If you aren't flexing enough to pull tires off the ground it really doesn't matter that much. Especially for a daily driver where swaybars add a lot to the driveability on road.
with he proper spring rate you WILL need sway bars on OR offroad, also you gaing A TON of stability offroad; dont think that a tire on the ground its automatically better/more traction and a tire in the air its a "bad" thing.. i used to think like that until i reworked my springs/shocks and added a sway bar (lowered the spring rate, revalved shocks, sway bars and bump stops) and now my jeep its a whole different vehicle; it works soo much better now its actually hard to explain it
This theory only works if vehicle is fitted with diff locks. In the case of open differentials (not centre diff) then wheels are needed on ground for traction.
@@ottoscribante5230 I assumed he has diff locks since most serious off-road rigs do. Even my 4x4 van has lock in the rear and very good limited slip in the front.
This is what I was searching for! Trying to put a rear sway bar on my ‘98 Isuzu Trooper. I’ve broke two already. And your rover set up is extremely similar.
My tundra. I run a heavy duty rear swaybar and no front swaybar. With upgraded suspension it’s manageable on the highway and rides so much better on the trail
This is exactly why you save things you take off a vehicle, or spare/scrap parts. I save as much usable pieces as possible. I really like your addition and the white board explanation!! Can’t wait to see what’s next!!
@@CalebMcKenzie follow up. My ace system started blowing pipes. Tonight I ripped out the whole system, and I'm installing solid bars with front disconnects. :)
It's funny that this video should come up at this time. I lifted my Jeep XJ a while back put it on 35s made a long travel suspension for it but I took off the sway bars. Now after driving it back and forth to work for a while I'm not happy with the body roll when I'm turning corners. So I watch this video after literally coming in from the barn from modifying the original sway bar so I can put it back in the Jeep
I've got a tj that I added a 4 inch short lift and I've considered upgrading my sway bars to see if that helps with body roll so great video man may have to look into this a little more
You shouldn't have any issues with body roll utilizing the factory bars. I have a TJ, 4-in lift JK axles on 38s. Stock bars with quick disconnect. Does great on the highway. Yes there's some sway but I'm never worried about tipping over in a turn. It's an off-road vehicle not a race car... Most people's idea of upgrading the sway bar is going with a smaller diameter bar like an antirock.
Yes a sway bar will only add traction if you have a locker, if open diff it will go the path of least resistance. Im sure you know that, just for the people that might not👍
Great video,you always seem to have video about the oddball things I'm into,I been building an overland yj with a roof rack,up high weight equals more body roll with my softer suspension,try to find a rear sway bar for a yj,lol got a used tj rear sway bar on order, gonna try to make it happen,again thanks for your spin on it, always helpful
From what I read about the currie anti rock, on the lightest setting, it reduced total flex by 5% on an rti ramp, but in competition rock crawling, the rigs with anti rock were outperforming the rigs with no sway bar. If you look at ultra 4, it seems every rig has a sway bar. I personally have just a front sway bar on my LJ, has quick disconnects but I prefer it connected and I can still use all of my 14 inch travel shocks. I do plan on anti rock to make it able to tuck a winch back. I hope I'll be able to fit the rear on, but I'm not sure it'll fit.
Nate. Thought the sway bar fitments affected the diagonally opposing end of each drive wheel on our Full-time 4x4's ? As the original Rangies and Discoveries never had anti-roll bars from the factory, the suspension system spring rates were designed without the mechanical aid ! V.
Plus no axle diff-locks on LR unless aftermarket. Plenty of the UK available 4x4 pickups they have soft vertical springing and thick anti-roll (sway bar) and off road it is like someone punching you in the shoulder all the time.
Nice work Nate. A lot of guys over here delete their swaybars (I have a Patrol tourer/ overlander). I went against convention and went to stiffer/bigger bars from a later model as the vehicle started getting heavier and higher, I stand by my decision👍 Plus; do you know much about disconneccts? I'm thinking about getting them but would like to know what options there are, plus pros and cons, if you know anything you'd like to share 👍
That's some great kit-bashing! I always keep more crap than I need...I get grumpy about the space it's taking up...until I find a use for it and then pat myself on the back a little. Might be putting a rear swaybar on my Ranger...didn't come with one stock, and it would help a lot with weight and trailering. As long as I can do it QD for more technical stuff. Will 100% look at junkyard Jeeps now, thanks!
