Swaybar Removal Challenge

I was under the impression that the sway bar would affect down travel. My example being if you have large hole coming up on the L, then the L wheel will fall into it, but the sway bar will keep it more in line with the R wheel thus limiting down travel somewhat. If it isn't there then the only thing stopping the down travel is the shock limit. Not correct? I thought one of the reasons for removing the sway bar is to have the full travel on both wheel independently w/o affecting each other.

 

I believe the shock limit will always be the limit of your down travel. The sway shouldn't limit travel (at least it doesn't on my Icon Stage 4 extended travel kit). My philosophy has, and always will be, that keeping a tire on the ground (where possible) is your best bet. Especially if you have open diffs.

One thing I'd consider with the situation you describe is how much traction does a wheel using 100% of it's down travel really have? Judging by use of the travel, that wheel must be pretty darn unladen. My guess would be not quite enough traction to break a CV unless you're really doing something stupid.

 

Always a possibility..... lol.

Traction makes sense as that wheel dropping would have almost no weight on it.

I don't believe the sway stops overall drop.

For example: if you jack up the front end, both wheels will drop all the way to the limit. With a sway bar though, if you jack up on one side it will not drop all the way on that side due to the limiting of the sway bar as it ties one knuckle to the other. That's what I thought anyway.

Could be really easy to test this out. May do some measurements with sway bar connected and disconnected.

 

Yeah, leaving a way out for some original thinkers who WILL find a way.

And I see what you're saying now, and you're right. If it didn't limit the travel in that sense then there'd be no reason to remove the sway when going offroading.

 

The sway bar is a solid steel bar. It limits suspension travel. It DOES make a difference. And a big one. Also if you go back a ways I recall a long time TW member who had lots of race experience giving a long explanation sly the physics behind it and how a sway bar doesn't double the spring load but creates an exponential difference over all.

Have you ever removed yours? Or does your expertise come from imagination?

Edit: Also, hitting both wheels at the "exact same time" must take some talent on your part. A tiny difference in strike time can cause side to side motions in the truck. Without a sway bar I can drive over speed bumps with much less impact to the truck no matter what angle I approach. I barely notice them anymore.

 

Well good news and bad news...
not going to be able to post a before video w/ sway bar, went out to do some measurements and decided to just take it off after I confirmed what most already knew and that is no sway bar=better offroad

I was however able to prove that there is some difference in drop with an unscientific experiment.

I jacked up up the driver side and measured, then disconnected the sway bar from the knuckle and measured again, both hub to fender. Used tape to confirm I was measuring to the same place.

Hub/Fender w/o jacking up was 22 1/4in
Hub/Fender w/Swaybar connected and 1 side jacked up was 24 7/8in
Hub/fender w/o Swaybar connected and 1 side jacked up was 25 1/4in

Keep in mind this was in a driveway of questionable flatness and I never measured with the R side disconnected from the sway bar.

May not seem like much, but I didn't measure up travel at all. I believe the biggest gain will be in the difference between 1 sides added up travel and the others down travel when off road.

Pics for Ref
* measurements above are actual, I had a hard time taken pics and keeping the tape measure straight
Edit: added captions, didn't know I but the text on the pics so small

Tape for reference on fender flare

Not jacked up

Jacked up, w/ Sway bar

Jacked up, w/ sway bar disconnected on L side

Jacked up, just noted here the upward force that would have been applied if the sway link was connected, notice the distance from the hole in the knuckle to the top of the sway link. All that force would be limiting drop on the L side

 

I think you are getting your things, persons, and actions a bit confused. Maybe our conversational shorthand is throwing you off. Let me try to clarify.

Agreed, there are no dangerous things. People perform dangerous ACTIONS. Persons are harmless while watching TV by themselves.

A handgun in my safe or on my hip is completely harmless thing. When handled safely and used in the appropriate location the ACTION is perfectly safe. Taking target practice in a crowded movie theatre is a dangerous ACTION. A brodozer with an 8" lift, coils and no swaybar, bad shocks, and bald tires sitting in the driveway is a completely harmless thing. Driving it across your cow pasture within its limitations is a reasonably safe ACTION. Driving that same truck on the freeway in traffic around other people is a dangerous ACTION.

Sorry all about the distracting and unnecessary caps. Just trying out the same preachy approach in response

 

That WAS a great RESPONSE.

 

I DON'T know why we're YELLING

 

This outcome is expected, the sway bar prevents 1 wheel from acting independently of the other, so when you jack up just 1 side of the truck the "free" wheel is limited in its droop because the sway bar is preventing it from being independent of the other wheel still grounded & stuffed in the fender. If you were to jack the truck up from the center and let both wheels fully droop, they would be the same with and w/o the swaybar.

Yes, that is the only reason for removing the sway bar, the wheels are no longer "tied" together and can act 100% independently of one another.

 

I have personally removed the sway bar on a couple of vehicles and had disconnects on my jeep.

The jeep with 4" of lift long arms and 35" tires wasn't fun to drive on pavement without the sway bar.
The F250 super duty without the sway bar was unnoticed.
As was the TTB 1/2 ton fords
And removing the bar on my 78 F250 made little difference.

One thing to remember is that the sway bar is designed to run parallel to the ground. In none of the reading I have done does anybody address the sway bar angle when they lift. More angle = less effective.

 

I expected a bigger difference honestly. Mostly, I just wanted to prove the theory to myself.

 

You have a difficult time with reading comprehension?

 

It's either:

You have a difficult time with reading comprehension.

or

Do you have a difficult time with reading comprehension?

It appears that he is not the only one.

 

My form is permitted as a form of verbless clause in which the verb "do" is IMPLIED.

 

hahaha, ok fine. I thought you might be looking that up as it took a while for you to reply. Either way no need to go caps on me. I was just messing with you.

 

Ok

 

I was going to gripe about the lack of videos in this thread... but then I realized that I am just as lazy as the rest of you.

 

Ok now do it again at highway speeds.