School me on sway bars

[Gren71]

I think ive learned a good bit from googling, watching videos, and reading what I can find about sway bars. But i feel like I know just enough to be dangerous.

So my question is does the JT need a new front sway bar? It seems pretty good already.

What is the point of adjustable disconnects, aside from them being able to be disconnected while off roading. Does the ability to adjust them increase the efficacy of the sway bar?

does it make any sense to upgrade sway bar connections with a 2in lift if i have no intention of really going trail riding?

IF they are worth it, how does one figure out the adjusted length? Is it as simple as "i have a 2 in lift so I add 2in on the adjustable ones versus the length of the OEM ones"

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[z0lt3c]

The adjustable part is so that you can change the angle of the sway bar relevant to the rest of the suspension, generally pushing it higher up to allow for more suspension travel. Once you find a good setting you generally leave it.

The disconnect part is that you can move it entirely out of the way when you need even more suspension travel. On the Rubicon this can be done electronically and then re-engaged. As a bolt on, it's usually done manually, before and after rock crawling.

From an ideal length perspective... What I did is re-use a set or rear end links on the front, so it's a longer fixed length. Cheapest solution!

 

[Gren71]

The adjustable part is so that you can change the angle of the sway bar relevant to the rest of the suspension, generally pushing it higher up to allow for more suspension travel. Once you find a good setting you generally leave it.

The disconnect part is that you can move it entirely out of the way when you need even more suspension travel. On the Rubicon this can be done electronically and then re-engaged. As a bolt on, it's usually done manually, before and after rock crawling.

From an ideal length perspective, I would say you want to extend the end links by the height of the lift, or higher. What I did is re-use a set or rear end links on the front, so it's a longer fixed length. Cheapest solution!

Some of the videos I watched painted the picture that the sway bar helps with body roll. Would making the bar higher decrease the body roll closer to OEM after a lift?


That part about the extra rears...GENIUS!

 

[kelkolb]

I think ive learned a good bit from googling, watching videos, and reading what I can find about sway bars. But i feel like I know just enough to be dangerous.

So my question is does the JT need a new front sway bar? It seems pretty good already.

What is the point of adjustable disconnects, aside from them being able to be disconnected while off roading. Does the ability to adjust them increase the efficacy of the sway bar?

does it make any sense to upgrade sway bar connections with a 2in lift if i have no intention of really going trail riding?

IF they are worth it, how does one figure out the adjusted length? Is it as simple as "i have a 2 in lift so I add 2in on the adjustable ones versus the length of the OEM ones"

With the vehicle on level ground the sway bar should be at about a 5 degree upward angle from horizontal. The adjustable endlinks are just so you can get this dimension correct on your exact suspension setup. Having them also be the quick disconnect type is only so you can detach them when going offroad to gain suspension travel.

If you have no plans to need the extra travel and you have the right angle for your suspension setup, then don't change anything. I know in the car world it's one of the first things you change for better handling, but that's irrelevant in a jeep.

 

[Gren71]

With the vehicle on level ground the sway bar should be at about a 5 degree upward angle from horizontal. The adjustable endlinks are just so you can get this dimension correct on your exact suspension setup. Having them also be the quick disconnect type is only so you can detach them when going offroad to gain suspension travel.

If you have no plans to need the extra travel and you have the right angle for your suspension setup, then don't change anything. I know in the car world it's one of the first things you change for better handling, but that's irrelevant in a jeep.

Thanks! Yea I have no real plans to go off roading with this. Made that mistake with my JKU...destroyed my front drive shaft on a trail and had to pull it out to drive 3 hours home then park the JK while i waited for a replacement. Not doing that to this truck.

I would however like to remove a little of the body roll ive gained after adding 2.25in in the front and 2in in the rear. Just me being neurotic really but its been fun learning about a component I didn't know enough about.

also, I assume that is 5 degrees as it related to the flat terrain below the jeep? Or is it 5d off another piece of the front linkage.

 

[z0lt3c]

Here is how it looks w/ the rears on the front

As you can see if falls pretty much in the right spot.

The sway bar itself remains equally effective as long as it's properly connected. OTOH, something like upgrading the sway bar to a thicker option could potentially improve effectiveness, but is not that common for Jeep.

