Stiffer Camry suspension?

[Roly Nelson]

Is it possible to add an after-market helper-spring system to the rear of my torsion bar rear axle of my 02 Camry? It looks like the car can handle the 1200 lb weight of the vintage trailer, since it is rated for towing 2000 lbs. However, the tongue weight is too much for the soft suspension in the rear. Any ideas or info would be helpful.

Roly

[Dale M.]

I would check to see if you can get "air shocks" to add a bit of stiffness when you want to tow and then drop pressure down for softer ride when not towing. Any overload spring that are permanently installed are probably going to make ride stiffer maybe to point of not comfortable when you are not towing.

Dale

[mikeschn]

That was my thought too (air shocks). There are other options like self leveling shocks, but they are outrageously expensive!

Mike...

[sdtripper2]

Roly:

Danny (halfdome, Danny) Started this thread "Air Springs" a while back and
came to a solution that he is very happy with. I suggest you read this thread
and maybe Danny will chime in here and give you his advice.

He got "Super Springs" and shows pictures on this thread.
http://tinyurl.com/zbtkh

[asianflava]

Steve, I believe that the Camry has coil springs all round. The helper spring that Danny used is for leaf spring suspensions. Roly is in the same predicament as I since the Highlander is based on the Camry chassis. I haven't looked in a while but I think it is a coilover suspension, the coil is wrapped around the shock. However, Roly said that it is a torsion beam axle whereas the Highlander has an IRS so they could be totally different.

There are airbag kits that replace the whole spring/strut package but none (I've found) are direct replacements. You will have to check all of them to find out which one fits or which one requires the least modification. Same goes for the air shocks, you will need to find which one fits since none are listed as direct replacements.

So if someone can find one out there, I'd be forever grateful.

[sdtripper2]

Rocky:

Of course your right about the Camry and its suspension as compaired to
Danny's tow rig.

I have nosed around and found these links that might be of help to stiffen
the Camry suspension.

AutoDynamic.com Coil Over System
http://tinyurl.com/mz6a7 http://tinyurl.com/luqyh

H&R Coil Over
http://tinyurl.com/r9mgl http://tinyurl.com/qh4wg

Toyota Coil Overs
http://tinyurl.com/pjrg8

A forum talk on Camry older models:
Struts for my 95 Camry
http://tinyurl.com/mfb96

[Dale M.]

I would think something like this would be more applicable if you have open coil springs in rear.

http://www.airliftcompany.com/new-index/Frameset.htm
http://www.airliftcompany.com/al1000.htm

Dale

[asianflava]

Steve most of those springs are lowering springs, though the coiloverkit with the threaded collar may work. Kinda funny (funny strange not funny ha ha) I had a set of threaded collars on my Civic but I ditched them because the springs were junk. I swapped them out with H&R springs but now they are too low. There is probably 1/2in from the ground to the bottom of the mudflap.

Dale, I've seen those airbags on a few different sites but they won't work because they are installed inside the coil spring. The piston shaft of the shock presently resides there.

I did some more digging. I found a pic of the Camry rear suspension. It is similar to mine but the links are at different angles due to space. It didn't say if it was a specifically a 92 model, it just said 1983-1996


I also found an air bag kit for the Camry. Once again it is for lowering but you usually can pump them up to get to at least normal ride height. This kit is expensive, just shy of $2K but it does FBSS (Front-Back Side to Side) you can look like those lowriders at the stop light! I wonder if they sell just the rear "Airstrut" without the compressor, front kit, etc. You could do like the air shocks and remote mount a schrader valve for when you need to pump them up. I'll send them an e-mail to see what they say.

[Bill_Storey]

I know nothing about Toyota's, and very little about any other brand, but is it possible if you contact a dealer, they might know of a solution? I would go in person to the parts counter, ask to speak to the parts manager, and tell him what I was trying to do. He might not have parts to do what you want, but he might be able to point you toward a solution.

[M B Hamilton]

There's always somebody to say, "Hey, wait a minute". Guess this time will be my turn.

I'm not saying no, but be careful about air shocks, weight and leveling out a vehicle. Pumping up the shocks (using the higher rated pressures for the shocks) has ripped the shock mounts out of some vehicles. You'd be adding air pressure enough to level out your vehicle and I have no way to know in advance how much air pressure you'll need. It might not be an issue in your case. If you check some Camry user sites (the one's where the "Fast and Furious" crowd hang out) you'll likely come up with some good school of hard knocks information on what your suspension can take.

Maybe you can shift the load around and lighten up the tongue load. Getting the tongue lighter certainly reduces the condition your suspension modifications has to handle. A couple of Aquatainers full of water and a small, portable generator stuck in the tail may make a big difference in tongue weight.

Like I said, I'm not saying no. But a bit of caution could be in order. Just saying.

[Gerdo]

They do make a small weight distributing hitch. http://www.valleyindustries.com/ImageVi ... er=p42.jpg I have a brand new one, never used only mounted and unmounted the ball once. I would like to sell it. I bought it becuse I thought I was buying a larger trailer but I didn't. It is the 5000# max. this would lift the rear and also distribute the weight to all four wheels. This is great because you don't loose stearing control.

PM me if you are interested.

[jaybee]

...delurk ... uncloak ...A few years ago, we replaced a Sonata with the newer v-6 Sonata. When we attached our Surfside to it, it became obvious that the Sonata rear suspension had been softened. A weight distributing hitch leveled everything out, improved gas mileage and allowed us to get to Florida and back in comfort and style. The biggest advantage is that you retain the original ride and handling as soon as you remove the trailer and hitch assembly...recloak ...relurk

[Gerdo]

Roly,
I think that the Highlander is built on the Camry platform. I don't know how much they changed the rear suspension to carry the Highlanders weight/towing cap. It's something to look into.

[Gerdo]

Here is a great shop http://www.trdparts4u.com/ that sells OEM and aftermarket. If it is out there they would know. They are the kind of people that want to help you. They would cross reference the Highlander vs the Camry to see if there are parts to help you. They sold me Tundra springs for my 4Runner, stronger and a little lift.

Good Luck.

[brian_bp]

Roly,
I think that the Highlander is built on the Camry platform. I don't know how much they changed the rear suspension to carry the Highlanders weight/towing cap. It's something to look into.

The Camry, Highlander, Sienna, and (Lexus) RX all share many components, but are not exactly the same platform. The biggest mechanical difference is the rear suspension - the Highlander, Camry, and Sienna are all completely different from each other, although all are independent (assuming the 02 Camry is the same as the Camry in the photo).

I use air bags (Firestone Coil-Rite, like the AirLift add-in bags) in my Sienna for towing, but as has been said here already, they won't work when the shock is inside the coil.

The Camry has McPherson strut design, and the struts with air bags look like the only way to go for adjustable suspension, to me. I would not worry about overloading shock mounts, since in a conventional McPherson design like this all of the spring and shock load goes into the top strut mount anyway - the air springs wouldn't change that.

Regardless of the spring changes, the rear axle load must remain within the Gross Axle Weight Rating (rear) to be safe and reliable. Air springs provide adjustability and the option of greater stiffness, but do not increase ultimate capacity.