'99 Sway Bar Setup

[Mellow77]

I've searched/read several threads discussing whether or not to run sway bars on our rigs but I'm not finding info on the scenario I am interested in.

My rig has a 3" Toytec Ultimate suspension lift, light racing UCA's and is running Nitto 285's mounted on 17" Tundra rims, currently with both stock sway bars in place. I would like reduce body role and tighten up it's sloppy road manners.

Is anyone running a beefier sway bar, like offered by Addco, up front without a sway bar in the back on a lifted rig? If so, what difference have you noticed?

How much difference does the rear sway make if I'm running OME 891's (coils) & OME 60028 (shocks) in the back without any additional weight (bumpers...etc)?

**Note - I am planning to perform the Taco swap of LBJ's and ITRE/OTRE while adding new poly bushing to the steering rack as part of the work while replacing my CV Axles and steering rack guide**

 

[Brilliant]

I would like reduce body role and tighten up it's sloppy road manners.

Is anyone running a beefier sway bar, like offered by Addco, up front without a sway bar in the back on a lifted rig?

That's not going to improve road manners. Been watching drift videos?

 

[cordrayj1]

stiff front w no rear? not making much sense.....

 

[JohnsD90]

stiff front w no rear? Not making much sense.....

Understeer!!!!!

 

[KinevilsT4R]

My rig has a 3" Toytec Ultimate suspension lift, light racing UCA's and is running Nitto 285's mounted on 17" Tundra rims, currently with both stock sway bars in place. I would like reduce body role and tighten up it's sloppy road manners.

First of all you have a lifted vehicle now. Increased body roll is one of the "cons" to lifting your vehicle. It's inevitable. Take off your front sway bar and I guarantee that you'll appreciate the amount of body roll that the stock sway bar prevents.

Try adding wheel spacers to widen your stance. This will help with body roll but not by much. However, there are other ill effects to adding wheel spacers.

Pick your poison! :cowboy:

 

[quicksilvr]

You really have two options. If you wheel the rig, and you NEED the extra flex in the rear from having no swaybar, then the simple fact is that it will never handle great on the road. But if you don't need the super flex, you can upgrade your front sway, and then use a rear sway bar with extended links. The rear links need to be about 1.5" longer for the OME rear springs. For LC springs or something really tall, they need to be at least 2-3" longer.

 

[J-money$$$]

I put the stock front back on after 3 years without it and it makes street driving so much nicer. My truck had some crazzy body roll, and it was starting to really effect my tire wear. Im getting brand new tires and I want them to last so i decided to run it on the street with the sway bar.

Stock front, no rear is fine for me. Any thing was better

 

[4-Ripcord]

Dont forget poly sway bar bushings while you replace the LBJ/TRE and steering rack guide.



To add to the convo, I recently reinstalled both of my bars after 6 months without them. Its very noticable. I had a ton of body roll before, not now. With driving up the mountain everyday, I NEEDED to have them on.

 

[cztheman64]

take it off, leave it off...

 

[steezemcqueen]

I have tried pretty much every sway bar combination with the stock sway bars


Front+Rear connected: Best handling, worst flex.

Front connected. Rear discoed: Flex is improved in the rear slightly. Not a big loss in handling.

Front discoed. Rear connected: My current setup. Best comprimise IMHO. Flex is definitely improved in the front and not much is lost in the rear. Noticeable loss of handling.

Front+Rear discoed: Best flex. Worst handling. I would only run this setup if it was not my daily driver.

 

[brian2sun]

I've tried all the different combos for my sway bars too. In the end, I got WabFab front endlinks (which do make it a lot easier and quicker to remove) and no rear swaybar. On the road, I felt like having the front swaybar hooked up makes a bigger difference than the rear and it's enough for me. So the rear always stays off and I just disconnect the front now when I go off road.

Also, the WabFab endlinks are adjustable. I extended mine 1" longer than stock and that put the swaybar back closer to the stock geometry. The WabFabs are much stronger and longer than the stock endlinks. So if I forget to take them off before the trails (or just get lazy) they won't snap like the stock endlinks will if you off road with them.

