Since I have upgraded my rear suspension, and updated my website, new pictures were in order.

 

pics no worky superjoe

 

My Junk in the Driveway.

 

#2 Pic

 

 

Here is a rear one from the 4RocNC meet this weekend. I'll be posting more pics when I get them. I didn't have someone with me to take pics so i'm waiting on the cd to arrive from the other members. Oh, I also still have both of my sway bars in...

 

holy 4ROC decals.

 

what he said!

 

yeah really ^^ hahahahahaha that thing is HUGE!

 

yeah... I was the one that had them made for the NC crew and knew the guy who made them and he hooked me up with it. I'm kind-of the head of the nc crew and really just can't wait to see it get as big as the FJ clubs... this is the best advortising we have right now... I know its kind-of tackey but its growing on me. I don't mind it at all now and i'm down for anything that premotes the club! Plus... i'm 6ft 8in, i'm used to things being huge muahahaha... yeah... anyway... I was also expecting to see 2 second gens both having just completed SASes and so I had to have SOMETHING that was bigger than theirs right!?


One more flex shot... he said he wanted to see tires in the air.. so heres mine.

 

Man, I'd highly recommend that if you wheel a lot, remove the rear swaybar completely, and get discos for the front, and you'll a lot more articulation than you are now.

Chris

 

I disagree about the rear swaybar. I've ramped mine many times and proven that I have exactly the same amount of rear wheel travel (15") with the rear swaybar both connected and disconnected. I have OME springs and shocks in the rear, which are longer than stock, but are still the travel limit right now. I always keep the rear swaybar connected to provide some sway control and to help lift a drooped wheel out of a hole. There's no reason to disconnect it until you get more wheel travel than 15".

Of course the front is opposite -- there's no good reason to leave it connected when off-road. Like you said, you should immediately disconnect the front swaybar as soon as you leave pavement.

 

You don't want to lift a drooped wheel out of a hole. You want the tire to droop into the whole to get traction. Anytime a tire is off the ground, that's NOT a good thing.

How can you make a statement that leaving your swaybar on helps you lift a tire out of a hole, but at the same time say that it doesn't affect articulation.

In your case, the swaybar may not be the limiting factor to your wheel travel - I can buy that. But I can't see how it would help you lift a tire out of a hole (assuming for some reason that you actually wanted to) if it wasn't limiting your wheel travel.

It's been a lot of years since I've run any kind of sway bar on or off the road so I may be off here, so I'd like to hear the other side of the argument.

 

Hm... thats interesting about the rear sway bar... truth be told. I dont' wheel enough to take them off compeltely... there is NOTHING down here in savannah area other than mud sling'n... I go as much as I can, but not enough. I know I should un-do them but I guess I'm just lazy? I don't know. I also just haven't researched the disconnects enough. I guess that will be added to my mod list this summer. How much do those things run anyway?

 

You are correct about it not limiting the travel. But, you will bend it eventually! And, it does provide more resistance, causing the front to work to compensate more for the stiffer rear end, which will also cause a tire to lift off sooner than my setup with no swaybar.

So, does it limit travel? Nope! But, if you want a more pliant, and flexible suspension, go without it! I've wheeled a lot both ways, and I'm a no swaybar guy!

Chris

 

So now that we have somewhat polished the pluses of taking them off... what are the down sides..? Do i remember something about tire blowouts or something?

 

Leaving my rear swaybar connected ISN'T affecting the max extent of my articulation. The rear springs are still relatively soft. But leaving the swaybar on tries to move the tires in the opposite direction of the articulation. So the weight of the axle and the drooped wheel is enough to get it to drop all the way to the limit stops and still provide some traction on the ground. The swaybar is trying to lift that drooped wheel to match the compressed wheel across from it. So it helps the wheel get out of a hole since the swaybar helps to lift it out of there. BTW, I'm talking rocks, not mud.

Upndair, you need to go to an extreme rock crawling competition and specifically look for how many buggies with long travel suspensions are also using swaybars. There have also been at least a few articles in various popular 4 wheeling magazines the last few years about pros and cons of swaybars. Or do a search at Pirate about it.

In the case of a 3rd gen 4Runner, the advantages of keeping the rear swaybar connected far outweigh any disadvantages of disconnecting it. It's a small diameter bar and will flex really well anyway. Besides most of us have a rear locker anyway. We still get the same amount of wheel travel with it connected, but we minimize sway and thus lessen the chance of a rollover.

Oh - and sure I might bend the swaybar. But of the hundreds of times that I've maxed out the articulation, it's still doing its job well. If it ever fatigues and breaks, I'll buy a used one at a junkyard and fatigue that one for a few years until it breaks as well. No biggie if it breaks.

 

well this isn't really flex, but it felt close to a FORWARD rollover

 

i don't know i see some pretty nice flex goin on there. and some pucker factor too.

 

haha, cool pic. Looks like you had some fun! I had an almost roll over experience last trip too. Man... what a rush. Nothing like that to get your heart pumping...