Sway bars - keep or remove?

[Mobboss]

So i just installed a 4 inch lift , and wanted to hear everyones opinion of who has removed there sway bars or kept them? The rear one is gone don’t need it ( My opinion) but the front one im going back and forth on.

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[Ratbert]

I've read that the rear sway being attached actually helps articulation. Is that not accurate?

 

[Mobboss]

It depends on the type of wheeling you are doing .Now if your after articulation, no sway bars will not help. They are specifically made to show and hinder movement.

 

[JesseT]

It depends on the type of wheeling you are doing .Now if your after articulation, no sway bars will not help. They are specifically made to show and hinder movement.

The FJ suspension is different so it's not necessarily a direct comparison, but here's an example of how a rear sway bar can actually (and counterintuitively) increase articulation:

 

[OminousSkitter]

There's this video for a Jeep that shows it pretty well, too.

 

[OminousSkitter]

But to answer your question, I would only disconnect my front sway bar when I need to. Your on-road handling will suffer significantly with it gone—unless you like rolling over.

 

[Mobboss]

Well I should have added the last part , my jeep is not a daily driver. And wont see alot of road driving, except to the trails. It will usually be towed or trailered.

 

[OminousSkitter]

Well I should have added the last part , my jeep is not a daily driver. And wont see alot of road driving, except to the trails. It will usually be towed or trailered.

If it's typically trailered to the trails and you're set on removing it, I'd just keep it disconnected and zip tied up and out of the way. That way if I ever needed to drive it on the roads(e.g. your main car breaks down), it's right there and can be connected in a few minutes.

 

[Ratbert]

There's this video for a Jeep that shows it pretty well, too.

Wow, 17" further with the rear sways connected. The sound of his bumpers getting chewed up when they were disconnected was a bit disturbing.

 

[Tncdrew]

You'll be fine without the rear. For the front of my Willys, I found a perfect take-off Rubi swaybar in the marketplace. I chucked the electric actuator, and replaced with a manual actuator from EVO Manufacturing.
Best of both worlds, and fairly economical too ?

.... another option

 

[Ratbert]

You'll be fine without the rear.

Are you saying that the articulation lost when disconnecting the rear doesn't matter?

 

[Flip]

So i just installed a 4 inch lift , and wanted to hear everyones opinion of who has removed there sway bars or kept them? The rear one is gone don’t need it ( My opinion) but the front one im going back and forth on.

That's some serious lift! What size tires are you thinking about going with bro 40's ?

 

[Tncdrew]

Are you saying that the articulation lost when disconnecting the rear doesn't matter?

Oh, no, not saying that at all. Maybe I shouldn't have said that at all ??

I probably need to watch those videos! ?

 

[Ratbert]

Oh, no, not saying that at all. Maybe I shouldn't have said that at all ??

I don't understand why you'd be saying that he'd be fine without the rears.

 

[Tncdrew]

I don't understand why you'd be saying that he'd be fine without the rears.

Scratch that I even said that.

Sidenote: I had an '83 CJ-7 that I did a spring over conversion on. Back then, they didn't even come with a rear swaybar. I used new OEM leafs for the spring over, and threw away the front sway bar. Yeah, it was a little more tippy on the street, but not terrible. Offroad, for its day, (mid 90's), it had pretty decent articulation for a leaf sprung Jeep, but not like the crazy stuff you see today!

Like I said, I need to watch those vids.
But I digress.... enough about my limited knowledge ?

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