Gee oh Dee

Been this way since the day she came home with me.

I take her up to and past freeway speeds on the reg. I've needed to swerve for rabbits, deer, etc. And at freeway speed.

Not saying its for everyone, but your not gonna die because you removed your sway bar. Just learn to drive.

Evil Drew M

For the guy who lost his lunch over the mere thought of a front swaybar being removed.

First off do you REALLY know what a swaybar does? I mean the fundamentals - not "keeps you from losing control at high speeds". I know - it transfers weight to the inside during a corner. But HOW does it do that? Well basically it increases spring rate on the outside corner when you are turning. It increases the rate by locking the 2 sides together via a torsion bar to resist the roll couple.

Now - is running without a bar a bad idea? Yes and no. First and foremost it largely depends on your spring rates. Stock slushbox springs + no swaybar = wicked body death roll and when coupled with the toe-changing, bumpsteering Y link is a potential recipe for disaster.

HOWEVER - since all the swaybar ultimately does is increase spring rate it stands to reason that higher rate springs can compensate for the lack of a swaybar to the point where it is fully manageable on the street (as MANY have proved). Both swaybars AND spring rates can be used to adjust the roll couple percentage.

The biggest "catch" to driving without a swaybar up front is to NOT dive into a corner. Remember Newton's laws - in particular a body at rest tends to stay at rest?

You rip into that corner all your weight is going to transfer to the outside of the vehicle and you will feel like you are on 10 foot seas. Turn gradually and the weight won't transfer abruptly. Yes this means you will likely need to slow down for that corner . . . .

Now I am not advocating the removal of swaybars. They serve a purpose. What I am doing is trying to share a basic lesson on what the swaybar does and WHY people aren't dying left and right from not running them like OOdynamite would have us believe.

Gee oh Dee

I finally broke down and completely removed the front sway bar and its mounts.

So nothing is there on my truck.

Lower mounts will be hacked off when I go OTK.

Evil Drew M

Mine is still zip tied up and out of the way. I have to cut the mounts to install my WJ steering so I decided to run it for a few days without the bar to see if I needed to make reinstalling the mounts a top priori-TAH.

As of now it won't be.

Gee oh Dee

That's how mine was...sorta. I think I used some hard bailing wire or something.

I figure, though, since its not getting used its unnecessary weight. Since its gone I can easily get .01% better gas mileage, and i'll have lost at least 3 seconds off my 1/4 mile time.

razor02097

When one of the links broke on my front sway bar I knew something wasn't right.... There was a huge difference in handling and road manners. I have removed the rear sway bar and noticed very little difference, but the front link failure made the Jeep unstable. If i'm going to be driving on the road I make sure I reconnect the sway bar disconnect.

No4x4Yet

IF you are gonna run without a front sway bar MAKE SURE your shocks are in good working order. This will go a long way to keep the truck under control in the event of an emergency. My link broke when I was installing my lift and I havent got the replacement yet. I can def feel more roll but I know its not there and dont push it either. Im running JK Rubi shocks so they are pretty firm as well.

Evil Drew M

Like I said - results will vary depending on your spring rates.

Donnie_K

X2 My rough country 4.5" doesn't seem to have hardly any more body roll than it did with it. A little, obviously, but not much. My friend's 3" though has way softer springs and man does that thing lean in the corner without the swaybar. If I were in his jeep, I'd not want to drive it without the front hooked up, but in mine, It does great, and it see's highway speeds every single day. Spring rates effect the answer to your question.

Gee oh Dee

Who makes his coils?

Evil Drew M

Rubicon Express springs are in the 220lb range. IIRC stock is 120-140ish lbs.

I have seen lift springs in the 140ish range as well. Ugh . . .

Agent_Oragnge

if thats how it was when you got the rig, then take it off entirely. save on the weight.

Bustedknuckle

We can all agree the rear is scrap. As for the front, IMHO, the engineers who R&D'd the truck put it there for a reason, just like every other vehicle. Offroad, of course, flex it out and loose the sway bar. But on the pavement, I always reconnect. Just force of habit, and I'd rather be safe then sorry.

Gee oh Dee

They didn't R&D the rear for a reason??

Donnie_K

his is the cheapest rough country 3" with full leafs, not the series II