Rear Sway Bar

[Buck Jackson]

No, the length of the link determines the angle of the sway bar, not the stiffness. There is a specified correct range to set a sway bar at. And, yes there are stiffer sway bars for the XJ. I know Addco makes them. Don't know who else.

-Chris

Length determines the angle, and also how much "hold" your swaybar puts on the articulation of the axle. With shorter links, you limit your axle's motion, thereby translating to a stiffer ride. Try lifting 5" and running stock swaybar links, you will compress your front suspension and create a much stiffer ride...You are talking about torsional flex, not stiffness. I guess it could be argued that a larger diameter bar made from material with a higher tensile strength will provide greater resistance to the torsional flex put upon the bar by articulating the suspension, and therefore provide a stiffer-feeling ride, but again, that is not the stiffness of the bar, its the stiffness of the ride. A minor point, but then again, I was just being facetious!
Buck :canada:

 

[PapaPump]

The reason lifting 5" and running stock links stiffens ride height is because you lessen the leverage the axle has on the antiroll bar. a stiffer antiroll bar would be one made of thicker diameter steel that more greatly resists suspension movement along the roll axis of the truck. i am glad to know addco makes one, thanks talyn. after i posted that i did recieve a jeep catalog that has the addco bars. and if anyone cares, i do want to run a stiffer bar because i am not too worried about lifting a tire. i do most of my driving on the road, and the times that i have been stuck off-road, the suspension handled the trail fine, it was having open differentials that got me stuck. 1000 point RTI scores can't help open diffs. and as far as being facetious goes, mabe someone noticed that I am the only one calling it an antiroll bar. swaybar is an incorrect term as is antisway bar. the bar resists movement along the longitudinal axis of the suspension cycle, or the roll. sway is a different suspension movement, though limiting roll can in turn limit sway. have fun guys

 

[Talyn]

If you are going to run a Addco fromt swaybar I would recommend JKS QDs so you can disconnect for the trail. Also, if you put an Addco in the rear I Don't know how well that would work off road as there is no QD for the rear sway bar (yet.. I am working on one, but it is still in planning). However, if yuo do put an Addco in the front, I woudl at least recommend the stock sway bar in teh rear to limit oversteer.

I got my Addco from from [email protected]

And yes, you can call it an antiroll bar or roll bar, but some people here will confuse it with a roll bar that will protect you from a roll over.
-Chris

The reason lifting 5" and running stock links stiffens ride height is because you lessen the leverage the axle has on the antiroll bar. a stiffer antiroll bar would be one made of thicker diameter steel that more greatly resists suspension movement along the roll axis of the truck. i am glad to know addco makes one, thanks talyn. after i posted that i did recieve a jeep catalog that has the addco bars. and if anyone cares, i do want to run a stiffer bar because i am not too worried about lifting a tire. i do most of my driving on the road, and the times that i have been stuck off-road, the suspension handled the trail fine, it was having open differentials that got me stuck. 1000 point RTI scores can't help open diffs. and as far as being facetious goes, mabe someone noticed that I am the only one calling it an antiroll bar. swaybar is an incorrect term as is antisway bar. the bar resists movement along the longitudinal axis of the suspension cycle, or the roll. sway is a different suspension movement, though limiting roll can in turn limit sway. have fun guys

 

[Talyn]

Length determines the angle, and also how much "hold" your swaybar puts on the articulation of the axle. With shorter links, you limit your axle's motion, thereby translating to a stiffer ride. Try lifting 5" and running stock swaybar links, you will compress your front suspension and create a much stiffer ride...You are talking about torsional flex, not stiffness. I guess it could be argued that a larger diameter bar made from material with a higher tensile strength will provide greater resistance to the torsional flex put upon the bar by articulating the suspension, and therefore provide a stiffer-feeling ride, but again, that is not the stiffness of the bar, its the stiffness of the ride. A minor point, but then again, I was just being facetious!
Buck :canada:

When I was talking about stifness, I was talking about the bar itself, not the way the vehicle rides. NOt the stifness you get from an imporly setup sway bar. When someone refers to a sway bar being stiff, they refer to the lack of body roll it promotes, not the ride of the vehicle. Who would install a larger antisway bar for a stiffer ridding vehicle? You install springs with higher rates or shocks with different valving to do that. Swaybars are installed to reduce body lean and increase handling. Yes, the suspension will feel stiffer, but that is more of a side effect, not the actual result.

