Hello Guest

Sway bar questions.

  • 24 Replies
  • 5025 Views

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

*

Offline ngrover

  • 131
  • 0
  • Gender: Male
Re: Sway bar questions.
« Reply #15 on: June 15, 2007, 01:10:48 PM »
I took mine off a year ago.

Off-road i gained a lot more movement up front which saved the solid axle from having to do all the work... the difference was huge when the terrain demands wheel travel. The car stayed a lot more level over the rough stuff instead of being tossed around by the front end.

On road i noticed a small difference when cornering. I don't mind the small bit of added body roll. I'm pretty sensitive to what goes on with my vehicles when I drive and I don't miss the sway bar. I can tell you one thing.. my wife sure didn't notice ;)

Having said all that, I'm not answering the original question. To keep the convo relevant, if someone came up with a clever sway-bar disconnect that was dead simple to use and near free to make or buy then that would be cool, that way there would be one less thing I have to do to "un-mod" my suzki when I sell it ;)
« Last Edit: June 15, 2007, 01:14:55 PM by ngrover »
2000 Suzuki Grand Vitara, 5spd. 2.5 inch lift, 225/75R16 AT's

*

Offline olija

  • 770
  • 2
  • Gender: Male
    • Check out my cardomain
Re: Sway bar questions.
« Reply #16 on: June 16, 2007, 08:11:00 PM »
I removed my swaybar around Christmas time, haven't really thought about putting it back on again either. Right away I noticed it rides a heck of a lot better over bumps and it doesn't toss you at all if you don't hit speedbumps dead on. Off road I get alot better flex in the front end since the wheels can move independently. It's a little skittish at high speeds but as long as you're sober you shouldn't be flipping it.
97 Sidekick 4door 5 speed, 1.5 spacer lift, 2" body lift, CJ rims, locked rear, 31's, 4:1 low <SOLD>
01 Vitara 2.0L 5 speed, 2.5" Calmini lift, 2" body lift, Sidekick rims, locked rear, 31's, 4:1 low, 5.13 diffs <SOLD>
03 XL7 2.7 5 speed, 4.5" AE lift with OME springs, 2" AE body lift, 5.13 diffs, 3:1 low, 235/80R17 BFG AT's on Ultra 17x8 with 1" spacers, skid plates, Balmer Fab front bumper

*

Offline SKAsammy

  • 79
  • 0
  • Gender: Male
  • 1991 samurai
Re: Sway bar questions.
« Reply #17 on: June 17, 2007, 04:01:19 PM »
if you NEED a sway bar...you probly drive like an idiot...not to be mean
1991 SAMURAI
6"spoa
2" body  lift
8000 lb winch
30/9.5/15 BFG all terrains roll on bedliner in and out homemade bumper 1996 Silv. 4" lift 35's many mods

*

Offline Zooki

  • 38
  • 0
Re: Sway bar questions.
« Reply #18 on: June 17, 2007, 06:30:16 PM »
Well, since the majority of my driving is on the street, I want my Sidekick to handle as well as possible. If I can find a way to have as much flex as having a disconnected swaybar, and yet have the benefits(no matter how slight) on the road at highway speeds, why is that so difficult to understand? The factory put them on these tall, tippy machines for a reason. Now, if you mainly use your machine off-road, then I can see ditching it. But for someone like me, who uses mine mainly on-road, with the occasional trip down the trail, rigging a disconnect seems to be the best of both worlds. As far as being sober and not flipping it, I was thinking more of having to avoid things on the road at highway speeds, like deer, cows, people making lane changes with no thought of whats going on around them, Semi-truck retreads coming apart in front of me, people pulling out without looking, etc, etc... . All of this has happened to me, and I have had to make sudden lane chages. I guess that makes me an "idiot" driving like that?

