Good day TY users!

Ive been doing some extensive research sway bars, their functionality, and their advantages and disadvantages when connected or disconnected.

I have a 2ndgen 4Runner with front IFS, and so far Ive found out that removing the front sway bar greatly improves off-road "flex" and doesnt really affects THAT MUCH on-roas. Some users even said that theyve driven with a broken sway bar for months before finding out what it was, and didnt even noticed a difference. That, for me, is great, cause a SAS is not in future short-term plans.

Now, my question to the forum is about the rear away bar. Ive read that removing it cases GREAT handling problems on-road, but I havent been able to find a review of anyone wheeling without the rear sway bar, and see if its worth it. I will be installing disconnects from 4Crawler, not removing it, so I would have it connected during on-road use, but if its really not worth disconnecting it, then I can save a couple of bucks! Any comments?

Thanks in advance.

 

I don't run one on my 4runner.... it defiantly takes some getting use to in the on road manners. But mine isn't stock height either.

 

Oh, and I plan to add Land Cruiser coils plus Ball Joint Spacers with some t-bar crank to get aroud a 3" lift before installing the disconnects.

 

when mine was stockish, i took the rear off.. it did help alot with flex but did make it a little more tipsy...

 

Oh, and if a Mod could fix my typo in the thread title, it will be greatly appreciated....!!

Did you happend to use it with your front sway bar on or off?

 

i had no sway bars front or rear...

 

Excatly the type of input i was looking for. Did you happen to wheel with your rear sway bar on AND off?

And thanks to the Mod for the fix!

 

....no more feedback? Anyone else?

 

i would think at least on mine when i had lift coils it threw out the geometry of the rear 4 link or should i say 5 link and caused a crap load of body roll with it removed and didnt really get that much more wheel travel. you could always convert to leaves and ditch the sway bar all together.

 

Well, the disconnects I plan to buy come with extensions to return the sway bar to stock position after the lift. Swapping to leaves its too much. Maybe some time in winter vacations...

 

So you're ONLY running a rear sway bar? That's much worse. In a corner, the front suspension will bite more than the rear. Which means, you're going sideways. Which could mean you're going upside-down.



Most trucks, and many cars don't come with a rear sway bar. If you're willing to remove the front, pull the rear too.

 

This guy is dead wrong.

In theory, the only thing that the front sway bar does is limit flex. Generally speaking, if you were to pull the front sway bar, it would allow both arms to flex more as individuals, allows for a much smoother ride, but in the end causing a little more body roll.

I daily drive, and weekend wheel my 2nd gen 4Runner, and I have my front sway bar pulled, but the rear is on. I personally have never had an issue with leaving the rear on. and It'll be staying there. I wouldn't take it off... the rear links are pretty short, and especially if you put a larger coil in there. it'll just be a tip over waiting to happen.

All in all, leave the rear, remove the front and roll with it.

 

But...umm.... A lot of users here have stated the total opposite: the front sway bar hardly affects handling and greatly helps when wheeling. Like I said, one user drove with a broken sway bar and didn even noticed a difference for 6 month (when he found it it was broken).

 

Also, the comments I read are specific to my 4Runner generation. It would probably be different in other models, I believe.

 

My last 2 post are directed to numbchux. Just saying.


Also, to Mak92, the quick disconnects I'll install will have extensions so, when installed, it will return the sway bar to stock position, even with lift. But, if the rear sway bar hardly limits rear flex, then I could save a couple of bucks!

 

I am not


My comments are not about any specific vehicle, but how suspension systems work in general.

Increasing the rigidity of your sway bars together helps reduce body roll, and therefore increases responsiveness. But, as the body of the vehicle leans to the outside, the force of the sway bar actually reduces downward force on the inside tire (pushes up against the spring).

Changing the ratio between your front and rear bars (be it stiffening one, softening one, etc.), effects the vehicles tendency to understeer or oversteer.

An EA-series non-turbo (no rear bar) subaru tends to understeer, unless you get the weight swinging, in which case you get gobs of snap-oversteer. Adding a rear sway bar plants the car much better, makes it more responsive, reduces understeer, AND makes the oversteer more controllable.

My Celica used to understeer like a POS FWD eco-box (wait.... ). I disconnected the front bar, and not the rear, and it now likes to step out sideways with just a bit of mid-corner liftoff, or left-foot braking.


Now, with Toyota IFS front suspension (I don't know much about 2nd gen 4runner coil setup), the roll center is actually fairly high, so despite the high center of gravity, the moment arm is actually fairly small, so there isn't a whole lot of force put on that sway bar. This is why removing the front bar isn't terribly noticeable in normal driving.


But, the un-deniable fact is. With the front sway bar removed/disabled, and rear installed as intended, in a corner, there will be an upward force against the inside rear spring, which means your relying mostly on the outside rear tire for traction, but the front has both biting solidly. Which means, your truck will oversteer much sooner than it was intended by Toyota.


Now, with most vehicles, I personally prefer oversteer. Hundreds of hours of ice racing and I'm confident that my reflexes are used to controlling a car in a slide and that it genuinely improves my ability to avoid a crash.

But, once you're sliding sideways, your roll-center makes no difference. You're just in a big vehicle with a high COG.


I have driven numerous vehicles without sway bars, and that doesn't worry me. But I would not drive an SUV (certainly not a lifted one) with only a rear bar. That is very much over the line, for me.