Sway Bar Quick Disconnects
Disconnecting a vehicles sway bars while off-roading increases the vehicles articulation, improving suspension travel. This is crucial for off-roading as it allows the tires to stay in contact with the ground. In this article we'll cover the benefits of quick disconnects.
The Purpose of Sway Bars
A Sway Bar (torsion bar or anti-roll bar) is intended to force each side of the vehicle to lower or rise to similar heights to reduce sway and un-weighting of one side of a vehicle. When a vehicle sways or leans to one side this is referred to as Body Roll. During curves, sharp corners, or large bumps vehicles with a higher center of gravity have more body roll because of more suspension travel and higher center of gravity. In a fast or sharp turn, a vehicle leans towards the wheels on the outside of the turn. Without a sway bar a vehicles weight will transfer too much weight to the outside tires, un-weighting the inside tires resulting in "understeer", a loss of grip, sliding out of control, or worse a roll over.
Due to the advantages in articulation when the sway bar is disconnected, several off-road oriented vehicles have the capability to either electrically or hydraulicy disconnect from the factory. Such examples are select packages of the new 2021 Ford Bronco and 2007+ Jeep Wrangler Rubicon.
On certain Toyota models (2010+ Toyota 4Runner Trail Edition/TRD, 2008+ Toyota Land Cruiser) and Lexus models (2004+ Lexus GX), it utilizes a hydraulic system called KDSS (Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System) which works in combination with the speed of the vehicle. While on the road, the hydraulic system pressurizes the hydraulic ram which stiffens the sway bar - improving on road handling. At slower speeds, it automatically allows the hydraulic ram to move freely – allowing more articulation without manually turning the system off or on.
Quick Disconnects
Quick disconnects work by replacing the OE sway bar end link with an end link that easily detaches, usually with a cotter pin. An OE end link connects the sway bar to the front axle mount. By adding a quick disconnect simply remove the pin and the sway bar is now free to articulate.
For a stock vehicle the gain in suspension travel is significant. Offroading a stock vehicle is possible and many new trucks and SUV's are well equipped for offroad terrain with electronic sway bar disconnect functions and many other tools for offroad travel.
Street Driving Vs. Offroading
Offroad
Articulation is the name of the game while off-roading. Keeping your tires on the ground with as much traction as possible makes passing obstacles possible. By disconnecting a vehicles sway bar a gain of up to 30% more suspension articulation can be achieved. If your vehicle has 8" of suspension travel, by disconnecting the sway bar, the travel can increase nearly 2.5 inches.
While the sway bar is disconnected the body of the vehicle can remain more parallel to the ground while the axle is free to move up and down. With the sway bar connected the passenger side on the rock would push the sway bar up, while the driver side on the grass would pull down on the sway bar. The sway bar would then pull the body of the vehicle to the driver side. This would move the weight of the vehicle to the driver side taking weight and traction off the tire on the rock and increase the possibility of a roll-over.
Here's a comparison with and without the sway bar attached on the same obstacle. On the left, with the sway bar connected, the gap between the tire and fender is larger. That gap is the result of the sway bar pulling the body to the drivers side. On the right, with the sway bar disconnected, the body stays more parallel with the ground causing the gap to be smaller, the tire tucks inside the fender due to the extra travel from the lack of sway bar.
Street Driving
After a day in the woods it's time to head home, for many people their offroad vehicle is also their daily driver. When it's time to hit the road reconnecting the sway bar is a must. The additional travel in suspension and lack of anti-body roll is very dangerous. As mentioned in the top of the article the sway bar works to stop the body from leaning. That extra articulation will drastically effect the way a vehicle handles on the street. Simple changing of lanes without a sway bar, the body roll will be significant and dangerous. Not to mention how dangerous taking an off ramp or a turn quickly can be.
Enjoy the benefits of offroading without a sway bar but always be sure to reconnect the sway bar before traveling on the road.
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