Disconnecting sway bars - front? and/or rear?

[Mr. B]

Hey guys,
So I'm interested in disconnecting my sway bar(s). Now I know the affects it would cause on the t4r, my previous vehicle was a lifted Jeep and I ran the front disco'd ALL the time (got too lazy doing quick disconnects in dirt/rain/mud/etc.)

So my question is - which to disconnect?
On the Jeep by disconnecting the front, I gained 30% more flex. Not only did it look a lot better, but it definitely helped the cab level out since the axles were doing the work. I also know that I'm now dealing with a IFS compared to SA, but would the benefits of disconnecting be really worth it?

Thanks!

P.S. - depending on your answers, I'll definitely do follow up (before/after) shots.

 

[NateMob]

I like to do all my off-roading and street driving with just the rear connected. Stable and predictable for my driving style and allows the front independent suspension to actually behave independently from either side, left to right.

 

[gotopless]

I took the rear sway bar out. Lots of body roll on the road but it flexes like crazy offroad. I've never had a problem with the front IFS not performing

 

[1985taylor1925]

I like to do all my off-roading and street driving with just the rear connected. Stable and predictable for my driving style and allows the front independent suspension to actually behave independently from either side, left to right.

Did this give you a smoother ride on road? Ive wondered if disconnectig my front bar would take out some of the harshness in my ride as the ifs would be freed up to independently take bumbs with a little more ease. I just havent wanted to risk the body roll with the majority of my driving being highway.

 

[Snowy21]

Did this give you a smoother ride on road? Ive wondered if disconnectig my front bar would take out some of the harshness in my ride as the ifs would be freed up to independently take bumbs with a little more ease. I just havent wanted to risk the body roll with the majority of my driving being highway.

I do think that my rig rides nicer up front with the front discoed. Its not a night and day difference but it is noticeable, mainly over speed bumps and the like. I'm discoed front and rear all of the time these days and I don't really notice the roll on on/off-ramps anymore, but I drive like a grandma so your results will vary

 

[chuck norris]

For on-road, I like having the front and rear on. My wife occasionally drives the 4runner and I want it as safe as possible.

Off road, I disco the front and leave the rear. I feel that the rear bar forces some of the flex into the IFS and makes the truck more balanced. The rear bar also stabilizes the heavy ass end of the truck on off camber climbs.

My $0.02 :thumb:

 

[BrianSD_42]

This belongs here:


:hand:

WARNING TO ALL: :AK47:


I removed my front sway bar and ran without it for about 3+ years; this was just after I installed my SS 1.2 kit.

Eventually I noticed that my truck had A LOT of lean when going around corners. It was quite dangerous feeling. I even had a new steering rack so it wasn't that.

Last summer, about 3+ years after the removal I decided to re-install the sway bar with some extended links from StickFigure. On the same day I also re-did my rear shocks which had < 40k miles on them (same shock just new).

I expected a difference but wow ... what a difference. It handled great and at the time I attributed 90% of the new stiffness around corners to installing the sway bar. I did the shocks as a precaution since I would be down there anyways.

That was about 6 months ago. I have been driving around quite happy with the new shocks + sway bar ever since.

Update to about 3 weeks ago when I removed the front sway bar links to go off roading in Coral Canyon near San Diego. I removed them in my driveway and drove about 1.5 hours out to the trail. Then I left the sway bar off for a week before putting it back on.

TO MY SURPRISE ... this time the truck had nowhere near as much lean around corners as it did before I replaced the shocks and installed the sway bar back on. So to recap: sway bar is now off and the truck doesn't lean as much as before ...

So what does this mean? It means the shocks wore out with less than 40k miles on them by running without a sway bar. Now they were not totally* worn out but enough so that I could notice the difference around turns.

The shocks were Toyota LC rear shocks from my SS kit. I highly doubt they should have gone bad (loose) after only a few years under normal usage BUT they were far looser feeling than new shocks.

My current theory is that by removing the front sway bar I put additional stress on the shocks and they went bad far sooner than expected. To me this makes sense since the 4Runner was never designed to be run without a sway bar and shortened shock life is plausible side affect of removing it.


:bolt:

:hand:

 

[Chandlerdoom]

I haven't had an issue with running disconnected on road, I honestly don't even notice. I also don't drive like a race car driver or go around corners quickly. if you drive fast enough to get a amount of body roll that scares you, you need to slow down and adjust your driving habits for a disconnected front.

 

[NateMob]

Did this give you a smoother ride on road? Ive wondered if disconnectig my front bar would take out some of the harshness in my ride as the ifs would be freed up to independently take bumbs with a little more ease. I just havent wanted to risk the body roll with the majority of my driving being highway.

I do believe i have a smoother ride both on and offroad with the front sway off. Very happy with the ride with Icons in front, and 890s w/ 5125 out back.

 

[BrianSD_42]

The sway bar does not affect one way or another the "ride" when driving in a straight line. Meaning it will not affect how the truck handles small bombs in the road - at least not in any noticeable way.

 

[badattitude]

The ride is softer and smoother without a front swaybar for sure, both on and off road. However, after a few weeks disconnected on-road I want it back on. It corners on-road much flatter/better with it on. The slow rolling corners w/o a swaybar gets old after a while.

There is debate if disconnecting the front provides more flex. IMO it does not matter. My 4runner drives/handles better off road with out the front sway connected. Regardless if get flex distance or not, I to get easy flex and easy driving disconnected. I always prefer to be disconnected off-road if it's convenient.

 

[BrianSD_42]

How is the ride smoother? I just don't think so based on how a sway bar works. The shocks and coils yes but the sway bar should be neutral when driving straight and on pavement.

