Rear Sway Bar Questions

desertrunner

desertrunner

Active Member
When i was out at the 4x4 shop the other day messing around on the ramp i had some guy recommend ditching my rear sway bar all together. Now im kinda curious what would be the pros and cons of removing it? To me i feel like im not going to get much more flex out of the rear and its just gonna make my freeway ride worse. Im i right?
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
desertrunner said:
When i was out at the 4x4 shop the other day messing around on the ramp i had some guy recommend ditching my rear sway bar all together. Now im kinda curious what would be the pros and cons of removing it? To me i feel like im not going to get much more flex out of the rear and its just gonna make my freeway ride worse. Im i right?
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The guy recommending that you ditch your rear sway bar is a moron and you shouldn't listen to him. Your factory rear sway bar is very thin and soft enough that you can manipulate it by hand. It WILL NOT limit your flex but rather, offer well needed stability on the rocks. Your ultimate limiting factor will be your shock lengths.
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Here's a shot that will prove my point. As you will see, even with a factory sway bar installed, this JK is still able to get full flex with an EVO lever and coil overs that provide 14" of vertical travel.

main.php
 
desertrunner

desertrunner

Active Member
wayoflife said:
The guy recommending that you ditch your rear sway bar is a moron and you shouldn't listen to him. Your factory rear sway bar is very thin and soft enough that you can manipulate it by hand. It WILL NOT limit your flex but rather, offer well needed stability on the rocks. Your ultimate limiting factor will be your shock lengths.
Click to expand...

Yeah thats what i figured i just wanted to confirm my opinion. Thanks Eddie :thumb:
 
R

rtguy1

New member
I'm actually curious to see how my rig acts now when I disco the front being that I have no rear swaybar. It's fine on road but that's another story. I know having the coilovers angled around 10* yields swaybar like effects, but we shall see. May be a rear antirock in my future:idontknow: Mel seems to think it will be fine. Disclaimer: my setup is custom and does not pertain to the op
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
rtguy1 said:
I'm actually curious to see how my rig acts now when I disco the front being that I have no rear swaybar. It's fine on road but that's another story. I know having the coilovers angled around 10* yields swaybar like effects, but we shall see. May be a rear antirock in my future:idontknow: Mel seems to think it will be fine. Disclaimer: my setup is custom and does not pertain to the op
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You'll be fine. Not having a rear sway bar isn't so much a problem as it's just not needed to obtain more flex as some seem to think is all. Having one will offer more stability. I didn't ask but, was there a reason why Mel didn't just keep the factory rear sway bar in place?
 
kRay.JK

kRay.JK

New member
I had my rear sway-bar off for a few weeks while I was trying to source some longer rear end-links to fix geometry after installing my lift. I 100% couldn't tell a difference. Because I couldn't tell a difference I was more inclined to put it back on knowing that I was getting the same amount of travel with or without it. I would compare the rear sway-bar to an anti-rock system and not really a sway-bar system. It diverts small percentages of downforce to where you most likely need it. Just make sure your geometry is right - aka your endlinks are long enough for the application/lift. If they are too short they could potentially limit downtravel or things could even bend/break. my :twocents:
 
R

rtguy1

New member
wayoflife said:
You'll be fine. Not having a rear sway bar isn't so much a problem as it's just not needed to obtain more flex as some seem to think is all. Having one will offer more stability. I didn't ask but, was there a reason why Mel didn't just keep the factory rear sway bar in place?
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He didn't really specify but I believe there was a fitment issue with the stock bar. He said if I really wanted he would install it so I know he could make it work, but I don't think it would be optimal. At least that's the vibe I got. On road I don't notice a difference at all. In fact, as I was preaching at evo the other day the handling is far improved particularly in cornering. I did talk with Mel a bit more and we decided that if I do feel the need for the rear swaybar that a rear antirock would be the best bet. I was actually gonna just do it during the diff service and re torque but the bar is on back order for a couple weeks. So at this point I'm gonna get it offroad and go from there. If it feels a bit tipsy side to side while off camber I will have one installed. If I can live with it that'll save me some cash.:cheesy: daddy needs some beadlocks and a ram and new tire carrier and gas cans and a co2 tank and a .........u get the idea:standing wave:
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
rtguy1 said:
He didn't really specify but I believe there was a fitment issue with the stock bar. He said if I really wanted he would install it so I know he could make it work, but I don't think it would be optimal. At least that's the vibe I got. On road I don't notice a difference at all. In fact, as I was preaching at evo the other day the handling is far improved particularly in cornering. I did talk with Mel a bit more and we decided that if I do feel the need for the rear swaybar that a rear antirock would be the best bet. I was actually gonna just do it during the diff service and re torque but the bar is on back order for a couple weeks. So at this point I'm gonna get it offroad and go from there. If it feels a bit tipsy side to side while off camber I will have one installed. If I can live with it that'll save me some cash.:cheesy: daddy needs some beadlocks and a ram and new tire carrier and gas cans and a co2 tank and a .........u get the idea:standing wave:
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Got it, I could totally see where fitment might be an issue. Of course, with the way your Jeep is designed, it really may not make a difference.
 
