OME Heavy and Sway Bar?
- Thread starter GaryMc
- Start date
GaryMc
Explorer
I pulled it off yesterday and only had The chance to drive around town. It definitely handles a little different.
I’m going to take it up Kane Creek today for some washboard action and see how it feels.
Then to Created Butte this weekend. I figure the mix of interstate and twisty mountain roads will let me know what the verdict is…
rruff
Explorer
I took mine off when I installed Ironman FCPs. Actually just before. I could tell it swayed more on twisty roads with the stock shocks. With the new shocks I don't miss it in the slightest... corners great. Damping in both directions is much higher... I'd guess more than double. In sweeping turns it will still sway more, but it's very stable and controlled and soaks up the bumps.
I'll eventually have a camper on, but I think I'll still do without swaybars.
I'll eventually have a camper on, but I think I'll still do without swaybars.
billiebob
Well-known member
Wrong, the sway bar IS a valuable component for safe driving. Even hard core rock crawlers are going to adjustable sway bars rather than disconnects.
On my TJR tbe sway bar link broke and after fixing it the difference was dramatic. Entering a turn without the sway added a twitch to the steering. Connected the steering was point and shoot.
The ONLY reason to disconnect is for extreme articulation at 4LO crawl speeds. Everywhere else the sawy bar adds exponentially to the safety of evassive steering action on the road. When that deer jumps out in front of you, you want every handling advantage you can get
On my TJR tbe sway bar link broke and after fixing it the difference was dramatic. Entering a turn without the sway added a twitch to the steering. Connected the steering was point and shoot.
The ONLY reason to disconnect is for extreme articulation at 4LO crawl speeds. Everywhere else the sawy bar adds exponentially to the safety of evassive steering action on the road. When that deer jumps out in front of you, you want every handling advantage you can get
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rruff
Explorer
It's important to know your limitations, so you don't have a worse accident while trying to avoid one. Slamming on the brakes is the first order of business. Only let off the brake and dodge carefully... if necessary and possible. I did that once in a car when it was a wide open area so I could see the deer in advance, and there was no traffic. The two times I've hit a deer with my truck I had no time to react at all.
At any rate, my truck without swaybars and with upgraded shocks excels at sudden maneuvers. The damping is very high and digressive... which means the shocks are stiff in slow speed movements like maneuvering quickly, yet respond well to bumps. Swaybars are undamped springs that resist independent wheel movement. This negatively effects the ride and handling on any uneven surface... and they just plain suck offroad or on rough pavement. Whatever one wheel expereinces gets immediately transfered to the opposite side... lateral jolts and lurching. The only advantage they offer is flatter cornering on sweeping turns. That does not necessarily make them more stable though even in that scenario, unless your shock damping is insufficient. I have no experience with the OPs OMEs, so I can't specifically vouch for them, however.
Rockcrawlers want weak damping, long travel, and massive articulation. They'd wallow around like crazy on the street if they used the same setup there.
GaryMc
Explorer
I lean to the digressive most times.
rruff
Explorer
When I first heard about the different valving schemes I didn't think digressive made sense... but that's because I didn't understand it. The damping curve is vs speed, not travel. I'm a big fan after experiencing it.
GaryMc
Explorer
Speed vs travel, man.
billiebob
Well-known member
I grew up with shocks and different damping rates 50 years ago drag racing.... Rear shocks were engineered to be firm and hold the rear of the car high during load transfer. Front shocks were engineered to drop fast as the front end lifted under acceleration off the starting line then resist as the cars front end wanted to come back down to earth, keeping the weight transfer to the rear.
Shocks on most cars, trucks, RVs are just designed to control rebound. They do slow any sway caused by cornering but ultimately they eventually let the car roll excessively. Sway bars actually reduce that sway/roll.
You can control sway 2 ways, with stiff springs and shock that slow the action or with soft springs, soft shocks and sway bars. The stiff route leads to a rough ride. The sway bar route lets the springs be engineered to carry the load and the shocks control rebound thru the entire suspension cycle. Leading to a wonerfully smooth, compliant ride with sway, roll controlled by the sway bars.