Are you still running sport shocks? They are super soft.

 

[Gren71]

Here is how it looks w/ the rears on the front

As you can see if falls pretty much in the right spot.

The sway bar itself remains equally effective as long as it's connected. OTOH, something like upgrading the sway bar to a thicker option could potentially improve effectiveness but is not that common for Jeep.

Are you still running sport shocks? They are super soft.

Funny, just got a pair on ebay! Ill give em a shot before looking at adjustable ones. Have you noticed any real difference? Or is it pretty much just geometry correction.

Yea I have the sport S max tow springs. Waiting for AEV or Old Man Emu to make a stiff towing lift setup.

 

[kelkolb]

Thanks! Yea I have no real plans to go off roading with this. Made that mistake with my JKU...destroyed my front drive shaft on a trail and had to pull it out to drive 3 hours home then park the JK while i waited for a replacement. Not doing that to this truck.

I would however like to remove a little of the body roll ive gained after adding 2.25in in the front and 2in in the rear. Just me being neurotic really but its been fun learning about a component I didn't know enough about.

also, I assume that is 5 degrees as it related to the flat terrain below the jeep? Or is it 5d off another piece of the front linkage.

5 degrees up from the ground

 

[LostWoods]

Some of the videos I watched painted the picture that the sway bar helps with body roll. Would making the bar higher decrease the body roll closer to OEM after a lift?


That part about the extra rears...GENIUS!

A bar perfectly perpendicular to the end link while at rest will provide maximum leverage against the bar and will therefore be the weakest possible configuration at controlling body roll. If you want to decrease body roll, you want to lengthen or shorten the end links while avoiding contact with anything on up-travel preventing the bar from inverting on down travel.

Regarding body roll, the idea behind a sway bar is that you limit differences in wheel travel around corners to keep the body flat. Big enough roll bars will actually make a vehicle squat on both sides in a hard corner but that big a bar would be extremely hard to drive on the road.

To make a bar stiffer and give you less roll, you [1] make the bar thicker (or thicker walled), [2] shorten the arms of the bar that follow parallel to the frame, or [3] increase/decrease the angle of the end links to the sway bar arms from a perpendicular center. 2 & 3 in this case reduce leverage against the bar.

Rears on the front accomplish #3 because they're longer than stock and thereby increase that angle. Also keep in mind that the ideal angle will vary based on your suspension travel and lift height because most lifts don't drop the sway bar relative to the axle.

 

[Gren71]

Here is how it looks w/ the rears on the front

As you can see if falls pretty much in the right spot.

The sway bar itself remains equally effective as long as it's properly connected. OTOH, something like upgrading the sway bar to a thicker option could potentially improve effectiveness, but is not that common for Jeep.

Are you still running sport shocks? They are super soft.

I have the bar ends and the correct nut for them but I cant get them on. The nut that attaches to the top of the bar end link threads to a certain point then just starts spinning the bolt in the housing...did you do anything specific?

 

[Deleted member 31576]

I’m not even planning on doing this modification or improvement but this to be an extremely helpful post! Glued to it now.

 

[LostWoods]

I have the bar ends and the correct nut for them but I cant get them on. The nut that attaches to the top of the bar end link threads to a certain point then just starts spinning the bolt in the housing...did you do anything specific?

Look at the tip and it should have a place for a hex key. It's a top-lock nut with some weird threads at the end to hold it in place so you're going to need a tool in each hand to tighten it.

 

[Gren71]

Look at the tip and it should have a place for a hex key. It's a top-lock nut with some weird threads at the end to hold it in place so you're going to need a tool in each hand to tighten it.

NEVER would have thought of that! Ill try that.

 

[Renegade]

I’m not even planning on doing this modification or improvement but this to be an extremely helpful post! Glued to it now.

The majority of the roll resistance is from the front sway bar. The rear link length isn’t going to make a huge difference In how the truck handles overall. It’s more important that they are the length which can still function within the travel of the suspension.

 

[Gren71]

Look at the tip and it should have a place for a hex key. It's a top-lock nut with some weird threads at the end to hold it in place so you're going to need a tool in each hand to tighten it.

installed them today. Wow what a difference in roll! Thanks for the inexpensive fix.

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