R

rtguy1

New member
wayoflife said:
Got it, I could totally see where fitment might be an issue. Of course, with the way your Jeep is designed, it really may not make a difference.
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the antirock has much longer arms which i think will allow for a better mounting position.

thats what i'm thinking too. I think the slight inward angle of the rear coilovers will help keep things balanced. applying that force so far to the rear of the jeep has to amplify that effect as well. i'll see how it goes.

for any other application i dont see the real benefit in removing it though. being that the factory bar doesnt limit flex it can only help with stability as you said previously.
 
chitown35

chitown35

LOSER
Help tuning my REAR suspension / sway bar rate?

Sorry for the long post. But I'm trying to provide enough info hoping some of the awesome / knowledgeable members here can help me out.

Here's my situation:
2015 Wrangler Unlimited (Sport). Has the Max Tow package. 3.5" Metalcloak GC w/ 6pak shocks (read - only need 1" bumpstop).

Problem & Observation:
It seems to be a little tipsier than I would expect in off-camber situations. I took it to MC's CTI trailer yesterday (lifts Front Right and Rear Left wheels at same time to measure "flex" kind of like an RTI ramp). When doing this, the rear driver's side had probably 4"+ left before it would hit the bumpstop when the rear passenger side started lifting off the ground. At first looked like the brake line bracket was in the way, but after moving it a bit, the tech there said it looked like it was being limited only by the thick sway bar.

So I did some research and it appears there are 2 different sway bars for JKs. Mine is 7/8" diameter, while I have seen others with Sports say theirs is a 3/4" diameter. These parts appear to be like the springs, in that they get put on whatever vehicle whether or not it is a Rubicon / Sport / Etc I think?
w/ Standard Suspension 68067125AA *
w/ Performance Suspension 68067126AA *

Questions:
1. Do you think the Standard Suspension one is 3/4", and I have the "Performance" 7/8" because of my Max Tow package?
2. Should I try to change mine out for the 3/4" one?
3. Am I just way off base in any way? Is the stiffer sway bar actually keeping me more stable off-camber? Should I ignore what I saw on the CTI trailer / ramp that shows that I should be flexing more? Are the springs just too stiff to play nicely with that sway bar?

Thanks in advance.
 
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jeeeep

jeeeep

Hooked
backing up to basics, have you cycled your rear suspension? not rti or trailer ramp

the thicker rear sway bar is part of the max tow package and provides additional stability. I'd say if it's feeling too tipsy you're actual lift is much taller, your shocks are too soft (combination of).

I'd cycle the rear suspension and make sure your bumpstops are at the proper height where nothing hits and your shocks don't bottom out.


Also cycle the front suspension.
 
JKbrick

JKbrick

Active Member
I thought the rear sway bar didn't limit flex from what I've read here. You didn't say but was your front disconnected? If not that could be your problem, maybe it was and I didn't read correctly
 
WJCO

WJCO

Meme King
JKbrick said:
I thought the rear sway bar didn't limit flex from what I've read here. You didn't say but was your front disconnected? If not that could be your problem, maybe it was and I didn't read correctly
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The rear sway bar is so thin, it doesn't offer much change offroad if disconnected but while connected on road, it provides stability during turns.
 
JKbrick

JKbrick

Active Member
WJCO said:
The rear sway bar is so thin, it doesn't offer much change offroad if disconnected but while connected on road, it provides stability during turns.
Click to expand...

That is what I thought I had read, I meant to ask if his front was disconnected not the rear, just thought that may limit his flex
 
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