Hellwig sway bar and offroad... Disappointing.

[Bombout800]

I'll start off by saying i knew it would reduce flex. On the road it's the best upgrade i think I've done. Especially for the money. If you do heavy on road, it's the ticket. If you do a lot of off road, it's just not worth the money.

I went to a local place to see what, if any, change. I was blown away by how much it wouldn't flex ?. The passenger side should have been into the fender well until it barely rubs the inner fender. The driver's side should have at least been touching the ground.

I have changed my shocks since then and then the sway bar but that's all that's changed. New shocks have basically identical collapsed and extended lengths. Here are the pics vs an older pic. You decide how much it hinders flex.

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[brewski]

I mean, isn't that to be expected. I'm not sure why you're surprised on these results. If you're stiffening up the suspension flex wouldn't that in turn make you know you're reducing the suspension flex? If you didn't know what swaybars do then that would make sense.

I'm not sure anyone makes anything or how easy it would be to use, but if there are any QR endlinks for the rear swaybar like companies make for the fronts, that would give you the best of both worlds. Frankly I've never looked at the rear swaybar or how it is attached so I am not sure how reasonable this option would be. I will be looking tonight though just out of pure curiosity.

 

[Headbarcode]

I'll start off by saying i knew it would reduce flex. On the road it's the best upgrade i think I've done. Especially for the money. If you do heavy on road, it's the ticket. If you do a lot of off road, it's just not worth the money.

I went to a local place to see what, if any, change. I was blown away by how much it wouldn't flex ?. The passenger side should have been into the fender well until it barely rubs the inner fender. The driver's side should have at least been touching the ground.

I have changed my shocks since then and then the sway bar but that's all that's changed. New shocks have basically identical collapsed and extended lengths. Here are the pics vs an older pic. You decide how much it hinders flex.

Wipe that bar down, to clean it up, and list it on the marketplace to recoup as much as possible. That's an incredible loss of articulation. As you found out, a hellwig bar is only good for a jeep that'll never see more than an occasional dirt road. Or a jeep with a higher center of gravity due to roof top tents, refrigerator, etc.

As for the suggestion to put quick disconnects on the rear, I wouldn't. The reason is because there wouldn't be any body control when not level side to side, so the full weight of the Jeep from its frame up would want to always flop downhill. Think of that feeling when cresting an obstacle and the weight of the Jeep falls over center and the disconnected front doesn't catch the Jeep until it hits the bumpstop. A disconnected rear would amplify that, possibly turning a white-eyed moment into a bad day.

Whenever I come across those threads about improving rear body control on a jeep that won't be heavily loaded, I always suggest a rear track bar relocation/reinforcement bracket on the axle end. By raising the rear roll center to offset lift height, the Jeep will feel more solid and planted, it'll track straighter and more predictable, and it won't pitch over as much when one side hits a bump or a dip in the road. I also took it a step further on my Jeep and added a frame side track bar reinforcement, which accomplishes the same added rigidity as when doing the more popular front. I personally found those two pieces to be one of the top providers of added stability to offset my 4" of actual lift and 38's/40's.

 

[Bombout800]

I mean, isn't that to be expected. I'm not sure why you're surprised on these results. If you're stiffening up the suspension flex wouldn't that in turn make you know you're reducing the suspension flex? If you didn't know what swaybars do then that would make sense.

I'm not sure anyone makes anything or how easy it would be to use, but if there are any QR endlinks for the rear swaybar like companies make for the fronts, that would give you the best of both worlds. Frankly I've never looked at the rear swaybar or how it is attached so I am not sure how reasonable this option would be. I will be looking tonight though just out of pure curiosity.

It was simply to show that it reduces flex a lot. I'm surprised by how much. I assumed a little. It wasn't to bash or take anything away from hellwig. I know how a sway bar works. It makes sense that this is the outcome, i just didn't think it would be AS drastic. That's all

 

[Bombout800]

Wipe that bar down, to clean it up, and list it on the marketplace to recoup as much as possible. That's an incredible loss of articulation. As you found out, a hellwig bar is only good for a jeep that'll never see more than an occasional dirt road. Or a jeep with a higher center of gravity due to roof top tents, refrigerator, etc.

As for the suggestion to put quick disconnects on the rear, I wouldn't. The reason is because there wouldn't be any body control when not level side to side, so the full weight of the Jeep from its frame up would want to always flop downhill. Think of that feeling when cresting an obstacle and the weight of the Jeep falls over center and the disconnected front doesn't catch the Jeep until it hits the bumpstop. A disconnected rear would amplify that, possibly turning a white-eyed moment into a bad day.

