars and it's sooooo much better. i don't even have my rear bar set on the the hardest/firmest setting, and i might not even ever do that. some people say that strut bars can be felt on the tc when u're going pretty fast-i haven't noticed that yet. maybe if u add the rear strut tower bar also with a front one it'll help more. weapon r is coming out with the rear strut bar hopefully kinda soon.

oh yeah-rolling is when ur turning, and the outer part of the car is pushed down to the ground and the inner part goes up. depending on how fast ur going the inside tires can come off the ground. if u're going fast enough, u can even flip the car.

 

The front sway bar has 2 positions and the rear has 3. Each position has a different "stiff" percent, which would be ideal for daily driving on the highway? I'm thinking of getting the TRD springs and Hotchkis sport sway bars but I want to know what "position" it should be set when I take it to a car shop.

 

btw, thanks for your time to explain that info to me as I'm sure there will be new tC owners who will want to add better suspension to their car but not know how to go about doing it.

 

New tires should give you a softer ride. Look for some that are softer, quieter... that's the easiest way.

 

have you thought about putting your car on bags? just a thought

 

with the hotchkis bars its kinda preference i guess. i have the front set on the hardest setting and the rear on the middle setting. the majority of my daily driving is usually spent on the highways as well. to change the settings isn't that difficult. the front i know i'm not going to change, and the rear if u just jack it up or use ramps u can change the settings urself. guess it depends on what u like. here are the setting numbers for the hotchkis bars:
% Stiffer Than Stock
Front Bar - 40% / 68%
Rear Bar - 273% / 304% / 338%

as u can see, the difference over stock is already significant with the middle setting in the back. i haven't really felt a need YET to change to the hardest setting, but at least i have the option if i want it. the hotchkis bars are much stiffer than the trd rear bar. u can without a doubt feel a difference. i have the trd springs also, with the hotchkis sways-i couldn't be happier.

 

When you put your car on bags, what does that mean? Looking at their percentages makes it seem that the car will be as stiff as a ...well... as something really stiff Anyways, I'll start modding my car and take pics as soon as I get my credit cards out of the way