Yes or No, Keep the sway bar on?

My interpretation is that if I'm a conservative drive I can expect no problems driving on snow and ice with the exception of the occasional emergency maneuver. However, if I drive aggressively I will have a noticeable loss of handling.

Based on that, I'll be fine, but my wife will defiantly need the sway bar. She makes Dana Kirkpatrick's driving appear conservative. I'll have to comb through @jboudreaux1965 's posts and see if I can fuss with the geometry to get my sway bar mounted so it doesn't rub.

 

I noticed the spacers on your shelf in this pic. Isn't your tagline: "friends don't let friends drive with spacers" hahahahaha. I'm happy to see that you removed them.

 

I removed mine labor day weekend. I have 3" roughly all around. The drive home was interesting driving though the hills of western PA. I had to slow down, and actually thought it was a mistake. The first time on the interstate made me pretty nervous. With that said, 2 weeks later i run pretty much the same as I did before. You get used to it. I can say that I plan to run the 886 springs when i get a chance to swap now. I have the 887, and would like a little stiffer spring going into the winter season.

I love the way it handles off road now, so I am going to leave it and just be cautious this winter. I am also running 255's, I feel like the 285's or even 265s would feel more comfortable tossing it into a turn. If you don't have the need for speed remove and get used to it before the bulk of winter strikes.

 

you don't need a sway bar. I upgraded to OME nitro charger sport shocks and OME coils up front and the setup is stiff enough to where it's very stable on the road without it. never had a problem where I felt like I was going to roll. I don't know what other setups are like, but I get the impression that upgraded shocks and springs negate the need for a sway bar. and hey, more droop

 

Driving conservatively is usually the right answer to any question about suspension or steering.

But in this case you can't say yes-no to the stock sway bar. Too many variables. It does control body lean, but it also creates some understeer, changes the ride. Where the sway bar is also matters. Being in the front with IFS probably means it's more about steering than anything. If Toyota wanted to control body lean they'd have one on the back, too. Actually having one *just* in the back might be more effective for that.

On that line of argument your rear spring rate and shocks might make a difference, too. That's why this past weekend I felt sketchy, I was heavily loaded and my back suspension was dipping more than usual so the opposite front wheel would unweight more. Leaf springs and a solid rear axle affect the steering and body lean uniquely compared to IRS or rear coils.

Running no sway is something you have to get used to, more because it's different rather than better or worse. You get more shift in the center of mass but the steering is more reactive so you don't need as much input. The suspension works better over uneven terrain since the two front wheels aren't linked (e.g. with a sway bar when one wheel compresses the other will too) but on some pavement having a sway bar helps even the ride, less back and forth jostling.

 

Let's not forget that without the swaybar it can feel like you are lifting the inside front tire when making an aggressive U turn which is always fun.

 

To get at what @jboudreaux1965 was talking about with respect to the shock geometry, I did contact freedom off road and they said I need crank up my ride height. They also said that adding sway bar relocation kit is likely causing some of the rub issues given that they engineered the extended sway bar links to correct these issues in the first place. The base of the shock screws up towards the top as I adjust the ride height, so this does make sense that it would then clear the sway bar... not sure if this will fix the geometry issues all the way through the suspension articulation though. For those interested, the base spring rate is 11.8kg/mm, which is about 625 lbs/inch. Obviously adjusting the spring will tighten this up, and possibly fix my sway bar issue. I'll keep y'all posted on the results of that.

With respect to the initial thread post, Ive decided that I'm keeping the sway bar on. It would be reckless to assume my driving would be so perfect under all conditions that I would never benefit for the improved handling the sway bar offers. I do too much highway driving on my way to go 4x4ing to take it off. When I think about my wife, my dogs, myself, and all the other people around me with as much to lose, I have no problem carrying a 15mm wrench and taking it off at the trail head.

 

Man, awesome rig!

Lol, never installed. MaxTrac sent them free with spindles I did have spacers about 10 or so years ago for a little while, pulled them, put 5100's, pulled them shortly after, put coils. Learned my lessons the hard way... Wasting alot of time and money. Hence " friends don't let friends drive with spacers"

 

I just put an OME lift with 883 coils (590lb) on my 1st gen and deleted the sway bar. It has a ton more body roll, and doing a lane evasion is a bit sketchy. But I don’t notice anything abnormal during daily driving.

 

Lol, dood, you run up an overpass incline and hit a pillar... A truck with long travel setup for desert racing would flip! Doubt sway bar would have made any difference, lol! I rolled my 4Runner alot easier than that. And for sure it didn't have a sway bar, lol!

 

Nah, he is referring to car the flipped in front of him, causing him to swerve... I think. Scared him enough to put the sway bar back on.

 

Just remember to get an alignment after you crank them up

 

I recommend Firestone lifetime alignment, bring it in everyday if you want to, lol! I bought it 10+ years ago, change and adjust parts all the time. I've brought it in at least 5 times this year alone. WELL worth it. Yah they aren't the best, sometimes takes a couple times to get it spec on, but it's free!

 

I was just about to start a thread to see what people's favorite alignment tools/kits are. I take it you don't do yours yourself?

 

Lol, I try to do everything myself, failed miserably trying to do alignments.

Others have had good results, not me.

Take this with a grain of salt...

I modd'd the suspension on a Lexus RX I had years ago, it was a one time mod!

I spent about $300 to have a shop in the area that SPECIALIZES only in alignments do the work. Spec on, first time! But that was a one time deal.

My Tacoma is my baby and my toy. The joke with friends and family is that they will beary me before before my Tacoma, lol! I change stuff all the time... Sometimes it takes a couple trips to Firestone to get it spec on, it's a trade off...

At $70-$80 whatever Firestone charges, over a decade, add it up... Vs the $100 I spent a decade ago. But, have had to sometimes bring it back several times after a mod for them to get it right!

Vs...

One time mod, and rightly so, spend more and have a perfect alignment one time.

 

If you crank up the coilsovers, It's a pretty modd'd suspension now over stock, it's a fact of life. Everytime you turn that key and adjust... Swap struts, coils, tires, wheels.. Trip to alignment shop...

 

When I was IFS, I had 700lbs coils on my fox mid travel coilovers. Was fine on the street. There is one off ramp that I would take every morning going to work going way too fast at the limits of traction. Tires screaming. Body would roll a bit, then stop. Just take it off, put it back on, get a feel for it. Leave a nice gap from the car in front of you.
But really, unless you are wheeling all the time with a tire hanging up in the air, you don't really need to take it off. For awhile, I only took mine off before a wheeling trip, then put it back on after.
Now that I'm SASed on 37s, I'm not in a rush to go anywhere if you guys want to feel body roll, you need a ride in my truck

 

....... Speechless...just awesome truck!

 

Thanks! All done in my garage

 

I was checking on links today and making sure everything is still tight.