Dedicated trail rig: Sway bars or no sway bars?

bpassmore · 11-05-09, 05:26 PM

My 80 is trail only now, and I was wondering if the articulation gain was sufficient to justify removing them. Do the sway's provide any assistance while on the trail?

what do you think?

nuclearlemon · 11-05-09, 05:32 PM

mine are off cause they're pretty much broke. advantage, i don't have to worry about the front sway bar taking out the brake lines. no more bent up rear brackets. more clearance.

hsiaoer · 11-05-09, 05:33 PM

In my highly sophisticated testing of all of two months...

I would remove the fronts and leave the backs on.
Our back ends like to do all the work, so this balances it out a little more.
When I did the same trail with the front on and later with it off, there was a surprising difference in how level the body stayed and the suspension articulated.

Finally, I've read the hardcore wheelers that have accidentally ripped their front sway bar off while wheeling and it took their brakes with it.

Mine is a DD and while it is a little more tippy on highway, I leave it off 100% of the time.

bpassmore · 11-05-09, 05:34 PM

Good info!

sdog · 11-05-09, 05:42 PM

Both off. Mine is far from a DD, but when I do drive it, its fine. And a cleaner underbelly.

CreeperSleeper · 11-05-09, 06:14 PM

Both of mine are off and scraped... I think it had a much better feel off road without them.

Cruisin' · 11-05-09, 07:40 PM

I would leave the back on. Seems to articulate very well installed. As for the front, I did a run with it off for the first time this weekend, and it seems to flex a bit better. On road, and on faster forestry roads I didn't like the extra sway. I'll be doing some simple disconnects so I can keep the bar, but disconnect it for trail runs.

For a dedicated trail rig I'd probably ditch the front one and live with it.

Bikeman · 11-05-09, 07:55 PM

What swaybars?

Nay · 11-05-09, 08:11 PM

I always leave the front off and rear installed for wheeling. There is no articulation gain by removing the rear on my suspension and IMO anything to help the front want to work more is a good thing.

Also, "dedicated wheeler" is different than "trailer queen". If you drive distances to the trail, you may or may not like how it handles depending on your setup.

bpassmore · 11-05-09, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nay

I always leave the front off and rear installed for wheeling. There is no articulation gain by removing the rear on my suspension and IMO anything to help the front want to work more is a good thing.

Also, "dedicated wheeler" is different than "trailer queen". If you drive distances to the trail, you may or may not like how it handles depending on your setup.

no longer insured or registered.... trailered to trail.

Nay · 11-05-09, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bpassmore

no longer insured or registered.... trailered to trail.

Ah. In that case, I'd remove the 80 and get a smaller rig

Toss the front sway. I'd wheel with the rear on and then off, and see which you like more. No reason to web wheel this one.

bpassmore · 11-05-09, 08:30 PM

find out tomorrow.

little_joe · 11-05-09, 08:34 PM

I've ditched both of mine, front's been off all year or more and rear the last few months. My 80 is my DD.

I love the feel and handling offroad and onroad. Since you're only concerned about offroad: this is effectively one less spring per axle resisting movement or levering your frame/body with suspension movement.

When you're talking about slow wheeling, e.g. rocks and tight trails, there are not so many rapid transitions compared to higher speed (fire roads or the like). Thus, in my experience, the suspension works better and there's actually less pitching about since only the springs and shocks are working. The 80 feels so much more stable since the suspension moves more easily - and note, I did not say it moves more, there's just less resistance to movement.

antor · 11-05-09, 08:56 PM

Mine broke on the John Bull trail in Big Bear.It didnt damage my brakes though. Tie wired it for now but Im thinking of removing it. For a dedicated trail rig I would remove it.

tblume · 11-05-09, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nay

Ah. In that case, I'd remove the 80 and get a smaller rig

or bob the f

k out of it and live the dream...

Ebag333 · 11-05-09, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nay

IMO anything to help the front want to work more is a good thing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nay

Front end flex hardly makes the top five in the 80's hardcore crawling limitations.

cruiserdan · 11-06-09, 12:22 AM

A dedicated trail rig does not need sway bars.
Experience dictates that sway bars are beneficial in off-camber situations but they limit travel to a degree and they tend to get hooked-up and/or damaged on large protruding bits.

My preference for a dual-purpose rig is that the bars are left in place for most all usage unless the vehicle is used on a very challenging trail such as the Rubicon.

My wife's 80 has been on that trail twice. The first time the trail toasted both bars and the mounts before the finish. The second time I removed both bars at the trailhead. The vehicle was VERY tipppy on the slabs and in a few other off-camber situations but overall it did better and there was no damage to the bars/mounts as a result.

jonheld · 11-06-09, 07:19 AM

FWIW I have found that the rear sway bar limits rear axle droop. This was tested by me with one side raised on a hi-lift until those wheels were off the ground. I removed both the front and rear sway bars to see the difference. Only the rear dropped and it dropped alot. I had Christo's drop extensions on the rear bar BTW. I run with the rear off and the front on.

edog's 80 · 11-06-09, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by antor

Mine broke on the John Bull trail in Big Bear.It didnt damage my brakes though. Tie wired it for now but Im thinking of removing it. For a dedicated trail rig I would remove it.

Mine broke in that exact same spot. I think it's a weak point on these rigs. I had it welded because mine is a daily driver, but if mine were trail only I would take the front off asap to avoid the brake line issue.

Buckru · 11-06-09, 08:20 AM

I also run with the front on and the rear off all the time.

Nay · 11-06-09, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ebag333

It could be top 10

1) Low hanging frame and crossover angle bits
2) 3 tons
3) Really fawking wide (chop that)
4) Assloads of sheet metal and glass
5) Birfs
6) OCD Owners
7) Belief that OME isn't Fosters
8) Tendency to add a least a half ton of unnecessary extra weight
9) Expedition Builds
10) Front end flex

So if you can use the rear swaybar to get the front to work a bit more, go for it.

The 80 is what it is. Whether or not you turn your swaybars into modern lawn art is entirely up to you.

Nay · 11-06-09, 11:30 AM

OK, scratch that, it's not top 10. The back wrecking front seats that mean you can't enjoy driving all day are a far bigger issue than front flex.

CreeperSleeper · 11-06-09, 03:36 PM

I think it depends on the spring you will be running, also. I have a pretty light 80 runing stiff J springs. I removed the swaybars with the lift and it still handles better on the street than stock. Removing them won't add flex, but it will let it flex more freely (which I like). As for off-camber, I've never wished for more stability... But there is a reason I would stick with the stock suspension set-up with no sways. If the front was flexier, I would want some sort of swaybar on there. HTH