What you need:
Two Tension Rods $250-$350
Two 1993 MR2 Front Tension Rod Brackets $40 Each
Two Tension Rod to Bracket Bolts $8 each
Red Loc-tite

Installing a tension rod set-up on your SW20 MR2 is pretty simple. First you will decide if you have adjustable front caster or non-adjustable front caster. 91-92 models came with adjustable caster, 93+ did not. Therefore, if you have a 93+ car you will not need to buy the required front brackets as your car will already have the correct front brackets. All aftermarket tension rods are designed to work with the non-adjustable caster cars.

Assuming you have a 91-92 car you will need to not only get the correct front brackets but also the correct bolts to attach the tension rods to the brackets. These are the stock Toyota bolts that come on the 93+ cars.

1. Jack the car up and put it on jack stands and then remove the wheel.

2. To remove the old tension/strut rods I first removed the front under tray and then loosened all attachment bolts. Per side there are two on the control arm, four for the front bracket (93+ cars will not need to do this), and I chose to loosen the control arm to frame bolt. I did this to drop the control arm at the frame rather than at the ball joint or hub. You do not have to detach the tension rod from the front bracket. It can come out all as one piece.

3. Next, completely remove the control arm to frame bolt and drop the control arm.

4. Remove the two tension/strut rod to control arm bolts.

5. Now, support the front bracket by placing a jack under it. Raise the jack until it is in contact with the bracket just under the big bushings. You will be holding it in place with the jack because this unit is very heavy. If you have a 93+ car with non-adjustable caster you will not need to do this. All you have to do is remove the single tension/strut rod to bracket bolt and you are finished.

6. Remove the four bracket to frame bolts. If you have a 93+ car with non-adjustable caster you will not need to do this.

7. The stock strut rod and brackets are ready to be removed. Hold onto it and then slowly drop the jack. Everything should come apart nicely.

Installation

1. First, make sure you have the new pillow tension rods adjusted so that equal amounts of thread are showing on both ends. This is very important. If you don’t, you will end up not being able to get full adjustment once the rod is installed. As you can see in the pics below, I discovered this the hard way.

2. Next, if you have a 91-92 car you need to install your 93+ non-adjustable caster brackets. Use red Loc-tite on the bolt threads and install. Torque to spec.

3. Now, attach the tension rod to the control arm via the two previously removed bolts. Again, use red Loc-tite. Torque to spec.

4. Place the manufacturer supplied spacers in the tension rods spherical end and swing it up into the front bracket. You may need to tap it into place with a mallet or hammer.

5. Install the tension rod to front bracket bolt with red Loc-tite. Torque to spec.

6. Then, you will need to get the control arm back into its position. To get it to fully sit in the frame you may need to use a jack with a piece of wood between the jack head and control arm. I used a mallet. Once the control arm is in place use some red Loc-tite on the control arm to frame bolt and tighten it down to Toyota’s torque spec. This bolt is extremely important as it uses a captive nut. DO NOT cross thread it or force it tight. You run the risk of damaging the captive nut.

7. Replace the front under body tray.

You now have one side done. Follow these steps for the next side. Make sure to go get an alignment afterwards.

The Biot Tension Rods I used are of the highest quality. I had no fitment issues at all. Once on the car the improvement in steering response was immediately evident. This is due not only to removing the large bushings and replacing them with spherical rods but also due to the increased caster you can gain. You will gain at least one full degree of positive caster. Also improved was front end stability under braking. There is only a small increase in ride harshness and vibration. However , I do not recommend any spherical rod ends or pillow ball mounts for street cars as they can put extra strain on your mounting points. Potholes only add to this strain which can eventually lead to cracked mounting points.

With a good alignment tension rods will make a dramatic improvement in front end control.

-John Pruner

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