When the heck was the last time you heard anyone say "I want a sway bar with less torsional flex"? The nomenclature of "a stiffer sway bar" may be wrong, but everyone understands it and knows what it means.

 

[Buck Jackson]

Apple and oranges. I don't think you read my post.

 

[Talyn]

Apple and oranges. I don't think you read my post.

I did.. the only thing you are talking about is a poorly set up sway bar. If the links aren't the correct length it won't work right. It might make the ride stiffer, but it won't improve handling.

Why are you even talking about a poorly setup sway bar?

 

[Buck Jackson]

I did.. the only thing you are talking about is a poorly set up sway bar. If the links aren't the correct length it won't work right. It might make the ride stiffer, but it won't improve handling.
Why are you even talking about a poorly setup sway bar?

Now I know you didn't read my post.

 

[Talyn]

Now I know you didn't read my post.

Its not even worth my time to argue with you.

 

[Osprey413]

Be quiet both of you. You're acting like little children.

 

[Beej]

Now I know you didn't read my post.

LOL,
hey buck, quit being sucha weenie. Its unbecoming of someone in your position in society!!! You're supposed to be above such interactions, remember? And yer giving us fellow canucks a bad rap! Really, Talyn, buck is a nice dude for an old fart. we have wheeled together before, and he's helped my sorry butt with lots of fabrication stuff, I have no idea why he's being such a wank!

 

[XJ Un-Limited]

Just take the damn thing out and go wheelin!!!!! :cheers: Problem solved.

 

[big cherokee]

yah take it out and forget it i couldt even tell it was there in the first place. i run my 7inches of lift dayly driver with now sway bars what so ever and the thing doesnt way that much at all i have been in fast turn,fast stop situations and it does great.

 

[PapaPump]

7" springs provide so much more stiffness, that the original spring stiffness combined with the antiroll bar stiffness is still less overall spring rate, so in your situation, the jeep might actually have less body roll. i dont plan on lifting more than a few inches. i would like my jeep to ride on 325/60 r15s, which is like a 31x12.50, and i would like to do it with as little lift as possible. right now the jeep handles really well for an suv, and i don't want to ruin that. i could have a better foundation, like a 4 runner or rodeo, but the jeep actually handles better because of its lightness, regardless of the unsophisticated suspension. that was the whole reason i got in on this post was because i am actually interested in making the jeep work better on and off the road. also talyn, wouldn't haveing too little rear roll stiffness cause understeer, not oversteer? and for the guess running big tires: what size and offset do you end up rubbing on the unibody rails or control arms?

 

[erwinstein]

:spin3: took mine out when i first got my xj don't miss it one bit :twak:

 

[Starboard M]

As a follow up, I decided to take my rear sway bar off. After 2 months of driving without the swaybar I found that I can barely feel any difference. It handles just as well, and has a lot smoother ride over bumps. I have had to do several emergency stops and swerves due to deer, and it has handled it fine.

 

[erwinstein]

:cheers: took mine out when i got my xj don't miss it

 

[Gridikal]

Mines off, love it. Only thing I've noticed is a difference on wash-board roads, seems like the rear starts bouncing more - then again I dont see how that can have anything to do with taking off the rear sway bar- just what happened to me.

 

[Talyn]

also talyn, wouldn't haveing too little rear roll stiffness cause understeer, not oversteer?

It would cause oversteer, because the rear would be tilting more than the front. If you have a stock sway bar in the rear you won't have a problem unless you are really pushing your XJ hard on turns, which you really shouldn't be doing anyhow. I don't know what would happen with just the larger sway bar in the front and nothing in the back.

Now, if the rear was stiffer than the front you will have understeer.

-Chris

 

[MaXJohnson]

It would cause oversteer, because the rear would be tilting more than the front. If you have a stock sway bar in the rear you won't have a problem unless you are really pushing your XJ hard on turns, which you really shouldn't be doing anyhow. I don't know what would happen with just the larger sway bar in the front and nothing in the back.

Now, if the rear was stiffer than the front you will have understeer.

-Chris

SPOBI ALERT!

Sorry to dredge up a week old post, but I was searching this post for other reasons and noticed that it ended on this little tid-bit "if the rear was stiffer than the front you will have understeer", which is the opposite of reality.

 

[Talyn]

SPOBI ALERT!

Sorry to dredge up a week old post, but I was searching this post for other reasons and noticed that it ended on this little tid-bit "if the rear was stiffer than the front you will have understeer", which is the opposite of reality.

Thats a qualified statement. Why not enlighten us and tell us why it doesn't cause understeer.