You might consider only removing the rear with long travel as it would let you get full benefit out of the long travel... but you're left with a very stiff front and a very flexy rear. And bad on road manners.
Front Swaybar Removal (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter GXOutlaw
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Right. Kai’s video also touches on why removing the rear sway bar with long travel is a popular option.
First, let me say that I’ve copied Kai’s setup with regards to removing the front sway bar and getting a hd rear sway bar.
Second, Kai’s video is about balancing the articulation between front and rear. If you pay attention to his video, he says it balances the articulation.
Some people prefer to maximize the rear articulation because they feel it’s most beneficial when climbing up a rocky hill and all your weight is in the rear, so it’s better to get rear traction on those wheels as opposed to front traction.
And that’s why it’s a popular and cheaper option to just remove the rear sway bar and add long travel springs and LT shocks. You don’t do much to the front and yet you can have crazy rear articulation.
I have Dobinsons rear long travel and the rear sway bar is not the limiting factor in articulation. The lower control arms contact the axle tubes before the slightly longer 2nd gen 4Runner end links and OEM sway bar are aligned. Even with aftermarket rear arms, there would likely not be a noticeable gain in rear articulation over the straight OEM arms.
I haven't had the front sway bar installed in many years, but pulling the rear off significantly increased the amount of body roll to the point of it feeling like it would definitely roll in an emergency situation. It was a no brainer for me to keep the rear and ditch the front.
I have an 06 GX470 without the sway bars and I can tell you its a scarry ride. The previous owner removed the KDSS system and I have made 2 trips from San Jose CA to Seattle WA and they were both white knuckle drives thru the mountains and winding roads. The vehicle feels very unstable when cornering and you have to pay particular attention when cornering. I bought a used front sway bar and thought it would be a simple install but unfortunately there are no tapped holes for the hardware so I'm going to have to drill and tap and "hope" I can fit a front sway bar only a KDSS GX. I don't care for the floatiness (is that a word?) and would prefer a more planted driving experience
I forgot to mention that I'm running King suspension, if that matters
I’ve only removed the front sway bar, so I have no experience with the instability caused by removing the rear sway bar.
And I can tell you that removing the front, adding a HD rear sway bar, and having 700# coils upfront with digressive bilstein 6112s…the ride feels okay
on corners and curves as well as 75 mph on highway. Feels like it’s 75% to 80% compared to running both factory sway bars.Then again I have no added weight other than when I load my camping gear in the cargo area.
So, consider experimenting by adding a HD rear sway bar to see if it improves your ride.
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Which anti swaybar did you get for the rear?
Nolathane REV011-0090B HD rear sway bar 24mm thick (compared to 19mm rear factory sway bar)
Its a good price on that thing, you like it?
I’ve only gone on a couple of outings with it and the GX470 is now a trail rig that I drive once a week, but it’s working well so far. Feels solid
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Thank you. I'm going to pull the front and install this one on the rear when I get it. Its on order. I've been shopping them and that is a good price.
I think I will try something different on my LC by removing the front sway bar. The passenger side mount point is broken from the AC drain rust. Then move the sway bar and extended links the LX470 to the LC. Ok so I'm losing 1mm with the LX bar. Eventually, I will be increasing the rear spring rate with heavier springs and Dobinsons ET shocks. This will be an interesting experiment.
