Sway bar broke

Yup in a car and truck

 

How does it perform off road??? I assume you mean your taco for off road right?

Coot

 

For production stock class: fine

 

I've had mine off for about a year now and haven't had any issues. For someone who wheels about every other weekend its just not practical to be removing/ replacing it that often. I also drive 500 miles a week with about half of that being at highway speeds, have had to dodge deer, antelope, coyotes, and an eagle. Your driving habits adapt to the change in spring rate and increased body roll. I would say however, for an inexperienced driver this could be potentially hazardous.

 

The butt hurt runs deep in here!

Love my truck without the sway bar. It's not for everybody, but I like it much better. Even in 80 mph zones, I'm not the least bit concerned about it.

 

OP, if you're breaking sway bar links, something is seriously wrong.

 

Anyway OP, I would say it is unlikely that there is a connection between your change in tire size and the failure of your sway bar links. Would need to know a little more about your driving habits, vehicle condition, and what other changes have been made to the vehicle to determine the cause of failure.

 

Is the sway bar a requirement for that class? Mind sharing where some of these locations you race at are? I ask out of mere curiousity.

Coot

 

OP, did you have more than one link break? Or did this only happen once?

 

Agree here, OP any more info could greatly help us out! Also if you have a second gen...I don't need my sway bar!

Coot

 

Appreciate that, my buddy who is an inspector just confirmed it isn't required by VA if it is completely removed.

Coot

 

Let's settle one thing right now so we can quit this back and fourth....
1) On a road, the truck performs WORSE without the sway bar. This is a factual statement; no opinion.
2) Stiffer springs will minimally help combat the degraded performance.
3) If having a poorly handling truck is acceptable to you, that's your decision entirely. There are other STOCK vehicles that will tip over well before your no-swaybar modified Tacoma.

Like you, I'm mechanically minded and need to know what's going on and how it affects things. Here's what I know about the science of it all to the best of my knowledge.

Springs are rated by the amount of force that is required to get them to compress by 1 inch. The stock spring rates on a Tacoma are 560 I believe. The silver Eibach springs are about 650; so 90lbs of extra load is required to compress the spring 1". Say we're taking a right turn, that 1" of compression will translate into a certain amount of roll angle as the driver's side wheel moves up an inch and the body rolls that direction. With stock springs, it requires 560 pounds of force to accomplish this. With the stiffer aftermarket springs, it requires an additional 90lbs. So as many are saying, this compensates for NOT having a sway bar....or does it? Keep in mind, while this is happening, the inside wheel and suspension are actually pushing UP on the vehicle, actively trying to flip it over.

Let's check the math. But before we do, does everyone actually understand how a sway bar works? A sway bar connects the left and right suspensions by way of a thick steel bar. As the suspension on one side of the truck moves up, it also causes the suspension on the other side of the truck to do the same which lowers the vehicle. Factually speaking, the two sides are linked together. Yes, the sway bar will exhibit SOME flex but if you've ever held the massive sway bar in your hands you'll have an appreciation for how stiff that bar is.

Moving onto our calculations....remember we stated a Tacoma with Eibach springs will take 90 extra lbs to get the truck to roll to the same degree as a stock spring truck with no sway bar. Now let's put the sway bar back on the stock spring Tacoma. Since the left and right suspension springs are now linked via a mechanical bar, the spring rate just doubled on the outside wheel, the one being compressed. This is because the weight is being taken off the inside wheel as the truck rolls out. So now our effective spring rate on the outside wheel is 1120lbs per inch. This of course ignores the minimal flex we'll get from the sway bar twisting under force (because I have NO idea how we'd figure that out). So the stock Tacoma with the sway bar requires an EXTRA 470lbs of force to get it to tip the same angle under turning than even the upgraded Eibach spring Tacoma. That's an extra 42% spring rate (I think that's correct) over the Eibachs that were supposed to be an "upgrade".

So what does that mean? Well the math says you're WAY better off with stock suspension and a sway bar. By a HUGE HUGE margin. The best part is the magic and witch craft of what a sway bar means for your daily comfort when NOT turning. If you are getting your stiffer spring rate via inherently stiffer springs, your ride will be way rougher as you travel straight on the road since your OVERALL spring rate is much higher. But having the sway bar allows you to run a much softer spring rate for driving comfort that only presents itself as a stiff spring when in the corners. Clear as mud?

 

/thread

 

I prefer how mine handles on road. It's much smoother.

 

Ok so this helps define the rate of which the spring compresses in terms of roll radius for inch increments correct? It would make sense that without the sway bar the load would double as there is in essence no retarding role in the forces anymore due to the removal of the sway bar. This makes sense as the sensation to feel the sway happens probably at about half of the normal steering wheel input. My question to you...how many inches would it take to flip a Tacoma at say....55 mph? I believe there are four inches available per front shock until max compression right?

Coot

 

Now you should probably address the issue of carpal tunnel associated with excessive keyboard warring.

 

Wasn't this thread originally about a broken swaybar link? lol

 

Yea, granted I think I helped steer it into another direction...but I do have a sway bar to rectify the OP's broken one if he has a second gen!

Coot

 

Good question. And I'm not sure what the answer is. I guess you'd have to take the breakover angle of the Tacoma (I forget what it is) and figure out what angle your truck will be at with 4" of up travel + the remainder of what's needed to get it the rest of the way.

I for one don't want to find out but I'm certain it's pretty severe. Truth be told, I've been offroad on a VERY off-cant slope and I thought for sure we would roll but in reality I don't think we were close. Remember, the center of gravity must pass over the lower wheels to flip. When you start looking at truck angles you realize how severe that really is. But like I said, not wanting to find out any time soon.

Slow day at work. Simply reallocating typing resources haha.