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I am not arguing for or against sway bars, as I believe that is personal preference. But having body roll does not make a vehicle unsafe. Driving like an idiot makes a vehicle unsafe. 99.9% of the time if you have to swerve so hard that it flips your vehicle YOU WERE NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO THE ROAD AHEAD. I see off-road race vehicles and prerunners all the time that corner on three-wheels with tons of body roll and they are not in danger of flipping because they know how to drive. Here are a couple of pics as an example.
Ok I see what you mean about the front because it allows you to articulate more instead of flexing out.
If the rear one makes a negligable difference, then why take it out at all?
And when you say that it made a huge difference hooking it up after 2 years , does that mean the front or rear?
Haha yeah that's whats flashing through my mind when I think about taking off the rear one. I do have brand new springs and shocks in the rear tho...
Thanks for all the replies!
Mine had the up country suspension package so it came from the factory without a rear swaybar. Removing the rear swaybar won't cause any safety issues or they wouldn't have made them without one.
So I have new shocks and springs on the back and pretty new on the front. Does that mean back ones are less necessary?
Yeah, It seems like the combination of shackles and U bolts makes it stiff side-to-side
Nothing is less necessary. You need everything to match and to be correct for your application. Some shocks are softer then others and the softer they are, the more you will need a swaybar.
Originally Posted by StealthyMcStealth
I am not arguing for or against sway bars, as I believe that is personal preference. But having body roll does not make a vehicle unsafe. Driving like an idiot makes a vehicle unsafe. 99.9% of the time if you have to swerve so hard that it flips your vehicle YOU WERE NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO THE ROAD AHEAD. I see off-road race vehicles and prerunners all the time that corner on three-wheels with tons of body roll and they are not in danger of flipping because they know how to drive. Here are a couple of pics as an example.
Hey you can still lift a wheel in a vehicle that wont flip and with a front swaybar! Not as extreme but still counts.
Nothing is less necessary. You need everything to match and to be correct for your application. Some shocks are softer then others and the softer they are, the more you will need a swaybar.
Hey you can still lift a wheel in a vehicle that wont flip and with a front swaybar! Not as extreme but still counts.
You can lift a wheel in many vehicles, sway bar or not. My point was it is almost always the driver that determines if the vehicle rolls over or not. No different than the rock crawler crowd. Give them a challenge and most will make it but some doofus will say his spotter said right when the spotter said left.
If the rear one makes a negligable difference, then why take it out at all?
It makes a negligible difference in reducing sway on-road but will make a significant improvement in articulation off-road.
Originally Posted by xjnm
And when you say that it made a huge difference hooking it up after 2 years , does that mean the front or rear?
I was referring to the front.
I'd also like to reiterate that the upcountry package Cherokees came from the factory with a 1" lift and no rear sway bar. That should put it into perspective for you.
It makes a negligible difference in reducing sway on-road but will make a significant improvement in articulation off-road.
I was referring to the front.
I'd also like to reiterate that the upcountry package Cherokees came from the factory with a 1" lift and no rear sway bar. That should put it into perspective for you.
Ok cool thanks for the help. Taking it off this weekend and will make bar pin eliminators for the front!
Rear is not noticable at all when i took it off after it came loose and cost me a tire.
Front i have a set of JK DC that i cut down to fit my XJ.
I rarely run DC'd on the front one time i did and left it loose just running from one trail to the next was hairy.
But My superlift coils are farely soft too....
I was going to say that coil spring rate/stiffness must make a difference. I emailed super lift and they said their spring rate is 225 lbs/inch. RE 3.5" coils are 240, so are Zones 3". Rusty's sells HD that are 180, and standard 150. I think coil spring rate is 147 for OEM coils...response from Superlift below.
Terry Ulven (Terry.Ulven@superlift.com)
To:you Details
Spring rate is 225 lbs/inch freight height 17.75”
I was going to say that coil spring rate/stiffness must make a difference.
It does, and I mentioned it in post #2. I also believe that's also why the Upcountry package came from the factory without the rear bar--because the rear leafs are higher rate than the standard leafs.
I have higher rate springs all around on my XJ, and sway when running disconnected is much more controlled than it was with the OEM springs, but I still wouldn't run the front disco'd at 45mph+ speeds.
