Sway bar info: Good or Bad? Lifesaving or off-road limiting

I took mine off about 6 months ago and couldn't be happier. I have OME shocks and coils so a little stiffer than stock.

On road: Yes you notice things are a bit more "squishy" when you first take it off. I don't feel it has made highway driving anymore dangerous, then again they're made for a reason and I haven't had to react to a collision/animal/ or who the f*** knows what going 70mph. I feel like some people make a big deal about it, I'm more concerned about the guy/girl who is texting and driving in the next lane over or in oncoming traffic than my sway bar being off. Guess it just depends how you look at it.

Off road: I love it! Don't have exact measurements of how much more flex I gained but It's definitely a couple inches more. Truck handles way better going over potholes or washboard, I feel like the whole truck doesn't jolt now when hitting holes or bumps. Just seems to have have better flow whether your crawling or trying to be LT king in the desert.

 

it allows the independent front to be. . . . independent.

I removed mine on stock coils and shocks and was amazed. its the stuff that you hit with one tire that you notice the difference. speedbump head-on, same with or without.

speedbump at angle: no swaybar, your front end goes "squish-squish" and you barely feel anything. with swaybar, as each tire goes over the bump at different times, the bump is transferred to the opposite side, through the bar, and results in a side-to-side rock.

on-road, you have to change a bit. single turns aren't too bad, but if you have to brake while turning, or brake between turns, and its a pitchin-rollin sob.

my 884's over billies calmed it down a little bit

 

I took it off but put it back on because there was too much body roll. When you have to do evasive maneuvers at high speeds, you will roll your truck.

 

It doesn't bother me but then again I'm still stock so once I get icons I'll take it off to see how it feels.

 

I've had mine off for over 2 years. Truck is super stable. But I sit low.

 

I have been thinking about it.

 

This all sounds very interesting and I wouldn't mind giving it a go has anyone had any experience hauling a heavy load with them removed? I'm talking about a camper or camp gear maybe 1,000 or more pounds?

 

Good question! Also, you guys are only talking about removing the front bar and leaving the back on right.... shit is there even a back one?

 

Mines in a landfill somewhere....

 

This is why this truck needs KDSS

 

There's a rear sway bar on Tacomas?

Is there a quick dis-connect kit for the front yet?

 

Ermagherd!!!!! No sway bar? We are all going to die!!!!!!!!!
Take it off or leave it on, your chance of dieing will remain practically the same.

 

My truck has almost 1,000 pounds in armor. Last weekend I also has my Roof Top Tent, bedrack, bed cover, Roof Rack, Cargo rack, and two full coolers, 80+ drinks, two 5 gallon water jugs, 4 people, a dog, and other camping gear for 4 people. The truck did fine on windy mountain road but I drove the speed limit.

 

There's no rear sway bar...

and here is all the info about a "quick disconnect":

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/48150-automatic-sway-bar-disconnects.html

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/bay-area-metal-fabrication/219398-swaybar.html

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...e-fabricates-2nd-gen-sway-bar-disconnect.html

Just remove it and drive it like a truck!

 

I haven't hauled that much in the bed but I do tow my camper (4500-5000lbs loaded) every other weekend (SB removed). Don't notice a difference in the truck's handling.

 

I'm going to speak to stock trucks, with stock suspensions like mine. This is really the issue. 99% of trucks are pavement pounders, unless they are trailer queens, and trailered to the trailhead. With so much time on the road it does make sense to leave it in for safety. The fact is nobody can predict when random objects or other drivers are going to do something which requires the driver to respond with emergency evasive maneuvers. And I agree with Hans, the probability of rolling the truck increases dramatically.

My Tacoma is also a family of four vehicle. I can't in good faith take the sway bar off knowing that my actions could very well contribute to our demise in the event of an emergency evasive maneuver.

Queue now to the solution... Quick disconnects.

I have been waiting for 5 years for a quick disconnect kit and nobody has really come up with one. I understand there are some engineering challenges. In the mean time, I have my sway bar on and I've still managed to do plenty of off-road exploration.

 

Billie flex no sway bar ftw

 

Ditched mine shortly after swapping out my suspension. The Eibach coils are so much heavier than the factory that even without the SB my truck still corners/handles great!

 

No sway bar ftw

 

You have to remember that with OEM suspension, they purposely try to make the ride as smooth as possible. Smooth=softer coils and struts. This in turn means that the strut assemblies support as little weight as possible and are not strong enough to support a vehicle in a turn. A sway bar corrects this by linking the front suspension together.

With aftermarket assemblies, the coils are much stiffer and the struts are valved differently. Even though mine is a Gen1, once I replaced my front suspension with OME components and scrapped the swaybar, I experienced no more body roll than with the OEM suspension and a swaybar.

The handling improvement is that each front wheel can move independently. Off-road and even on-road (when driving over the curb at your driveway), the independent movement of the front wheels keeps both wheels touching the ground without moving the the frame and body.