*

Offline olija

  • 770
  • 2
  • Gender: Male
    • Check out my cardomain
Re: Sway bar questions.
« Reply #19 on: June 17, 2007, 07:09:28 PM »
I think if that happened you would probably flip it with the swaybar anyway...a tall skinny vehicle like a Sidekick isn't too hot at dodging deer.
97 Sidekick 4door 5 speed, 1.5 spacer lift, 2" body lift, CJ rims, locked rear, 31's, 4:1 low <SOLD>
01 Vitara 2.0L 5 speed, 2.5" Calmini lift, 2" body lift, Sidekick rims, locked rear, 31's, 4:1 low, 5.13 diffs <SOLD>
03 XL7 2.7 5 speed, 4.5" AE lift with OME springs, 2" AE body lift, 5.13 diffs, 3:1 low, 235/80R17 BFG AT's on Ultra 17x8 with 1" spacers, skid plates, Balmer Fab front bumper

*

Offline Zooki

  • 38
  • 0
Re: Sway bar questions.
« Reply #20 on: June 17, 2007, 07:40:26 PM »
Could be, but then again, it could make that little bit of difference...

*

Offline Drone637

  • 8121
  • 116
  • Gender: Male
  • Evil Cow
Re: Sway bar questions.
« Reply #21 on: June 17, 2007, 11:44:25 PM »
On my 96 I know the rear anti-sway bar has helped a lot.  The rear end will slide out before the body feels like it is going to roll over.  It's great for those days when the ski slope is lousy and you head out before anyone else on the little two lane road leading up to the ski lodge.  You can drive it like a sports car.

With a Turbo installed you could probably drive it like a sports car on the way up to.   ;D
96 Geo Tracker, x-SJ-410,  x-White Rabbit, x-Project Trouble
Crawlers NorthWest
x-Trouble Racing

*

Offline Rhinoman

  • 4502
  • 36
  • Gender: Male
  • Bend it, Break it, Fix it
    • Rhinoman
Re: Sway bar questions.
« Reply #22 on: June 18, 2007, 05:14:12 AM »
I found that there was a BIG difference with mine when I removed the sway bar. Lots of understeer and you didn't have to drive like an idiot to notice it either. I had fairly soft +2" springs on there, if you have stiff springs or a badly set up spacer arrangement then you might have less issues. The sway bar is a torsion spring, remove it and the front suspension is going to be a lot softer under cornering.
As a quick fix I fitted 35mm wheel spacers all round, the increase in track was enough to cancel out the effects of removing the sway bar.
Its simple to disconnect the bar so I always say to give it a try. If you don't like the way it drives then put it back on.
Depending on where you live and your cover you might have to notify your insurance company. You may also need the bar to pass annual inspection.
2000 Vitara 1.6, 3+3 Lift, 33"MTs, 5:83s, LWB brakes, Winch, Snorkel, Safari Rack
1986 SJ413K PickUp, 1.6L conversion.

OBD1 - Full diagnostics on a PC/Laptop: http://www.rhinopower.org

*

Offline Uncivilized

  • 1469
  • 1
  • Gender: Male
    • Car Domain
Re: Sway bar questions.
« Reply #23 on: June 18, 2007, 09:37:43 AM »
If you want to try it out you don't need to completely remove the whole bar, just unbolt the 14mm nuts for the links, just under the A-arms(it's just one per side), push up on the bar a tad and fold the links up a little.
Then test drive.
I drive mine everywhere, no swaybar. If you want to improve handling and stability(before or after swaybar removal), switch to a wider wheel, like a 15x7 with a 235/70 or 225/75.
When I bought my first tracker, before lifting it I put on Jeep CJ 15x7" wheels with 215/75's, it only made it 4" wider, but it handled surprisingly well.

*

Offline Rhinoman

  • 4502
  • 36
  • Gender: Male
  • Bend it, Break it, Fix it
    • Rhinoman
Re: Sway bar questions.
« Reply #24 on: June 18, 2007, 10:27:03 AM »
If you want to try it out you don't need to completely remove the whole bar, just unbolt the 14mm nuts for the links, just under the A-arms(it's just one per side), push up on the bar a tad and fold the links up a little.

You'll need to make sure its properly secured. I did that on mine and the sway bar dropped down and rubbed through one of the CV boots  :(
2000 Vitara 1.6, 3+3 Lift, 33"MTs, 5:83s, LWB brakes, Winch, Snorkel, Safari Rack
1986 SJ413K PickUp, 1.6L conversion.

OBD1 - Full diagnostics on a PC/Laptop: http://www.rhinopower.org