Daily driver with no front sway bar?

Put on 5100s a few days back,and ended up removing the front sway bar. Due to time constraints I didn't reinstall. After driving for a few days,I barely notice a difference. Has a slight bit more lean on initial turn in but that's it. How many of you daily with no front bar? Any regrets?

 

Yep. It's been a year and I'm very happy.

I kept the bar so I can use it if I ever go to a softer, more offroad oriented coilover.

 

Haven't had one in 2.5-3 years....wouldn't know it if I had one though, I just take it easy around curves. I do have 700lb coils too though so that helps with any body roll there might have been.

 

Pulled mine off for better wheeling, feels better daily driving too

 

you will instantly regret it when you do an emergency maneuver on the street to
avoid someone and you roll over and crush someone else

without the sway bar the 'moose test' fails miserably

 

I don't have a swaybar on my truck, and it's road manners and cornering are acceptable for me. I have Icons with 650# springs in the front though. I wouldn't recommend someone run without a sway on stock suspension.

 

Mine has been off for the better part of two years. I have OME suspension with the heavy springs. It's not too bad, but there is some body lean and sway in the front end during high speed corners on roads with sharp elevation changes (ie: sudden drop in the pavement or dips on some highly travelled and worn roads). As for high speeds, I mean 75-80+ mph. Because I run stock gears and 33 inch tires, my truck rarely sees anything above 70 mph unless I'm going downhill with a stiff tailwind.
I must confess, I have not attempted any "emergency maneuvers" with the truck since the sway bar was removed, or the suspension was swapped, or I added the armor and +/- 100lbs of recovery gear, or the larger and heavier tires were installed. Unfortunately I do not have access to a test track, or any place suitable to perform such maneuvers in a safe manner. Hopefully next time we have a test track day at work I'll be allowed to take it out and put it through it's paces, however, that will absolutely destroy my tires, so on second thought, I'll just drive defensively and do all I can to anticipate the moves of those who drive with their dogs in their laps, cellphones in hand, or heads securely and safely in their anus' to try to avoid having to use the driving skills I learned in the academy.

 

Of course a sway is merely another form of spring.

In the Solo I & II world, the sway is considered more of a final tuning tweak, based on a give course layout and sometimes even weather conditions. The actual spring rate, adjustable damper setting and tire type/grip were all dealt with first.

In the small IFS/IRS type car I had, it was quite common to disconnect the rear sway, and greatly increase the stiffness of the front sway. Even after installing springs that were 4x the OE stiffness with complimentary dampers, and not even running true race rubber, but very soft (200 treadwear) street tires with minimal DOT legal tread.

Had a friend that was an instructor/driver, LeMons driver and a One Lap team member. He took off his front sway, just to experiment.

While the car felt sloppy (body roll), grip was not really affected. His lap times were within a repeatable range of the bar being in place. However, others of us who gave it a pass hated it, because of the 'feel', not the actual response. Being flat(er) and firm enhances driver confidence.

Of course trucks aren't cars, sit higher, and the suspension is changed for a whole 'nuther purpose in most cases. I wouldn't be interested in removing my sway on the street, and I'm just out of the box stock.

Removal of the sway for off road use makes sense to gain additional articulation by preventing wheel lift. But if that's what I was doing, I'd fashion some form of quick release, and just disconnect the sway on one end when I was in the field. That's what many a racer did with their rear bar as part of their pre event prep.

Yea, I know, blah blah blah.

Point is, is there any reason this can't be done, or why the bar being in place, disconnected, would cause an issue?

 

Disconnects are a no-go on these trucks due to how the sway bar is routed. Disconnecting it results in torn CV boots.

 

Long traveled no sway bar....

 

Gotcha. Makes sense. Thanks.

 

Sway bar deleted with Icon 650# springs. A little more lean at initial turn-in, but that is about it. Sway bar will remain hanging on the wall in my garage.

 

Threw mine in the scrap heap 7 years ago...never looked back.

 

The "Moose" test?

@MQQSE care to chime in? lol



In all seriousness, you should not swerve if any animals runs into the road. Apply the brake, keep the vehicle pointing forward. Not only does swerving increase the chances of you damaging your vehicle, injuring yourself, damaging others' vehicles, and injuring others... it also means that any accident becomes your fault in the eyes of insurance providers instead of it being considered an animal/road hazard. This could be an expensive and possibly deadly mistake. Hit. The. Moose.

 

Everyone in the monkey chorus has an opinion about this. Everything from "Mine feels great without one" to " You will kill people without it" to " Just do it, who gives a single fuk". But there are simple tests you can do so you at least have an idea whether your subjective feel at least meets some objective standard. In Washington State for example they only require sway bars on the rear when the vehicle has a rear coil spring suspension however they also require that all vehicles meet a minimum standard for emergency handling. The standard is reflected by a test that can be performed by any chump in a parking lot.

So, the FIRST thing to do is use your friend Google and find out what YOUR particular state says about sway bars. Simple shit and the Tacoworld chorus isn't a substitute. If your State regulations happen to be silent on swaybars, handling, or suspension modifications, then find some objective test you can do to see if your subjective feel at least meets some objective standard for controllability. Hell, set up some cones in a parking lot and do the WA State test. You will either meet a standard or you won't. At least that way you know deep down if you really should have a sway bar or you will be able to verbalize that you were being responsible if, gawd forbid, the worst thing happens and you have a tragic accident and the fuking attorneys get involved. Don't think that would happen? Kill a mom and her three kids in an accident and somebody discovers you removed a factory sway bay (OMG negligent safety fail lawsuit!!!!) and shit will hit the fan whether you were actually being a dumbass or not. That's just the sad and unfortunate reality of litigious world we live in.

 

It's only illegal if someone looks... ran my truck sans sway bar on stock suspension for over a year, now lifted with a lot of armour still no sway bar... I've swerved to avoid dick heads on the freeway at 70 and I didn't die.. but then again I also have wheel spacers and my wheels haven't fallen off either

 

I commute 70 miles per day and don't notice it isn't there

 

+1 - right up there with which filter, lift, tire / wheel, floor mat, vent visor, motor oil, ad nauseum.

 

I hope this is sarcasm. I respect many of your posts.

 

Best. Answer. EVER.