I am gonna do this in the near future, since I am gonna be going with the new Lift spindle I have posted about. I want to remove it before and get a feel of how it rides without. I'm also interested in how the shocks will cycle more independently with out the sway bar also.

Anyone done this already and have some feedback?


The boys over on the Tacoma forums have done it for a while and are really positive about it, just curious about the added weight and such on our vehicles and what different effects there may be.

Update:

Spoke with Allied the makers of the lift spindle. There production set of spindles will have an attachment point for the sway bar AND it will convert from the stock ball joint connection to a heim joint connection. Things just keep getting better!!

I am still curious of how the suspension works with the sway bar removed though, guess I will have to be the guinea pig.

no swaybar front or rear.

removing the front will give you some ride characteristics changes.
1. you will feel the body roll much more when you are cornering on the freeway (think freeway transition)
2. more flexibility and better suspension response w/ it removed. downside to this is body roll.

removing the rear:
heck of a lot of body roll.

I'd say take the front off but keep the rear.

Thanks Lance, can always count on you for some good input. That's pretty much what I thought. I would never mess with the rear as the axle would not be able to independently flex and losing that bar, that will just make it wanna lift almost on any turn (IMO). The roll is what I was most concerned about.

So with just the front removed, cautious on and off road driving is a good measure and not taking medium to big turns at any significant speed. I got that right?

I know I will have to just remove it and get a feel for myself in the end though.

removing the front is not that bad. it's not going to kill you but rather just notice a bit more body roll.

i've seen many people w/o the front and be fine so i don't see why not.

good luck

Wow, that would be opposite to what i would want to do. I would think to keep the front roll bar intact because there is not much more flexibility you can gain with IFS. I would remove the rear because the rear axle has more potential to flex than front IFS. In addition, with front roll bar intact, your cornering stability will be maintained.

But, i guess that with the 4runner, it's the opposite. Lance is the man when it comes to these modifications!

Uh oh, I got the two masters in a disagreement!! :jaw drop:


Just kidding guys! But I am gonna have to agree with you Lance. I took it off right after work and drove it around for a while and hit a little trail. IMO, it definitely frees up the front suspension off road and may be a bit smother at speed going in a straight line. Turns, I felt almost like what you see the score and stock class look like when taking turns on a course. The truck leans to the outside in the turn and you can feel the inside wheel coil unloading. Its definitely nothing crazy, not sure why I thought it would be. Gonna drive it like this for a while, see how it is over time.


Thanks guys!

Will your new spindles allow you to use front sway bar quick disconnects?

As for the rear, I'll concur with Lance. I know it's not the same suspension but I had a previous solid rear axle ride (Jimmy) that came without a sway bar. When I added a rear bar it tightened right up. Best way to describe it is, on my daily commute, I have to go over a section of railway tracks that are at an angle to the roadway. The rear of the truck would jump out sideways as it lifted and landed if you took these tracks under power. Adding the sway bar all but eliminated this behaviour by keeping the wheels down. By the way, I hardly even notice these tracks in the T4R. Awesome ride, even without X-REAS.

I honestly don't know, I will find out tomorrow. I got a little thing planned, lets just say I will be riding high . But seriously, I will find out and post back. Saturday night I will have a new thread with some pics.

Hey guys, I dont mean to burst your bubbles or call anyone stupid here but as far as I know, none of you guys are engineers. Also, as far as I know, the aftermarket suspension companies that build your aftermarket suspension equipment, that you add to your vehicles are not toyota certified, and are probably not designed for things such as frontal or side impacts not to mention rollover probability. Just because somebody thinks something may or may not happen on a piece of equipment that has been hacked and slashed on, doesnt mean something bad WONT happen. When somebody who probably is NOT an engineer modifies suspension and drivetrain components on your car, that a team of engineers worked years to design for safety and reliability your walking into dangerous territory. I live in so cal and when I see big lifted trucks with huge tires running down the road, I would hate to be the guy in the little car that gets run completely over, and killed because someone modified their suspension to be higher, therefore destroying the safety device that prevents cars from going under them, or any other type of accident that would result from making the lifted vehicle a larger rolling mass.
Again I dont mean to start a flame war or want any ill will here I just want to hopefully save someones life by telling you guys this

Muffin-Man,

Then...why is your 4runner running 32" tires?? Doesn't this increase center-of-gravity?? Won't that affect stability of your 4runner?? Why is your 4runner running non-stock tires?? Some people claim that BFG AT KO hydroplanes like crazy in rain! (Personally, i love BFG AT KO.) Did you not forget that your BFG AT KO tires are much heavier than your stock tires?? Do you realize what this does to braking, handling, and fuel economy??!! Anytime that you increase unsprung weight, you are affecting performance in a bad way! Thus, you are destroying the environment, making us become more dependent on oil, AND dangering someone's lives!

And i assume that you're no engineer either, right? And did Toyota certify your tires??

You are an evil man.

:soapbox: :headslap: :twak:


Wow, where do I begin... First off, the guy who designed and made the new front lift spindles (Allied Motor-sports), went to Cal Poly Tech to study engineering. Also, the guys at Donahoe have a engineer on staff. I have met people and owners at both companies. And not to bag on Toyota tech's, as there are many good ones. Having a toyota certification is not that big of a deal. I am not sure why you have this opinion, except that you open your yap without any real knowledge or experience. And seeing that your barely 20, you got some s**t to learn my friend. So instead of throwing your useless opinions around, open your eyes and ears and just maybe you will learn something that is valuable and maybe save your own life one day!!

And just for the record, my sway bar is back on and thanks to a little engineering it has better geometry and will last longer with a lot more abuse than the original "toyota" design.

No, no quick disconnects. I asked, but not a good idea according to the masters.

Honestly, taking it off is not that hard. Takes me about ten minutes at most.

Hopefully, he was in school for nine years because he wanted to learn more..........not because he needed 9 years to graduate!

There are some truths to this but is it really realistic? I would say that there are some companies out there that does not do their r&d (or skimp on it) and release products that can be harmful to both the driver and the other drivers out there. Aftermarket companies place product warnings that clearly state for offroad use only so you can see how they are clearly protecting themselves.

The responsibility really comes down to the owner of the vehicle who is doing the purchasing. If you do not do your homework appropriately you will ultimately pay the price one way or another.

As a member who lives and breathes the socal air I do have those concerns once in a blue moon (not because I've got a slightly modified 4runner) but I'm more concerned about the reckless drivers (which comes in all flavors) who indirectly cause the accidents.

I honestly think that the vast majority of those who modify their vehicles (esp when it comes to lifting and such) are more aware of their vehicle characteristics. Now this generalization really applies to those who are not into the speed factor. Speed is what ultimately kills and it's the irresponsible driver (which leads back to the reckless driver) regardless of what they drive is one of the factors.

As for my 4runner, it's at home 99.9% of the time anyway so it's not like I'm harming anyone Would be nice to take it and drive around but dang the wear and tear on it really takes the toll on the mod funds! doh

good luck