Right on thanks brother, this is really going to help me with my 96 Disco Been without sway bars for a wile Looking forward to this next project on my rig now
I ended up beefing up my fj cruiser rear sway bar and removing the front one completely. 3 inch arb lift kit front and rear with jba heavy duty upper arms on the front. The stiffer front springs, heavy duty upper arms and upgraded poly bushings on the lower arms make sway bar not even needed, in fact it completely hindered it. I have now about 10 nch of travel up front and 13 ish in the back. If I had a lighter sway bar I could definitely have more rear travel. However most of my trips are overland style and not so much crawling anymore so I don't need all the flex, and being more stable when loaded up with all my camping and cooking gear gives me more confidence to take corners a little harder
Great video. FYI on the 1st Gen Xterra’s if you don’t remove the factory rear sway bar it’ll contact the rear shock on the passenger side while flexing and damage it. I removed mine (per bilstein instructions) when I upgraded shocks.
Hey Nate! I loved the vid as usual, but I think you possibly missed an opportunity. Could you not have ran a little longer bases off the axle as to mount the Antirock on the axle, and still give you enough clearance to remove your diff cover? I've never seen someone run an Antirock inverted, and I think it would be super cool, especially on that custom rig!
Good video...Theres a lot of misconceptions on sway bars on an "off-road vehicle". I have a Hellwig rear chromoly sway bar installed on my Zr2 because I have a small truck camper... It made a huge difference on handling and the truck still performs great offroad. I don't do hardcore rock crawling so the amount of flex I lose is negligible. BTW I did work with the Hellwig engineers to help develop a sway bar for the Colorado zr2 platform, its quite a bit different than the one for the standard Colorados. The sway bar is not currently in production for the Zr2 but if enough people contact Hellwig I am sure they would make a production ready model for you guys.
Awesome video man, always learn alot. Quick question when welding on a vehicle, should you disconnect the battery so you don’t risk damaging the electronics? Thanks for the upload..:)
I ended up adapting fully adjustable circle track car sway bars to my TJ Unlimited. There were levers I could use to adjust the sway bar spring rates. It really worked out well. Planning on doing the same to my M37CDN build. I'm kinda surprised I don't see this used more actually. They ended up costing about the same as a Currie Anti-Rock, and were way more adjustable than the dual rate bars that a few companies offered. Plus cheaper!
Interesting subject that nobody else really covers! You mentioned upgrading the brakes with a LR4 booster and master cylinder. Is that a bolt on upgrade. I’ve got a Disco 2 with the same brake issues you are having. Thanks and LOVE the channel!!
Ram HD with no sway bar and aftermarket 4 link air ride. Decent off road but sketchy when loaded on the highway. Aftermarket rear sway bar that came with the air ride setup is so stiff it doesn't allow for any articulation so it is disconnected.
Thanks for clearing that topic up. Too many people are running without sway bars on the street and that's stupid and dangerous to themselves and others.
Yeaaaah, I think that the Rancho 2.5" lift springs on my stretched 48 Willys are already too stiff to even consider adding sway bars... The thing rides like a dump truck already..
The real challenge would be figuring something out for then front sway-bar on the taco. Taco sway bar is on/off because a quick disconnect ends up puncturing the CV.
Great information as always👍👍 Wondering if your opinion on IFS would be the same compared to solid axles. I no longer run a front sway bar up front on my 99 4Runner, and run a rear with disconnects.
It's not designed for this vehicle so the bends in the bar will be weird looking no matter how you flip it. It's very close to the air line when I flip it the other way but I need to test it to see which way works best 👍
Once you install an axle that wasn't a factory option, the idea of an out-of-the-catalog sway bar goes right out the window. I had to do some screwing around to get a front sway bar to fit my modified F250.
My opinion is that the resistance to twisting that's inherent to leaf springs acts like a sway bar already. I use sway bars on coil spring suspension but not leaves, especially when it's leaves all the way around. Just my dumb opinion
Dirt Church Sunday!! Nate....question for you...have you ever entertained a Honda Element build? Its definitely not a hard core overlander, but a decent little adventure rig. My wife just got a 2010 Lexus RDX 350 to replace the Element. Just curious, as you are not hung up on any one make or model of vehicle.
