Okay, this is a poll for those of you that have installed front swaybar disconnects for increased IFS travel in the front. I've seen Jalaber's data showing about 3" of increased travel. Have any of you noticed any improvment or downsides to the disconnects?

 

I haven't really noticed a big improvement since I got my disconnects. Maybe there was, maybe there wasn't. The only issue that I have is that it is a pain in the a$$ to get the pins back in!(I need to sharpen the ends of the pins so that they can self-guide themselves back in if the sleeve is not perfectly aligned.) I have the NWOR (I know, I haven't shopped there in a long time) ones. I have had to replace the pins which have the wire bail that locks them in on the drivers side because they got destroyed by being hit by the axle I think. Here is a pic:

 

I think it depends on generation. Third gens seem to benefit greater from discos than the 2nd gens since the 3rds have much greater travel to begin with. I'm not sure if I noticed any difference with mine. The only thing that is going to save me, I think, is a locker...

 

On a 20 degree ramp, I was able to gain 3" of distance up the ramp with mine disconnected.

 

I have the Rockstomper disco's on my '00. I haven't been able to tell how much they affect me, since I never did an RTI ramp before.

The only complaint on them is the same one everyone says about them...they are really clicky when driving. (you really have to ride with me, or have them on to know what I mean.)

 

I noticed a bit more travel than before. I built a set like lars sells. lars discos
they are great so far. no noise at all

 

it's all about how much you need them. For example, I took off my sway bar because I didn't need it. If you do a lot of street/highway driving, AND you don't like body roll, then disconnects would suit you. I drive all over the place, and I've never felt the need for my sway bar.

 

Dude...if you have the dough, just do it.

You will feel more benefit after your lift too...

Just my 2-cents...

Jim

 

I have an Addco sway bar on the front of my truck and a set of Nuke's Disconnects for it.

I am sure that there is increased travel, but never tested it. What I know for CERTAIN is that it makes a world of difference in the way the truck rides off road. It makes everything so much smoother and does not jolt may ass around in the truck like it did with the sway bar connected.

Gadget

www.GadgetOnline.com

 

I agree with Gadget - The front end feels so much better with the swaybar disconnected. I can really feel the tires taking bumps independantly of each other (ala IFS) which makes a much smoother ride over the little to medium size bumps - rather than connected to eachother by that swaybar. If I didn't drive so many daily highway miles I take my swaybars off.

I have a set of the Lars Disconnects aswell - all I can say is 100% improvement over the Rockstomper versions now collecting dust in my garage.

John

 

Thanks for the inputs guys. Question though- from what I understand, there isn't much reason to disconnect the rear as well?

 

The jury is still out on the rear sway bar. Steve Schafer did some tests and he feels that it is not worth the trouble. He may be right.

I had the Addco rear bar on mine and there is diffinately a big benifit in disconnecting it, but there is no way that I have found to keep it from banging around once it is disconnected.

On my last trip I tested an idea I had to use a slip sleave on the rear Addco bar and it worked great. The ends stay connected and the locking pins are talen out of the slip sleave so the two ends can move independant of one another. I did find that I need larger locking pins as one of them sheared off while it was connected. It was a good test.

This weekend at the Jam I will be testing the stock rear sway bar leaving it connected and see if I come up with the same conclusions that Steve did. I can already tell you that on the lifted truck, the stock rear sway bar does not hold a candle to the Addco one. Much more sway and the front end plows like crazy.

I suspect that after this weekend I will be modifying my slip sleave and reinstalling the Addco bar, but I am expecting that I will convince myself that Steve is absolutely correct about just leaving the stock rear bar connected off road. We will see.

Gadget

www.GadgetOnline.com

 

There's no voting option for removing the bar alltogether!

I tried some homemade disconnects for a while. They did help when disconnected but I don't like many trail preps. I just like to lock the hubs, put it in low, and go. I don't even air down. So I removed the sway bar and last I heard it's in a town some 40 miles North of here.

Eric

 

That's because the thread is about the disconnects, not the swaybar. :pat:

 

Who else has these on their 2nd gens? Pros cons? Like someone said earlier they didn't notice a difference and someone said they did. Who else has info on them.

 

Gadget,

Just to clarify- you're saying that you get a lot more sway with the stock in the rear. However, does the Addco make the rear too stiff for offroading?

 

Mine are on a 2nd Gen truck.. and say what you want, but 3-4" further up a 20 degree ramp is proof to me.. I should of done it with the rear connected too. But I can tell you, I was checking the links out with still on the ramp, and the rear link on one side was about 1" from the top.. Check out my link below, I have some "flexed out" photos (Only with a jack on a corner, but good photo still.. If you are gong to do it, I say do the whole truck.. I can say that it does feel alot softer off road as well, Gadget hit it right on the head about feeling the suspension working more.. 100% the same here... maybe I will take some videos at Paragon for you all..

 

There is a noticable difference between the stock and the Addco rear bar. The Addco certainly tightens things up and I really like it.

The stock one is really kind of flimsy and you can easily push one end up and down a few inches by hand with the other side connected.

With the Addco rear bar, I certainly perfer it to be disconnected when off roading. If I prefect a way to disconnect it, I will put it back on in place of the stock one I am using.

Gadget

www.GadgetOnline.com

 

I've been running th eaddcos for quite some time now both front and rear, and there is a noticable difference in both the front and rear stiffness around corners and off-roading. Here's what I've found:

Off-Roading

To achieve maximum travel in the rear, totally remove the sway bar. The next closing thing is the stock rear sway bar. The worst travel is using the Addco Swaybar. Rear disconnects are not really an option, because they can get lodged into the gas tank. But, a sleeve system definitely has some promising benfits. A sleeve-type connector would still allow for full droop, while keeping the addco swaybar connected. Great idea Gadget!

To achieve maximum travel in the front, totally remove the sway bar or have disconnects. The next closest thing is the stock front sway bar. The worst travel is the addco's yet again. If you want the added benfit of better on-road handling, then buy the addco's and use disconnects for the best of both worlds.

On-Roading

The addco's definitely add stiffness and control around corners and hard braking. They are great for that, and are a huge advantage over the stock swaybars.

That's my 2 cents!

Chris

Gadget, do you have pictures of your sleeve system you designed for the rear swaybar???

 

Okay, so to summarize:

1) A definite advantage to disconnecting front swaybar (if total removal is not an option), measured by increased travel up a ramp (or jack) by at least a couple people.

2) Some disconnects are noisy (clicking), so avoid Rockstompers and go with Lars/Lee/other-type disconnects.

3) Disconnecting the rear is not an option at the moment due to risk of damage to gas tank from disconnected bar. Sleeve-type disconnect in development by Gadget may eliminate this risk.

4) Addco swaybars greatly improve on-road handling, with added stiffness, might be slight disadvantage offroading.


Some great information guys, thanks!