About flex ... On a LIFTED 4runner the stock sway bar links will limit flex. That is why we buy extended links or move the mount point. Lifting the truck changes the suspension dynamics and the sway bar links were designed for stock ride height.

 

[1985taylor1925]

How is the ride smoother? I just don't think so based on how a sway bar works. The shocks and coils yes but the sway bar should be neutral when driving straight and on pavement.

About flex ... On a LIFTED 4runner the stock sway bar links will limit flex. That is why we buy extended links or move the mount point. Lifting the truck changes the suspension dynamics and the sway bar links were designed for stock ride height.

It affects the front simply because it creates a solid link between the two sets of swing arms. When you take the sway bar off the arms can move 100% independently.

 

[BrianSD_42]

Yes but it doesn't turn it into a solid axle or anything that dramatic.

I don't think there is much evidence to support the claim or theory that removing the sway bar will provide a smoother ride over bumps.

I'm interested in hearing about peoples experiences obviously but I think shocks and springs will make the difference not sway bar.

When I first installed my SS 1.2 kit back in 2007 I thought the ride was amazing and I had the stock sway bar installed. I only removed the stock sway bar after I broke a end-link when wheeling in Anza-Borrego. I drove around like that for awhile and eventually adjusted my front shocks up one notch to make up for the extra weight from my new bumper and skids. At that point the ride became a bit stiffer but still decent.

I never felt that changing the sway bar in or out (which I have done several times) had any effect on the ride quality "over bumps"

- Just my 2 cents ... :heh:

 

[RIDEALL]

From Sonoran Steel FAQ:

Sway bar disconnects are not needed with an IFS suspension
By disconnecting the front sway bar you may gain a very slight amount of added a-arm droop, but here is the problem with an IFS truck. The only tire that has any weight on it is the one compressed, so it does not matter if the other tire is in the air, almost on the ground or on the ground. It will spin because it has no weight on it.

It is however correct to disconnect a sway bar on a straight axle truck as it will increase articulation. The real benefit of having a straight axle is that both front tires bear the weight at all times, not only one like an IFS truck under articulation.

The stock sway bar end links should remain in the stock positions, the front should stay on the front bar and the rear stock links should be used on the rear bar.
We do not recommend sway bar disconnects as we have found them to be completely useless on this vehicle.

 

[BrianSD_42]

The stock sway bar end links should remain in the stock positions, the front should stay on the front bar and the rear stock links should be used on the rear bar.
We do not recommend sway bar disconnects as we have found them to be completely useless on this vehicle.

Steve is a very knowledgeable guy (and lurking around the forum) but many would disagree with the statement quoted above.

The text quoted also doesn't mention that lifting the truck puts additional stress on the stock sway bar links and one way to get around this is with longer links or repositioning the sway bar. It is well documented in lots of threads. It makes sense ... by lifting the suspension you are changing the sway bar angle and the stock links are just a bit short. :bowl:

 

[Mr. B]

From Sonoran Steel FAQ:

Sway bar disconnects are not needed with an IFS suspension
By disconnecting the front sway bar you may gain a very slight amount of added a-arm droop, but here is the problem with an IFS truck. The only tire that has any weight on it is the one compressed, so it does not matter if the other tire is in the air, almost on the ground or on the ground. It will spin because it has no weight on it.

It is however correct to disconnect a sway bar on a straight axle truck as it will increase articulation. The real benefit of having a straight axle is that both front tires bear the weight at all times, not only one like an IFS truck under articulation.

The stock sway bar end links should remain in the stock positions, the front should stay on the front bar and the rear stock links should be used on the rear bar.
We do not recommend sway bar disconnects as we have found them to be completely useless on this vehicle.

Excellent find!!
Well I guess there's the answer.

 

[Kurtis]

From Sonoran Steel FAQ:

Sway bar disconnects are not needed with an IFS suspension
By disconnecting the front sway bar you may gain a very slight amount of added a-arm droop, but here is the problem with an IFS truck. The only tire that has any weight on it is the one compressed, so it does not matter if the other tire is in the air, almost on the ground or on the ground. It will spin because it has no weight on it.

It is however correct to disconnect a sway bar on a straight axle truck as it will increase articulation. The real benefit of having a straight axle is that both front tires bear the weight at all times, not only one like an IFS truck under articulation.

The stock sway bar end links should remain in the stock positions, the front should stay on the front bar and the rear stock links should be used on the rear bar.
We do not recommend sway bar disconnects as we have found them to be completely useless on this vehicle.

I disagree with this statement but only in part. By removing the swaybar you are allowing the other tire to articulate further down and POSSIBLY gaining traction. The advantage may be marginal at best but it could be the difference between making pulling winch cable or not. (Which I hate)

The big difference I have found is actually in the snow. When you get on top of the snow (3ft and above. NOT snow bashing.) you want as much of your weight distributed evenly as absolutely possible. If you have more weight on another tire than the other it could cause that corner of the truck to sink more and getting stuck more often. This will help a lot with transiting over snow drifts and changes in snow depth.

This is just my experience.

 

[BrianSD_42]

Excellent find!!
Well I guess there's the answer.

Not exactly. Read the post above OR do a search ..... because extended links or tougher links are well documented and few people on this forum agree with the concept.

 

[Mr. B]

Not exactly. Read the post above OR do a search ..... because extended links or tougher links are well documented and few people on this forum agree with the concept.

I understand the longer links, but longer links will still limit suspension travel. When I had my Jeep, even with longer links f/r it flexed like a freakn IFS, which is why I disconnected the front at all times.

I'm thinking about just ditching the front. The rear has more than enough room to "flex" and adapt to the terrain