Standard 120 Sway bars /Roll

[Crusa Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Crusa]

Hi guys , just wondering if anyone has encountered the roll you get from the standard 120 and wether replacing the sway bar mounts with nolathane will eleviate the roll?

I just get the feeling I can't power through a round a bout, because the roll is too much.

[D4D Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4D]

If you want to 'power through roundabouts' buy a WRX

[Crusa Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Crusa]

Oh don't be stupid, what sort of answer is that? Did you come up with that all by yourself? How Clever you must feel!

I'm not asking for a car that rides on rails , but I am asking for a vehicle that can at least go through a round about at more than 15 km/h...

Answers like that D4D is an absolute wonder you have lasted this long on on this Forum... Now if you would like to give me a constructive answer rather than a teenage/childish answer , I am more than willing to listen.

[pete8205 Member Find all posts View Profile Close pete8205]

if you want to improve handling you would be better looking at the suspension I haven't tried this with the prado but with previous cars I made similar changes for no real effect.
the prados are a soft ride for comfort you can still pedal them just takes some getting use to the boat like handling.

Lay of d4d a bit if you you haven't noticed alot of threads have some banter and its all in good fun.

[Steve M Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve M]

I have the 120 petrol with standard suspension. I havn't fitted OME yet but this is what i will be fitting and if it will be anything like the two 90's I had with OME it should handle pretty well. Its definately more then capable of doing more then 15k through a roundabout, depending on the roundabout of course, some you virtually drive over the top of some are set up so that its quit a sharp turn either way. Mybe your suspension is a bit sloppy due to age and/or klms ?? Mines now done 110k. As I mentioned I fitted OME to both my 90's and the difference would leave the factory suspension for dead in handling and load carrying with out driving like a go kart, I have a favourite speed hump I go over every day just up from my house and while the 120 isnt as bouncy as my 90's were its still soft and wallows a bit when i go over it but I can bet with the OME it will be a good as the 90s were. The 90's were both softer then the 120 with the factory set up. Personally I hate nolathane. Yes they dont give as much as rubber but its the reverse for off roading and wont flex as mush either. Ask any well know suspension mob and they will tell you to stick to rubber on a 4wd. Best bet if $$$ can allow go an aftermarket suspension struts springs and shocks and you will notice a big difference, and if possible maybe drive a 120 thats been changed over to aftermarket. Alot of people like the king springs and the Bilstein, Im going OME as I like the ride and the available warranty anywhere in Aus although I havn't had the need in my two previous 90's ??........Cheers Steve Have no idea why the last two lines have gone darker ??

[Crusa Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Crusa]

I have the 120 petrol with standard suspension. I havn't fitted OME yet but this is what i will be fitting and if it will be anything like the two 90's I had with OME it should handle pretty well. Its definately more then capable of doing more then 15k through a roundabout, depending on the roundabout of course, some you virtually drive over the top of some are set up so that its quit a sharp turn either way. Mybe your suspension is a bit sloppy due to age and/or klms ?? Mines now done 110k. As I mentioned I fitted OME to both my 90's and the difference would leave the factory suspension for dead in handling and load carrying with out driving like a go kart, I have a favourite speed hump I go over every day just up from my house and while the 120 isnt as bouncy as my 90's were its still soft and wallows a bit when i go over it but I can bet with the OME it will be a good as the 90s were. The 90's were both softer then the 120 with the factory set up. Personally I hate nolathane. Yes they dont give as much as rubber but its the reverse for off roading and wont flex as mush either. Ask any well know suspension mob and they will tell you to stick to rubber on a 4wd. Best bet if $$$ can allow go an aftermarket suspension struts springs and shocks and you will notice a big difference, and if possible maybe drive a 120 thats been changed over to aftermarket. Alot of people like the king springs and the Bilstein, Im going OME as I like the ride and the available warranty anywhere in Aus although I havn't had the need in my two previous 90's ??........Cheers Steve Have no idea why the last two lines have gone darker ??

Thanks for the reply Steve, might be worth me taking her in for a check up , or even an upgrade... Totally appreciate your comments on the rubber rather than nolathane for 4x4 vehicles. Haven't tried OME before, might go down this track I think

[D4D Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4D]

Oh don't be stupid, what sort of answer is that? Did you come up with that all by yourself? How Clever you must feel!

I'm not asking for a car that rides on rails , but I am asking for a vehicle that can at least go through a round about at more than 15 km/h...

Answers like that D4D is an absolute wonder you have lasted this long on on this Forum... Now if you would like to give me a constructive answer rather than a teenage/childish answer , I am more than willing to listen.

Toughen up Princess

You gave us no detail on age of vehicle, existing suspension mods etc. so I gave an appropriate answer.

Stick with OE rubber bushes and fit an aftermarket suspension. Same answer that has been given 4000 times before if you had bothered to read the existing suspension threads.

[Matty80 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Matty80]

Answers like that D4D is an absolute wonder you have lasted this long on on this Forum... Now if you would like to give me a constructive answer rather than a teenage/childish answer , I am more than willing to listen.

Answers like that are what makes PP the light-hearted yet informative forum that it is...

[PLAYDOH Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close PLAYDOH]

just wondering if anyone has encountered the roll you get from the standard 120

I didn't think it was that bad, but I personally don't need to power through a roundabout, I've got big chunky mud tyres and lift so I drive straight through them..

wether replacing the sway bar mounts with nolathane will eleviate the roll?

Nolathane is shit and will not "alleviate" help improve your situation.

I just get the feeling I can't power through a round a bout, because the roll is too much.

So you get the feeling have you tried it yet???

Look up a company called Whiteline Suspension, they do thicker sway bars and suspension gear, upgrading your sway bars would give you a better handling in corners. If you search Prado Whiteline swaybars on ebay you will also find them, they generally recommend doing the front sway bars first.