Whenever I come across those threads about improving rear body control on a jeep that won't be heavily loaded, I always suggest a rear track bar relocation/reinforcement bracket on the axle end. By raising the rear roll center to offset lift height, the Jeep will feel more solid and planted, it'll track straighter and more predictable, and it won't pitch over as much when one side hits a bump or a dip in the road. I also took it a step further on my Jeep and added a frame side track bar reinforcement, which accomplishes the same added rigidity as when doing the more popular front. I personally found those two pieces to be one of the top providers of added stability to offset my 4" of actual lift and 38's/40's.

I would never remove or disconnect the rear. I bought it to find out exactly how much it limited and also to see how much the ride improved on the road. It's a drastic improvement on road. I never saw a clear answer on it as far as off road went. Axle side track bar is raised and have a rock Krawler bar. The frame size is braced with a synergy brace. That alone doesn't give you a decrease in body roll like this will. Though it does help if you don't have a raised bracket at the axle side with a lift. I've never not raised the axle side when i lifted either though.

It's bumped correctly and in the pictures the rear is obviously not stuffed nor extended. I was just posting that it wasn't a good choice for off roaders. On road it's kick ass. I have done that same obstacle 10 times and never had a tire off the ground. The jeep always felt planted and never tippy. This time it did not feel safe. If i have a day or days of off roading, it will come off and the factory bar will go back on. Or maybe I'll get an anti rock.

 

[Bombout800]

Pic of where the back side is normally at. Crazy difference

 

[Roky]

I'll start off by saying i knew it would reduce flex. On the road it's the best upgrade i think I've done. Especially for the money. If you do heavy on road, it's the ticket. If you do a lot of off road, it's just not worth the money.

I went to a local place to see what, if any, change. I was blown away by how much it wouldn't flex ?. The passenger side should have been into the fender well until it barely rubs the inner fender. The driver's side should have at least been touching the ground.

I have changed my shocks since then and then the sway bar but that's all that's changed. New shocks have basically identical collapsed and extended lengths. Here are the pics vs an older pic. You decide how much it hinders flex.

Bronco in Jeep’s clothing…….

 

[Bombout800]

Bronco in Jeep’s clothing…….

Pretty much. It's that stiff.

 

[micahpop]

Man, that is not what I want to see a couple of days after installing it on my Jeep...

Like you said, the on road difference is amazing but now I have to start thinking of options when I go off road. It wouldn't take very long to put the stock sway bar back in but man, what a pain to swap back and forth every time I don't want to impersonate a Bronco.

 

[Jeepin' John]

I also have a rear hellwig for the JT, and it will not allow the rear to flex -at all- off road. I'm planning on making a rear disconnect for the trail

on the street, the hellwig is fantastic. Before, the jeep felt front-heavy and didn't want to turn. It's amazing how well the jeep drives with it

 

[word302]

I also have a rear hellwig for the JT, and it will not allow the rear to flex -at all- off road. I'm planning on making a rear disconnect for the trail

on the street, the hellwig is fantastic. Before, the jeep felt front-heavy and didn't want to turn. It's amazing how well the jeep drives with it

Disconnecting the rear is a poor choice. Just lick your wounds and get rid of that sway bar.

 

[Zandcwhite]

The JL is the first of the 10 Jeeps we’ve owned that still has a rear sway bar. I think the fear of no rear sway bar off road is over played. Most rock buggies, rock bouncers, trophy trucks, and ultra 4 rigs don’t run sway bars. Most run higher speeds, corner harder, and get into far more tippy locations than most JL owners ever will. Maybe the internet never told them to be afraid so that’s why they can get away with it?

 

[word302]

The JL is the first of the 10 Jeeps we’ve owned that still has a rear sway bar. I think the fear of no rear sway bar off road is over played. Most rock buggies, rock bouncers, trophy trucks, and ultra 4 rigs don’t run sway bars. Most run higher speeds, corner harder, and get into far more tippy locations than most JL owners ever will. Maybe the internet never told them to be afraid so that’s why they can get away with it?

lol, it’s nota fear issue, it performs much better with a rear sway bar than without, but you do you man.

 

[Zandcwhite]

lol, it’s nota fear issue, it performs much better with a rear sway bar than without, but you do you man.

I guess the internet never told them their rigs would perform better with sway bars? I stand corrected. Or maybe the cost of a sway bar didn’t fit in their often six figure build budgets?

 

[Bombout800]

Man, that is not what I want to see a couple of days after installing it on my Jeep...

Like you said, the on road difference is amazing but now I have to start thinking of options when I go off road. It wouldn't take very long to put the stock sway bar back in but man, what a pain to swap back and forth every time I don't want to impersonate a Bronco.

Swapping it isn't a big deal but a slight pain for sure. If i knew i could get the same on road benefit from an anti rock but gain the off road benefit, I'd just buy one of those. I hear mixed reviews on those as well. Some say they feel softer than stock. I've heard there are two options as far as stiffness goes.

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