How important is swaybar disconnect ?

[Raptor911]

FYI driving a manual off-road with no experience is NOT easy.

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[AZshot]

Yeah, driving in stop and go traffic, or at a stop sign on a hill is not easy with no experience on a manual either. Come to think of it, making a meat loaf is not easy with no experience.

 

[AZshot]

To the OP, you are fine without most of the stuff on the Bronco for normal overlanding. Which means driving on unimproved roads and somewhat improved dirt roads, some slippery situations, maybe a little water crossing. For that all you need is 4WD and good tires.

I have lived out West for 30 years and do a lot of off road adventures. Did it in a 2WD Mazda B2000 and 2WD F-150 quite a lot. The key is knowing what your vehicle can do. When I saw a wide, sandy arroyo (dry wash) with deep, billowy sand like at the beach, I went the other way in 2WD. If I saw a stairstep of rocks with black rubber marks all over them, I went the other way. The gonzo 4WD guys that want every option for off roading are doing the extreme stuff. Stuff to post on youtube and what many would exclaim "wow! That's INSANE!" If you are just driving to interesting off blacktop locations - don't sweat all those features.

 

[AZshot]

BTW, I ordered the 2.3 and Manual too. In the granny gear, it will do anything you want with your throttle pedal controlling everything. You won't be changing gears in the middle of a stream crossing or grinding up a steep dirt hill. Put it in 1st, let out the clutch...use the throttle to control your speed from 1-5 MPH.

 

[mpeugeot]

How inportant is that really to someone new just getting onto overlanding? When your budget is unlimited thats one thing but it is another for someone who just wants a base to learn and thats all they can afford. A come along winch and ground anchor will get them unstuck if needed. Lockers are nice but most will not venture where they are needed nor have the skill level or desire to take that obstacle.

Chances are most will never care or need that much articulation, lets encourage all trim levels to join the Bronco family and have fun, if someone finds they really need and can afford more later, that can be planned for their next trade in.

I would argue that if you are new to overlanding, you might preferably start with something used and dependable, something you can break without crying.

Also, depending on where in the country you are overlanding a rear limited slip is invaluable, especially in snow or mud. The 4A is a nice option since the car does the work of figuring it out for the person who is new to off-road adventures.

When I said, "minor importance", that was to suggest that you didn't really need the SBD or front locker, because I agree, most people will never be in a situation that demands it.

 

[swooshdave]

To the OP, you are fine without most of the stuff on the Bronco for normal overlanding. Which means driving on unimproved roads and somewhat improved dirt roads, some slippery situations, maybe a little water crossing. For that all you need is 4WD and good tires.

I have lived out West for 30 years and do a lot of off road adventures. Did it in a 2WD Mazda B2000 and 2WD F-150 quite a lot. The key is knowing what your vehicle can do. When I saw a wide, sandy arroyo (dry wash) with deep, billowy sand like at the beach, I went the other way in 2WD. If I saw a stairstep of rocks with black rubber marks all over them, I went the other way. The gonzo 4WD guys that want every option for off roading are doing the extreme stuff. Stuff to post on youtube and what many would exclaim "wow! That's INSANE!" If you are just driving to interesting off blacktop locations - don't sweat all those features.

I think the point is that sometime you can't "go the other way" so you want a vehicle capable of anything you come across.

 

[AZshot]

I might encounter an IED buried on the side of the road...do I need armor?

 

[PSUTE]

A base 4x4 with a rear locker will do 99.9% of anything anyone here will do. That vehicle could outperform most of us as DRIVERS.

If it was available, I would not have gone with squatch.... Buried an F 250 in the snow with lockers up here...

 

[Daktari]

I've taken my 04 Taco TRD off road 2WD up and down some bumpy trails, I have rear lockers and needed them less than 10 times, but needed them then (ok, could have hand winched out etc, but...), so that's what I'd suggest you must have if it might get steep or bumpy or loose ground or muddy (don't know where you are/plan on going ). Sway bar you might never need, it'll be on my Bronco, but just because it was included in the package, I'd not add it as a stand alone option.

Lots of good feedback here, hope you'll have a blast!

