Haven't had my front sway bar on my rig since I went to 35's about three years ago. Can't tell a difference.

Find a gravel road, attempt to create an oversteer situation. Note how it feels. Then go connect sway bars and repeat an oversteer condition.

Unpossible for you not to feel the difference there, assuming your spring rates and valving are made for a sway bar setup. If the rate is way higher and made for no sway bars, then that’s a different story. My wife and kids who don’t know a thing about suspension theory nervously said “wwwwwooooooaaaAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!” When my driver front sway bar link was broken while we were rallying in the desert. In fact, my 10 year old at the time got car sick. Thats how much roll was added. If they could tell a difference, anyone should be able to. (Again, we’ll have to assume that a person’s inner ear works like it’s supposed to also.)

Part of why these 4Runners are so fun is due to how flat they drive and they just love oversteer and e brake turns.

Regarding safety: I'm of the mind that this truck will rollover regardless of one's configuration, and my driving reflects that.

As for comfort on the highway: I did not notice any improvement disconnected. I drove mine disconnected a while before lifting (disconnected front and back). Then lifted the truck and connected them, then finally disconnected again. Like many others stated, the real comfort is experienced when off road. When one tire drops down, the sway bars will yank the vehicle around side to side. First to the side you dropped down in, then abruptly to the other side.

Although this point gets heated debate: I've filmed myself going through the same obstacle with the same approach, both connected and disconnected, and know for a fact I am getting better articulation when fully disconnected. I don't know if you're asking about all this or just the highway driving aspect.

If you're lifted, and disconnect both front and rear on the road trip, you might have a kiddo vomit in the backseat. Hard to notice from the driver's seat, but the ride gets a little wishy washy back there. Especially on country roads.

100% do not disconnect sway bars for a highway trip with your family.

You’re all “lol body roll haha lol” until you have to emergency brake in a turn on an off ramp and your shit almost rolls because the weight transfer is so much more extreme ...especially with people and gear in the back seat.

Off road is a different story, but if I didn’t have sway bars and was going on a long highway trip with the wife and kids I’d be looking for junkyard sway bars.

I ran cross country without sway bars and 3 in lift with 33s. Bad idea. I had one instance passing and man it was scary. In a bad situation you can easily roll if you’re lifter with weight. The guy who says he runs 35s without a sway bar and says he doesn’t notice a difference either has shocks and spings set up for it or he doesn’t know what he is talking about.

Don't do it. Just don't. Sway bars were put on vehicles long ago to prevent rollovers in emergency maneuvers. Go back and watch Consumer Reports Rollover Tests to see what I'm talking about.

You will not gain anything by disconnecting or removing the sway bars on a road vehicle. I would venture to say even off-road the effect is dubious at best. I run hard trails with a sway bar without issue. The sway bar does a good job of limiting downtravel so you don't blow CV's on the trail.

I don't think anyone here is suggesting that swaybars don't limit articulation. That's actually specifically their job. They are arguing that a highway trip with the family should be done with swaybars, especially if you aren't used to driving without them.

I disconnect my front for off road trips and connect it for daily driving (using quick disconnects). The rear is always connected, and should be for almost everyone.

-Charlie

At the point where you put family in that question then I'd say keep them on. I've got two little ones and would rather soak up the bumps and jitters than have that hanging on my conscious. I rode around for years without my front and rears but I was only putting myself at risk and never my family.

I have no idea why a person doing a "road trip " ( not serious off road) would remove the front sway bar. I can tell you ....im from the olden days when cars did not have sway bars...and a good mod was to add them.
so your thinking of a road trip with little ones in the car and you want to delete something that the guys who designed this....for good ride and safety...and you want to remove ? Are you gonna also take out the car seats and belts as someplace you read they dont do much.