Looks like the Jeep that rolled still had the sway bar in it. You can see it poking out from under the bumper. Not saying that it was hooked up but pretty good chances it was hooked up and still rolled. Sway bar or not, we are still talking about a lifted XJ... its got a good chance its going to roll no matter what. These things arent sports cars.
AGREED !!!!
The pic looks to me more like a reason NOT to put a roof rack & heavy tire up top than to remove a sway bar.
I have run both ways, with and without, and it all depends on how you drive for the most part....and your suspension/shock set up.
A little surprised by some responses. You seem to understand the function of the sway bar So....
Kindly:
WHY would this be on all solid axle Applications if it was not NEEDED?
because of the above picture.
Can you and do some drive without swaybars: yes but it doesnt mean that because you've driven 100yrs without an ENGINEERED suspension/steering linkage, that it isnt important or extremely needed. Is is worth someone elses life or yours if you can't correctively steer?
Imo, unless it's a trailer queen or similar, your not responsibly modifying your rig ( if you remove sway bars) rig to be driven amongst other drivers. Front sb only, rear left on is a plus for road manners, removal of the rear won't be problematic unless you try driving like your in a Porsche haha.
Offroad: disconnect even if you need some wrenches, your ride will thank you, most anyone here can confirm that!
Really it's a cheap route right... do you NEED them?:
..... up to you man
Btw, I love dogs, animals.... if it's not an easy stop You flatten that critter for your safety, don't swerve.
Last edited by 4x4jeepmanthing; Jan 19, 2018 at 11:57 PM.
A little surprised by some responses. You seem to understand the function of the sway bar So....
Kindly:
WHY would this be on all solid axle Applications if it was not NEEDED?
because of the above picture.
Can you and do some drive without swaybars: yes but it doesnt mean that because you've driven 100yrs without an ENGINEERED suspension/steering linkage, that it isnt important or extremely needed. Is is worth someone elses life or yours if you can't correctively steer?
Imo, unless it's a trailer queen or similar, your not responsibly modifying your rig ( if you remove sway bars) rig to be driven amongst other drivers. Front sb only, rear left on is a plus for road manners, removal of the rear won't be problematic unless you try driving like your in a Porsche haha.
Offroad: disconnect even if you need some wrenches, your ride will thank you, most anyone here can confirm that!
Really it's a cheap route right... do you NEED them?:
..... up to you man
Btw, I love dogs, animals.... if it's not an easy stop You flatten that critter for your safety, don't swerve.
Not all solid axle trucks have had sway bars factory.Ford didn't make it standard tell the late 70s early 80s.Many cars in the 60s didn't have a front one either.Or the big dodge 15 passenger vans can roll over if you blow a front tire at highway speeds.With a 4x4 the center of gravity is higher then most cars then add a lift and bigger tires its even higher.And some of it is driver error/lack of control also.I have done it myself when i was 19.I rolled a 77 f350 driving down a country road at night coming around a curve theres a deer in the road,I swerved out of reflex to not hit it,Well i put 2 wheels in the ditch and i rolled it over.I was banged up but walked away more my ego hurt that i killed my truck.
+1. My '67 Bronco never had a swaybar, and doesn't need one. Radius arms seem to provide more lateral stability than control arms. It also seems to me that people used to not take things for granted and drive trucks like they were low-slung sports cars, and I don't either.
Last edited by Tbone289; Jan 20, 2018 at 08:01 AM.
All I'm saying is these rigs have been built with sway bars for good reason. Sure 60s- 80 might not have had them, but come on, it's a 90s vehicle and an xj is no f350 haha
I've driven without sway bars just to see what it's like on the road and after a week I was completely fine. BUT, we jeepers have the pics online that show what comes of the consequences when you should have had sway bars. it's not a one time event, people flip, roll, crash all the time from lack there of sway bars.
I decided my jeep was drivable without them, sure, but I had experience on why they were there as well and thus kept them. Again just my opinion and how I felt, but it is good for us to consider if a particular mod could ever impact other drivers should something go wrong. Hell maybe your comfortable without running them and just wouldnt mind steering off the road to avoid someone, idk. Just encouraging a safe route. Do what suites your better judgement per the application OP.
Last edited by 4x4jeepmanthing; Jan 20, 2018 at 04:56 PM.