You probably aren't chasing lift to improve your 4WD's offroad capability as you are talking about roundabout racing, but possibly a coil with a higher coil rate than standard Prado suspension might also help, but you might find you have lifted the Prado to much as well, which might not go to well with a set of 22" chrome rims..

[Madkore Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Madkore]

Geez Crusa - for a lurker you certainly have some attitude.

If you want to have a pop at someone for uninformative and generally useless posts - than look no further than moi.

On another note, stiffer springs certainly helped me. And whilst I know he has a 150, Matt - Mr 4x4 fitted aftermarkets sway bars to his bus for less body roll. I think he used Superior Engineering. Otherwise, I wonder if WholesaleSuspension can help you out.

[Ghostriderhusky Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ghostriderhusky]

Totally agree with d4d ,go buy a sports car if u want handling.... But I don't see what ur problem is lol, I can keep up with my mates in there little pulsars and mazda 3's through tight corners and roundabouts when we are hooning around (even though it feels a bit sketchier than a little sporty car) , I don't even have my rear sway bar on its been taken off. I have 2" lift from old man emu so what I said above is pretty much a testament to how good OME is...

[williade Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close williade]

As Madcore has suggested, WholesaleSuspension might be able to supply stiffer sway bars for 120s

http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...l=1#post365893

If your Prado spends most of its time powering through roundabouts in the urban forest and not so much in the real forest, I'd stick to standard height springs with a higher spring rate and maybe some OME sports shocks, if you can get them in standard height that is.

Maybe consider some lower profile tyres on 19 or 20" rims. Some people might think I'm taking the piss with that last suggestion as it wont really have any bearing on body roll but the standard high profile tyres aren't really suited to powering through corners. If you aren't planing on using your Prado off the black top it might be a worthwhile investment.

[8608 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close 8608]

not that my opinion means much, but i will contribute my thoughts.

i have had several set ups in my 120 since getting it new in 2008. it went from standard to OME, to modified OME to dobinsons.

the front sway bar is one of the largest found among 4x4 wagons at 29mm. this is pretty big, and probably the smallest minimum for a 120. the rear is only about 19mm, which i don't run anymore. if i go touring, i put the rear sway bar on, which is actually a thicker whiteline item being a massive 24mm and two point adjustable. i run the softer of the two holes as well as genuine toyota rubber bushes. the rear bush for the 24mm is off another cruiser variant. makes it easy when you know what's going on.

if you want to firm things up, use superpro polyurethane bushes in the control arms and sway bar bushes. you will get better feel and handling as a result, but to the detriment of off road ability.

aftermarket suspension is usually firmer in spring rate and firmer in shock valving. you can source these bits at a standard height if you don't want to raise your prado. i'm assuming you won't be doing too much off road, as any of this will reduce wheel travel dramatically off road.


As for powering on and through round a bouts and corners.... i dare you to push it and come back to us with what you find. i'm not telling you to do something stupid, but you are talking about "excessive" body roll when trying to power through a round a bout. i'm also assuming you are a half decent driver and understand your vehicle very well. any sudden movement or jerk of the the steering wheel WILL result in a roll over. this is more live swerving to avoid an animal rather than powering through.

now with powering through either larger round abouts, or medium sweeping bends, i bet you, that you will loose traction at the inside front tyre before anything else happens. and as soon as you loose traction at the inside front tyre, you loose speed. this is all to do with the open diff'ed constant 4wd system. hopping is also very common if you are not pushing hard enough to get the inside front 'light' or off the road altogether.

with my set up now, it is very soft, at a point where it is much softer than standard. this allows me to get the back to squat and the front to lift under power. i am unable to power through or out of many corners now, as the front always lifts and the inside front looses traction and spins. this is NOT due to a lack of droop in the front end.

as an experiment with my worn 265 tyres, i did a few sweepers and a round a bouts looking for the point just before both inside tyres lift. anything with smooth steering wheel control got a thick black line on the road from the front inside tyre. the only way to lift the inside rear tyre was to carry too much speed INTO the corner, which required quicker and sharper steering. at one stage my mate said the front was about 2 foot in the air. i did about sh!t slightly as well.

so, my guess would be someone not 100% used to driving a 120 which to them would feel it has too much body roll. either that or someones running off road tyre pressures onroad. though we still do not know how many KM's the vehicle in question has done, or what condition it is in, so it makes it a bit hard to diagnose. it is also nearly impossible to compare to other 120's as there are so many out there with their own little set up. accessories and weight also play a massive part in how a vehicle handles.

like i said, i'm not having a dig at anyone, i'm just sharing what i have experienced. i'm not a pro or anything, i've just been fortunate enough to be able to try out different set ups.

[kevdebbi Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kevdebbi]

Heavy duty Sway Bar Upgrade

Just thought I would share my experience with larger sway bars. About six months ago I fitted heavy duty sway bars, Whiteline 24mm rear and Superpro 30mm front, both are adjustable. eBay special only $180 each, bargain. I have them both set on this firmest setting and I have found the handling improvement to be fantastic. Im not talking about driving it like a WRX!!! But I figured that after all my mods, 2" lift, steel bull bar, winch, dual battery, steel rear bar and drawer system the car is a lot heavier than standard and I wanted to return it back similar to standard and improve the safety.

In reality the majority of my driving of on road, the improvement here have been great, the car had much less body roll and feels more stable and predictable. Not that I thought it was a real problem before, its just a lot better now. I was worried about the loss in articulation off road, so far I haven't really noticed any real difference. Its certainly hasn't had as much negative effect as I thought it might have had. Being adjustable I can change the setting to the softest which is close to standard. To adjust just move the sway bar link between the three different holes.


Front bar

Rear bar