Beefing up the Suspension , anyone ?

[harrybet]

Have '01 Sienna XLE w/ 92K....w/ Firestone AirCoil Airbladders in rear & KYB all around ...riding GY TT's
Would like to beef up the suspension further....

Have searched out rear swaybar options to no avail....considering upgrade bushings up front...

Objective is to further diminsh body roll on vacation trips to Mt. roads @ normal speeds ..and harden the suspension against wear and tear of country back roads .

Suggestions welcomed .

[brian_bp]

I would be cautious about adding roll stiffness at the rear, unless it is balanced by an addition at the front. Undesired oversteer may be exciting, but is still not a good thing!

The air bags add stiffness when inflated, and thus add roll stiffness as well. I find they improve handling when there is enough cargo for inflating them to make sense. I don't know if I would want much more, personally.

I believe that if will be difficult to find a rear swaybar, because performance parts are not common for minivans, and the Sienna does not share a rear suspension with any other model as far as I know. Even if some Japanese domestic market model has the same suspension design and an available swaybar, the Sienna probably has a wider track (even in the first generation) and thus won't fit the same parts. It's also a little late in the life of the first-generation model for anyone to be introducing new performance parts.

For durability, I would also be cautious about excessive stiffness, since it means higher shock forces. If the suspension is not bottoming, I don't think it needs to be stiffer to reduce wear and tear.

Sorry that probably doesn't help much; it will be interesting to see if anyone has any more useful ideas.