 

[AZMikeL]

One other perspective on SBD. I don't necessarily plan on rock crawling with a > $55k rig. But - a lot of the forest roads here in AZ are pretty bad with ruts and random rocks/roots and seem to get worse every year (or maybe that's me getting old). Disco will give the rig a nicer ride on those roads and at least help to soak up some of the jolt when you don't see that tree root/rock/rut in the shady spot on the trail at 15-20 mph.

For me it's between the SBD or having to admit that I need to wear glasses while driving in the daytime too (already need them at night) SBD and no glasses it is!

 

[BroncoKong Jr.]

You don't need the automatic disconnect, but disconnecting the sway bar (with a wrench) is a common practice at trailheads.

 

[internationlriders]

Yeah I agree with the majority it sounds like, no need for the disco option, the reason I went for it is because I'm used to how flexy my Jeep is so I don't wanna be completely losing the flexibility I'm used to but with the lockers this thing will go anywhere even if it's on three wheels

 

[Cheshire]

I’m a very amateur (aka no experience, but we all start off somewhere right) off roader and I plan to get into overlanding when I get my bronco. I ordered a 2.3 manual 2dr base and I was wondering if I really missed out on anything because I don’t have the sway bar disconnect and lockers. Forgive my ignorance, but what is the significance of those features and will I need them?

A manual 2.3 Base will be very capable off road. You will however be quite limited by the 30" street tires so, I would put some 265/75R16 BF Goodrich T/A K02s on the nice Base steel wheels. It will look great (a hair under 32") and will be great off-road.

Occasionally, you will get stuck or not make it over an obstacle because one of your wheels is spinning and the vehicle won't move. In this case, having a rear locker is great. What it does is send equal power to both rear wheels, so even if one is slipping the vehicle keeps moving. Unfortunately, the rear locker isn't available on the Base, so you'd have to move up to Big Bend to get it. That's a big price jump, so better to just have a rear locker installed when you're ready for it. I have no idea on the cost of that, but guess $1200-$1500.

I'd gain proficiency driving off-road with just the tire upgrade until your skills have improved and you know what you're doing. This setup may be all you ever want. Get rear diff lock when you decide you need it. As someone else said here, Base on 32" TA K02s w/rear locker will get you 99% of the places any Bronco will ever go.

As for swaybar disconnect, I view it as a cool feature that's nice to have, but not needed. Forget about it. Enjoy your Base!

 

[dcmdon]

Can I drive on road and highway with swaybar disconnected?

A vehicle's tendency to oversteer (fishtail) or understeer (plow ahead while you are turning the front wheels) is a function of among other things, the roll stiffness of each end of the vehicle.

If a car is relatively balanced then removing roll stiffness from the front will result in a car that oversteers dramatically. Oversteer for most drivers in most situations is bad.

To correct for oversteer, you need to steer in the opposite direction that you want to go, or in the direction of the slide, which is counterintuitive for most people. In fact most car makers tune in a bit of understeer since correcting for understeer IS intuitive. (car starts to run wide, you turn the wheel more. Problem solved).

So . . . . driving on the road with a disconnected front roll bar will result in a vehicle that would severely oversteer (slide the back end) in an emergency maneuver. Possibly exposing a passenger to a serious side impact where it would have been a frontal impact if the car hadn't oversteered. Which is a bad thing since there isn't much crumple room in a side impact that isn't filled with passengers. Plus you increase the chance for a roll over.

So . . in summary. its bad.

Which is why the ford sway bar re-attaches automatically above 20 mph.

 

[dcmdon]

Occasionally, you will get stuck or not make it over an obstacle because one of your wheels is spinning and the vehicle won't move. In this case, having a rear locker is great. What it does is send equal power to both rear wheels, so even if one is slipping the vehicle keeps moving. Unfortunately, the rear locker isn't available on the Base, so you'd have to move up to Big Bend to get it. That's a big price jump, so better to just have a rear locker installed when you're ready for it. I have no idea on the cost of that, but guess $1200-$1500.

One thing to remember is that all modern cars have brake based anti-slip. If one wheel is spinning, the brakes will be applied to that wheel and torque will naturally transfer to the wheel that has grip.

While its certainly not as good as a locked diff. Its probably 75% as good, which makes it 100% as good for 90% of all people who will buy a bronco.

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