When, if you need articulation at low speeds, use sway bar disconnects or get softer sway bars balanced to the actual driving YOU do..... and air down. There is no silver bullet to do everything all the time.
We all make compromizes.
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rruff
Explorer
The front shocks on my truck don't have stiff springs. The springs are long (~19") and only 589 lb/in. Unwanted motion is mostly controlled by damping. That's one major difference vs OME because they have 740 lb springs.
Kpack
Adventurer
I disconnected my sway bar years ago because I was wheeling a lot, and it helped tremendously on the trails. I got used to the feel of driving on the road with it off pretty fast. I have 650 lbs springs up front (softer than most guys with 1st gen Tundras), stiffer rear springs, and my rear shocks have adjustable dampening. With the dampening increased in the rear the truck is more stable, close to if I had the sway bar attached. I personally like the additional body roll without the sway bar, so I typically leave the dampening soft on the rear. I've driven it this way for years and am used to it.
However, in an emergency situation the lack of sway bar can become an issue. My wife is not used to the feel of no sway bar, and when she drove my truck to the airport a year ago she had to quickly swerve when someone jumped into her lane and cut her off (no time for brake). Within a matter of seconds she smashed the driver's side into the concrete barrier, then got thrown the opposite direction into a semi trailer. The bed was crushed and I have a very expensive plate bumper that is now bent. Not to mention the rear of the frame rails are tweaked. But I'm just glad it wasn't worse. She could have easily rolled or caused injury to someone else.
Having no sway bar is great for wheeling. But it is not without risk. Just understand that if you choose to run with no sway bar, you are increasing your risk. The ideal situation is to have quick disconnects on the sway bar, so you can easily disconnect when you are on the trails. Some trucks make this easy, some do not. I have "quick" disconnects for my Tundra, but they are not quick. I still have to lay in the dirt and remove several nuts. Hence the reason I mostly leave it disconnected. But if my wife, or anyone else, is going to drive the truck I reconnect them.
However, in an emergency situation the lack of sway bar can become an issue. My wife is not used to the feel of no sway bar, and when she drove my truck to the airport a year ago she had to quickly swerve when someone jumped into her lane and cut her off (no time for brake). Within a matter of seconds she smashed the driver's side into the concrete barrier, then got thrown the opposite direction into a semi trailer. The bed was crushed and I have a very expensive plate bumper that is now bent. Not to mention the rear of the frame rails are tweaked. But I'm just glad it wasn't worse. She could have easily rolled or caused injury to someone else.
Having no sway bar is great for wheeling. But it is not without risk. Just understand that if you choose to run with no sway bar, you are increasing your risk. The ideal situation is to have quick disconnects on the sway bar, so you can easily disconnect when you are on the trails. Some trucks make this easy, some do not. I have "quick" disconnects for my Tundra, but they are not quick. I still have to lay in the dirt and remove several nuts. Hence the reason I mostly leave it disconnected. But if my wife, or anyone else, is going to drive the truck I reconnect them.
bkg
Explorer
neither of my Tacoma's have sway bars.... They don't "lean" during cornering as much as they "lift." And there are times it can be disconcerting, especially during braking on wet surfaces. But, I drove SAS'd rigs w/o sway bars for most of my life, so I think I've gotten used to it (mostly.) One area people forget about is cross-winds... sway bars can have huge impact on how the vehicle responds to that semi in the oncoming lane.
my 4runner has factory sway bars with aftermarket links (heims on both ends). VERY different feel. Very tight. Honestly, I'd say almost too tight at times. But it does prevent the factory stability control from interjecting itself as often.
my 4runner has factory sway bars with aftermarket links (heims on both ends). VERY different feel. Very tight. Honestly, I'd say almost too tight at times. But it does prevent the factory stability control from interjecting itself as often.
rruff
Explorer
The lack of swaybar is not the cause of the issues you later cited, but the fact that you prefer low damping as well. And it isn't just high damping but a digressive curve that adds stability. My truck handles better than it did previously with stock shocks and the swaybar, and if it's also a rough road, the improvement is amazing.
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