Front Sway Bar Removal

[mrtifftiff]

I will be removing my front sway bar in the very near future and I am seeking some clarification.

After reading through several threads about sway bar removal and sifting through the endless arguments of back and forth: "No sway bar! More articulation" "No stupid! Here's my tape measure, same amount of travel, see!" And then [MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION] finally shows up, head in hands, "Spring rate, you fools."

Here is how I understand it, please correct me if I am wrong: removing the front sway bar does not translate to more wheel travel but reduces the spring rate and allows the front suspension to work independently from side to side. A reduced spring rate allows for easier articulation, translating to a smoother ride off road.

I can't seem to visualize the real world scenarios where the above information lends itself to, so the following situation is what I want to avoid: when travelling at very low speeds while crawling over rocky sections, my truck pitches violently from side to side. Does removing the front sway bar, thus allowing the front suspension to work independently, mitigate some of the body roll while travelling over uneven terrain at low speed?

 

[wfo9]

Not an expert on offroad suspension, but sway bars reduce body roll in corners and generally stiffen up the ride (depending on how aggressive they are).

Removing the sway bar should soften things up quite a bit and allow each wheel to travel independently of the other. You may very well find the need to add some compression dampening after removal.

It should definitely improve traction offroad by allow each wheel to track the terrain better. Not sure you will notice any difference in side to side pitching behavior in a slow crawl. Since it will be softer (without adding compression dampening) it could be slightly worse.

The body roll will be there on-road when you turn hard/abruptly.

 

[<<<<]

If daily-driver car, Don't Do It...

 

[mgrande]

I will be removing my front sway bar in the very near future and I am seeking some clarification.

After reading through several threads about sway bar removal and sifting through the endless arguments of back and forth: "No sway bar! More articulation" "No stupid! Here's my tape measure, same amount of travel, see!" And then [MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION] finally shows up, head in hands, "Spring rate, you fools."

Here is how I understand it, please correct me if I am wrong: removing the front sway bar does not translate to more wheel travel but reduces the spring rate and allows the front suspension to work independently from side to side. A reduced spring rate allows for easier articulation, translating to a smoother ride off road.

I can't seem to visualize the real world scenarios where the above information lends itself to, so the following situation is what I want to avoid: when travelling at very low speeds while crawling over rocky sections, my truck pitches violently from side to side. Does removing the front sway bar, thus allowing the front suspension to work independently, mitigate some of the body roll while travelling over uneven terrain at low speed?

In short, yes.

 

[1engineer]

reserved...

 

[mace.]

If daily-driver car, Don't Do It...

Ooopppsss, let me run out and put mine back on then.

 

[Rubberdown]

If daily-driver car, Don't Do It...

What other suspension mods do you have? I took my sways off when I put on my kings and it doesn't lean noticeably more.

 

[Rubberdown]

If daily-driver car, Don't Do It...

I took my sways off when I put on my kings and it doesn't lean noticeably more.

 

[mace.]

I took my sways off when I put on my kings and it doesn't lean noticeably more.

I have the Toytec Boss with the same results as you.

 

[DannyLlama]

Good ion, i'm subscribing.

 

[05Rrunner]

A missing front sway bar will really be noticed during a high speed panic maneuver.

 

[mace.]

A missing front sway bar will really be noticed during a high speed panic maneuver.

As will many of the other mods done here ie oversized MT tires or a loaded full length roof rack.

 

[05Rrunner]

As will many of the other mods done here ie oversized MT tires or a loaded full length roof rack.

Good points ! A roof rack ( weight up high ) and larger tires (raising center of gravity) would surely amplify a missing front sway bar and make it more unstable during a high speed panic situation. Or if some inexperienced person happens to be driving said vehicle and has no idea it handles different. However I realize that most people who remove there sway bars never let anyone else drive there trucks ever and are super great drivers that can control any situation and will never have a problem , but some of us will not be so lucky.

 

[1engineer]

I will be removing my front sway bar in the very near future and I am seeking some clarification.

After reading through several threads about sway bar removal and sifting through the endless arguments of back and forth: "No sway bar! More articulation" "No stupid! Here's my tape measure, same amount of travel, see!" And then [MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION] finally shows up, head in hands, "Spring rate, you fools."

Here is how I understand it, please correct me if I am wrong: removing the front sway bar does not translate to more wheel travel but reduces the spring rate and allows the front suspension to work independently from side to side. A reduced spring rate allows for easier articulation, translating to a smoother ride off road.

I can't seem to visualize the real world scenarios where the above information lends itself to, so the following situation is what I want to avoid: when travelling at very low speeds while crawling over rocky sections, my truck pitches violently from side to side. Does removing the front sway bar, thus allowing the front suspension to work independently, mitigate some of the body roll while travelling over uneven terrain at low speed?

Removing sway bars will NOT give you more articulation off road but they will allow for easier articulation in the movement you already have. The TE model gives you this already if equipped with KDSS. I hate to say it but removing sway bars is not going to get rid of those "violent" side to side motions when transversing rocky terrain slowly. It might help on the smaller stuff though. Now, if you remove the sway bars you will let each side move a bit more independently but is that a good thing when you hit the highway? The answer is no. You will definitely get more body roll through corners with sway bars removed. The scenario above is with stock suspension. You can change the springs and shocks out to compensate for sway bar but you now have serious ride quality issues unless you have really increased the weight of your vehicle by adding bumpers and armor and heavy loads.

The 4Runner suspension is a compromise design that will give you the best possible ride on road with off road capability. Any changes to the suspension will definitely improve one area of performance but will cause other areas to suffer. Again, I am talking about a stock 4Runner. If you add a bunch of weight you need to modify suspension accordingly. If you want to improve off road handling with a stock 4Runner be forewarned that your on road handling will suffer, and this includes removing the anti roll bars.

To summarize just remember that any changes you make to the stock suspension like heavier springs, lifting it, adding armor, removing anti roll bars, etc will require another modification to counteract that modification and the chasing begins lol. Good luck and be careful.

 

[wfo9]

A missing front sway bar will really be noticed during a high speed panic maneuver.

Agreed!, I don't think you will notice it missing in normal driving. Go do a high speed slalom course and you will more than notice it. You may very well end up on two wheels.

Who does high speed abrupt turns in a 4runner? Nobody, but the unexpected situation on the road is when it comes in real handy.

Personally, I try to keep a mindset when driving the t4r that this thing does not do abrupt turns well. So, all my on road accident avoidance maneuvers (where I have some time to think) tend to be as straight line as possible. I drive all my other cars very differently, since they handle like slot cars. Hard to say if I'll always remember what I'm driving. So far, no issue.

I would not be afraid to take it off.

One related thought. I noticed they did not include KDSS on the TRD pro. I wonder if they changed the sway bar design for it. Probably not, since it seems like it is geared more towards driving at speed off-road vs rock crawling....

 

[jspagna1]

Personally if it's your daily drive I would NOT remove the front sway bar. You will be asking for trouble and it won't take much for you to lose control and flip the truck. Again just my 2 cents. Be safe my man!!!

 

[phillyd2]

allows the front suspension to work independently from side to side.

This. And it does make a difference when climbing rocks but listen to the smarter guys about the wisdom of doing so.

If you have a friend with a jeep, or just rent one - with front disconnects you can drive over the same rock with it engaged and then again disconnected to feel the difference.