I know a guy that is building a Honda Pilot as a mild back country rig. Problem he's running into it he can find lots of universal stuff for his back country gear, but when it comes to the Pilot's legs and armor there's little to no support, so custom fab has been his only choice.
Can you do a sway bar disconnect mod on your tacoma..if not can you explain why not safety wise or just not feasible plus tacom has A arm and no axle ...thanks
Great video, short and to the point. Are you worried about coming off a rock or obstacle and landing on the hoop of the rear sway bar? It looks like it sticks out from the pumpkin a little bit.
I vote to get rid of them. The leaves center the axle, and the track bar will limit axle travel while adding lots of stress to the already "weak" frame. In the rust belt, the track bar mounts and steering box area are the first areas to crack.
Hi how many people do you travel ? O asked as I thought about to get of of those but I have 3=4 people plus GSD. Also can you go over the model vs off road tech ? Locker , traction control.....Thanks
Just subscribed today. Saw you do a video with Trail Recon. I live in Washington State. Yakima to be exact. I’m just getting into over landing and hitting some good trails. Which ones do you recommend? I have a 09 Jeep Wrangler unlimited Rubicon with a 3.5 inch lift on 35’s.
Thanks Nate, great video. I have a JL and it has a pretty flimsy rear sway bar. I’ve been thinking of getting a heavier one and adding quick disconnects on it.
@@mikepierson3097 from what ive seen you need to oil up the disconnects and stuff which is a pain personally I stopped running sway bars a few months back and don't plan to put them back on haha
And if you have the luxury to buy antirock swaybars for the same manufacturer that are actually made for your vehicle it will benefit on and offroad because the rates are balanced.
man i actually think a sway bar makes the offroad high speed stuff feel better. If you have a flexy lightly sprung rig, it can feel real floaty and unplanted without a bar.
I have a Jku with a currie front swaybar and sumosprings, will the sumo springs be too much? theyre the metal cloak standard duroflex sumo springs or whatever they are called?
Am i wrong or the anti sway bar is flipped from how it should be, I mean when the axle hits a bump the bended part of the sway bar is gona hit the axle instead of separate from the axle
Looking to instal Bilstein 6112's up front in my Tacoma here shortly. Some people claim that the shocks are good enough, that they were able to remove the front sway bar and still retain a fairly flat ride. Personally, my truck is primarily driven on the street and I'd like to retain the front sway bar. I've also heard that adding a rear traction bar helps with winter handling. But I also drive on gravel and dirt, and would like the suspension to function as it should. Is there a special sway bar I should be looking into that would provide a decent compromise for both?? I dont plan on rock crawling
Man it's too bad your disco didn't come with ACE. I have it on mine and it's actually really impressive. Corners really flat on the highway, and then offroad at low speeds they're effectively disconnected which gives tones of flex. I'm limited more by my wheel arches than I am by anything else.
Awesome video! Small correction though, when you say the "spring rate" changes you actually mean the spring "force" is changing. For springs and torsion bars (sway bars) like these the spring rate is near as makes no difference constant, but that constant spring rate gives more and more force the more that you bend/compress the spring! Just a minor correction on terminology. Either way I love these how to/offroad theory videos, keep them coming! 👍
Am I the only one who isn't happy with their antirock swaybar? I lost 22" on the flex ramp. Not vertically but horizontally up the ramp. And lost around 4" of full finder stuff. Almost tips over on any obstacle. Adjusted it 3 times and still the same thing. I took it off and drive no swaybars. Can't justify spending the another 500 for rear. (97 TJ)
No, but only few will admit it after spending all that money... so they tell themselves it helps. Sway bars are to negate body roll, or a bandaid for poorly designed suspension. I use every bit of 16" shocks front/rear and can whip donuts with ease on 40's (no sway bars). Now if you are doing 60mph through the desert...thats a different story. Personally I'd rather be able to drop a tire down a 3' bank and have my body stay level. Ill take stability over traction any day of the week
