To Sway or not to Sway

[Deadman 94 xj]

I run without either of them.

You can call me a "half-wit hick" all you want, but mine handles perfectly fine :flipoffsmilie:

Never been scared or anything and I run at 70-80 mph for most of my commute.

For the record I wasn't calling anyone in particular a half wit. What I should have, and meant to say, Goatman already covered.

I ran my jeep without a swaybar for a while. Usually only in between wheeling and I also still had short arms. It was damn scary and I know if I ever had to avoid an accident, I would have caused my own.

I'm now on longarms, everything is dialed in as it should be, and the body roll is much less severe. That said, read what Goatman wrote.

After all, this is the internet...

 

[Boostwerks.com]

I run without either of them.

You can call me a "half-wit hick" all you want, but mine handles perfectly fine :flipoffsmilie:

Never been scared or anything and I run at 70-80 mph for most of my commute.

I currently DD without both bars as well, and I wouldn't say it's scary either. HOWEVER... I will be installing a front bar ASAP.

A front sway bar drastically increases steering response. At 80mph in a quick manuver, you'd likely move forward a couple car lengths more than someone with a sway bar. All your steering input is directly transfered into body roll instead of where it should be. The end result would be drastic understeer -> role evens out -> drastic oversteer -> potential role over/crash.

You can say "It's fine" all you want... until your actually in that situation. Sure disconnects suck, but If you have the means to run a sway bar JUST DO IT before you find out the hard way.

!!!1

 

[99xj4x4]

Edit: The 2nd part of my post was supposed to say "as for the front*** get some sway bar disconnects."

 

[Ba-Riedo]

Get a torsion or anti rock bar up front, Currie makes a nice bolt on kit for the XJ and I have been running one of the prototypes since October and love it.

-Alex

 

[~Spanky~]

Yep, like was said, about 90% of us. You'll get some advice on who likes what, they all work. The cheapest way to go is to just get a couple 10mm wing nuts for the top bolt on the sway bar links. For less than 2 bucks you now have sway bar disconnects. If you want to go further, knock out the bolt for the bottom of the links and put in a 1/2" removable pin, now you have cheap removable disconnects. If you have a lift, cut he stock links and weld in a piece of rod, or a long bolt with the threads and head cut off, to make the link longer. If you don't weld, it's a very small and quick job that I'm sure someone would help you with.

2nd the QD's home-made.

 

[suzyellow]

Swaybars are for sissys lol

 

[Ghost]

Just holar at me when you are ready. I'll help you make what ever you just have to buy the materials. Now for my less then popular opnion. Put the bar back on. Two major reasons. One in an emeragency situation you do not want to roll the heep with thatsmart wife of yours in the passanger seat and the kids strappedin the rear. It is easyer then you think! Second and more in portantly. The two bolts that hold the sway bar on the unibody also hold two pieces of steel together in the front end. When you remove those bolts you increase the likely hood of unibody damage around the steering box.
I have had this happen to two jeeps so far. Yellowxj and some others have had the same problem.

 

[BlueCuda]

I have been running without for awhile. My current wheels are 4.5 offset and the tires really get into the sway bar if I have it on. To go wheeling I have to totally remove it(which gets to be a pita). I got some new wheels that I will be installing saturday so i went ahead and tossed the sway bar and JKS discos back on. WOW I forgot how nice it was to have a sway bar.

I also contribute my not having a sway bar to my UCA bushing problems due to the extra body roll. I have been through 2 sets of UCA bushing in a year, and I even upgraded to the new hourglass RE bushings. Even more lame is I haven't been wheeling near enough!

The sway bar DOES firm up the ride. Each side can not act as independantly when the bar is connected. Saying it doesn't firm up the ride is like saying it doesn't help the ride to disco it on the trail. My JKS discos also transmit some more bumps because they don't have any soft bushings in them. Its not bad by any means but it does make a difference.

 

[xjtrailrider]

Sway bar threads are always entertaining:guitar:

Get quick disco's for the front, trash the rear, my $.02

 

[89xj]

Swaybars are for sissys lol

there is always a toughguy in the crowd.

 

[mjma]

It's a matter of preference. I have two XJs, one with 3" lift another with in the 6" range on 35-36" tires. I DD both, depending on which one is broken, haha, and have no problem with either of them. Neither of them have swaybars. I just drive accordingly (ie. not like a maniac). I don't let the wife drive the big jeep on the road though...

 

[~Spanky~]

I like popcorn and sway bars, just not on my jeep.
:conceited​

 

[Coastie]

I'm not gonna try to sway you one way or another no pun intended...

But I took both mine off and haven't looked back.