Sway bar removal

I have a question with those of you who have removed the sway bar.

I have a 2010 trd offroad, I travel a ton on the highways and streets, but I also do a lot of offroading, some very serious stuff (big rocks, ledges etc) I definatley have noticed the swaybar being a limiting factor when I am offroad.

My question is, how serious is it removed while on the street? I know i obviously cant be drifting around corners etc but how else does it negativley effect you on the street? I drive the speed limit, sometimes a little faster, but i dont take turns any faster then a normal person other then the occasional faster turn to beat the yellow light...

Do you guys think that removing the sway bar is worth the benefit of offroad? does having it removed have a drastic effect on road?

 

It will vary per person.

I cannot stand it when the swaybar is off while on-road, but I cannot stand it when the swaybar is on when off-road.

Why there isn't a quick('ish) disconnect on the market for Tacomas is beyond me.

 

Mine is off with ome 885 springs, not too bad really. I can still take a corner without feeling like itll tip over. But I think Im just used to it and comfortable driving that way.
I do notice the difference with it on but I just adjust my driving.

 

Had mine off for years, and honestly, I can easily get a nice sideways slide going in my truck (OME lift as well). She handles just fine with my 886 coils (and my truck is not light by any means)

 

I've run without the sway bar, I personally don't like the feeling on the highway. I don't drive like a maniac and I don't treat my truck like a race car. It's just not for me. I don't see it to limit travel too much although I haven't fully flexed my truck with it on.

 

If you have stock suspension I would say do not take it off. If you have a quality aftermarket suspension, then I would say you can consider it.

 

ill take all this into consideration. As of now its stock suspension, im going to be running the Ishock midtravel kit with dakars in the rear, should have it by the end of the month

 

Once you have the suspension set up that you want, disconnect it and drive around for a few days. Make sure to secure it up and out of the way. If you don't mind it, and your driving habits allow for it, remove it completely. Keep in mind, you will not be able to pass a vehicle inspection, if your state requires them, with the sway bar removed.

 

i have OME lift, 886x coils/dakars, removed the sway bar. on long/wide turns in the mountains it can get a bit sketchy at times. but i am used to not having a sway bar on any of my trucks. off road it is significant difference. it is a total of 6 nuts/bolts to remove it completely and takes no more than 15 minutes. so give it a shot

 

Yes, removing the bar will make the truck less forgiving to mistakes in a panic situation. The understeer created by the bar is there to compensate the over reaction that most people have in a panic situation. If you over react, the car will most likely plow straight ahead. There is less chance of a catastrophic loss of control. If some of the understeer is removed (removing the bar), then an over reaction will be more likely to result in a spin out or a roll over. That is the short version. If anyone wants more detail I can provide it.

 

Unless I was being dumb, I had to remove the front skid plate to get the sway bar out. No matter how I turned it. Took a but more than 15 min.

 

I have king coilovers up front with 650# springs and no swaybar. I can not imagine stock suspension with no sway bar. everything else is stock, weight wise.

I am 4wd with the 4.0. I would imagine the #600 springs would be ok for the 4cyl 4wd, or the 4.0 with 2wd. but 4.0 and 4wd with #650 springs is nice.

 

stock suspension. no swaybar. love it. as long as throttle is applied it stays fairly flat. braking late into a corner shows some boddy roll, but nothing like its gunna flip. the only time it got funny was when my dumb-a$$ was coming down a mountain, slightly inside, with another car coming up, slightly outside. though my quick right-left jerk didnt make me uncomfortable, it looked bad enough for the other car to honk lol.

so basically, i didnt lose. i love the way my truck rides now. . . "like a cadillac". its hard to explain, but to sum it up, going over railroad tracks that cross at an angle or even turning up into my driveway makes me smile. and off the road, well, its awesome

 

OK so I was wandering about this today so I removed my say bar to see how it was. and here are my thoughs for anyone who comes across this. I have a 3" in lift 5100 with 885 ome springs and 285/75-16 duratracks 16x8 wheels with 4.5" backspacing.

With sway bar connected backed up a wash, the concrete type, till front wheel was at full tuck and tire hit a very small amount at lower rear of fender flare.

With sway bar removed did the same and a major difference in the tuck I dam near ripped my fender flare off, and I would say 2"-3" more tuck.

On road manners were good no wandering or anything negative but driving down the road about 25mph and turning back and forth does get pretty excessive body roll as for driving around town and highway trying to avoid the IDIOTS that reside here would be pretty sketchy.

As for time of removal took about 10min but I'm a man and I use air tools.

As a end result I put it back on, if you have smaller tires and are going on a quick 4 wheeling trip for the day or so close to where you live I would it.

 

I have 5100's with eibach's set at 2.5" (edit- .85 slot for total 2.5" lift) I'm considering it if not just for while I'm in Big Bear next weekend. Can you just disconnect it at the ends and leave it there? Is there a quick disconnect option?

 

Just remove it.

 

I've got KING 700's on my front with the sway bar removed. Can not tell a difference to be honest in normal driving conditions. Keep in mind, we are not driving race cars here, it's a truck. If you like to haul butt on the freeways maybe you should reconsider it. I however do not and drive the speed limit. I've done some testing with it off and it actually handles better with it removed with my suspension setup. Just get good components and you have nothing to worry about.

 

I busted one of my sway bar links while installing Icons (which have 650# springs), so I ran without the sway bar for a while until new links arrived. Steady-cornering (on-ramps, etc.) were fine. The "slalom" hazard avoidance maneuvers, however, got scary on the second swerve back to center. It doesn't have to be fast, either. Just 40 mph will do it. Search Youtube for "Hilux Moose Test":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nA9vcLDiCFk

 

I live in Atlanta. Let me tell yuh, I do the emergency avoidance almost weekly driving the perimeter. I can tell you with what I have on my front end it's like nothing has been removed. Maybe it's the weight I have up front with the bumper and skids. I don't know. Maybe its the 700's. I'm not sure. Could be a combination there of. I'll take it. At the end of the day, my truck is just as stable if not more stable to me than it was stock. Growing up in LA driving the 405 with those crazy drivers then moving to Atlanta I can tell you that Atlanta has far worse drivers than most big cities in this country. They just plain suck and will definitely test your defensive driving skills in a heart beat.

 

Totally agree with you on this! Good call!