Also, maybe it's because of my custom rear links and extended Tokiko LC shocks, but I get over 2" more travel with the rear swaybar off. I only get 1" at the most with the front off. IMO, having the rear swaybar removed is more beneficial for off roading, because I rarely lift a rear tire now since I have so much travel back there. To each their own, you'll just have to try the different combos out and see what works best for you.

 

[ryankmasuda]

Call ADDCO, I did and I talked to a guy who can ship me front and rear swaybars that are larger diameter and beefier plus if I get the measurements that i need the sway links to be he will have the sway links made to fit for the front and rear. All for $354

 

[theizzardking]

Call ADDCO, I did and I talked to a guy who can ship me front and rear swaybars that are larger diameter and beefier plus if I get the measurements that i need the sway links to be he will have the sway links made to fit for the front and rear. All for $354

yeah if the body roll bothers you go with the addco's, J.A's page has a great break down of how this all plays out, and yes even on a lifted truck thicker sway bars will reduce some of the body roll you introduced by raising the center of gravity...i plan on doing this too one day, im more concerned about the up and down at this moment though!

not sure if this is the new or old page so the part numbers may have changed but it's still teh same product from addco
Toyota 4Runner Handling Modifications Addco Sway Roll Bars
also they are called sway bars because or actually anti-sway bars becuase they are made to tether the shocks on either side of your truck together making them act in unison , meaning instead of going around the corner and one shock unloading and the other one loading fully they become close to an equal load on either side, not perfect but much much better then nothing....$365 for both front and back...ooohhh im there

 

[SRSRunner]

If your planning on wheeling it, just get extended or quick disconnect links for the front and ditch the rear all together. Anything else is going to hinder the amount of flex. Dont drive it like you stole it and you'll be fine.

 

[Brilliant]

However, there are other ill effects to adding wheel spacers.

Unless this is a toyota specific deficiency, I think this is more hype. Every BMW club racer runs spacers and R compounds. Obviously far more stress on a car running R compounds than a street car/truck. Never an issue. Ive seen struts sheer off, CAs, but never a hub issue.

I also will say adding larger bars was the 1st thing I did to improve handling of my car. It really flattened out the car in the turns. Since I don't need to articulate, I am mostly off pavement on road, forest roads and such, I will put on bars on the 4runner if I still think its too sloppy in the rear. I've got new springs and dampers to put in first. Ill also do the urethane bushings on stock bars before I spend so much on addico's. If I needed to articulate, Id get disconnects but leave the bars on.

 

[Mellow77]

One of the primary reasons in buying the 4Runner was it's slender trail profile so running wheel spacers (although a viable solution) is not an approach I want to explore. No front sway bar is also not an option I'm interested in given the amount of time I spend on pavement; my daily commute is @ highway 70miles. I recently returned from an Elk scouting trip in Colorado (Routte National Forest) and easily put on over 1,500 miles by the time I got home. A LOT of those were highway miles and my regular deer lease is about a 240 mile commute round trip on county highways.

I'm leaning towards getting a stiffer front sway bar/quick links and then experimenting with how much the rear actually helps with that setup. Given my shock/spring setup it's actually pretty stiff now considering I don't normally haul gear in the back and I also don't have an aftermarket rear plate bumper (yet). :dammit:

I don't mind connecting/disconnecting the front/back sway bars when I do offroad but I guess I really need to sort out how useful that back sway bar actually is for me.

Thanks for the insight and opinions! :hatsoff:

 

[Gerdo]

My 4runner is siting at ~3.5" in front and ~5" lift in back. AT tires (MTs will squirm). All my suspension parts are tight and I have poly bushings on both swaybars and the rack. I drive the mountains and highway speeds all the time. I have taken many cross country trips and it rides like a car. With minimal attention to the wheel it stays where I want it.

If your rig is swimming you must have some worn parts. The rack bushings is where I would start looking.

I wheel with my rear bar and remove one or both of my front bar links. (you will gain some flex w/o the front bar, also the wheels will walk up steps better and have a smoother ride with less sudden body pitch when stepping up obstacles)

I would replace the parts that you have mentioned first and see if your problems are taken care of.