Sway Bar Disco Essentially Useless on IFS?

[North7]

Found this message on a 4-Runner forum. And yes, it is just some opinion on the interwebs, but I thought I'd see what you guys have to say. Essentially the argument is that on an IFS system, only the tire under compression will have traction since the other tire will have near-zero weight load. Also, since articulation on an IFS is mostly limited by the shaft angles and geometry more than the sway bar, the increase in articulation will be minimal at best. Thoughts?

From Sonoran Steel FAQ:

Sway bar disconnects are not needed with an IFS suspension
By disconnecting the front sway bar you may gain a very slight amount of added a-arm droop, but here is the problem with an IFS truck. The only tire that has any weight on it is the one compressed, so it does not matter if the other tire is in the air, almost on the ground or on the ground. It will spin because it has no weight on it.

It is however correct to disconnect a sway bar on a straight axle truck as it will increase articulation. The real benefit of having a straight axle is that both front tires bear the weight at all times, not only one like an IFS truck under articulation.

We do not recommend sway bar disconnects as we have found them to be completely useless on this vehicle.

Instead of looking for information about the the Bronco on the 4Runner forum you could also try looking for information about the Bronco on the Bronco Forum.

From your 4Runner article: " We do not recommend sway bar disconnects as we have found them to be completely useless on this {4Runner} vehicle."
Meaning, on the 4Runner, it is NOT an evaluation about the SBD on the Bronco.

Bronco Badlands Stabilizer Bar Disconnect In Action!

I made a GIF out of this clip from the Youtube Reveal. Pretty sweet that it can do it under load!

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[Dick_Castlesmurff]

It's the one feature on the Badlands that I don't want. (Because I know I'll never use it.) But the Badlands is the only way to get the locking front diff w/out Sasquatch. So I'll probably end up with it.

 

[bladsquatch]

It's the one feature on the Badlands that I don't want. (Because I know I'll never use it.) But the Badlands is the only way to get the locking front diff w/out Sasquatch. So I'll probably end up with it.

Unless you’re saying you’ll never take your vehicle off-road I wouldn’t say you’ll never use it. It will come in handy on bumpy trails below the rated MPH, even if you’re not going for crazy articulation.

 

[Comadivine11]

Instead of looking for information about the the Bronco on the 4Runner forum you could also try looking for information about the Bronco on the Bronco Forum.

From your 4Runner article: " We do not recommend sway bar disconnects as we have found them to be completely useless on this {4Runner} vehicle."
Meaning, on the 4Runner, it is NOT an evaluation about the SBD on the Bronco.

Bronco Badlands Stabilizer Bar Disconnect In Action!

The literal first line from my quote is, "Sway bar disconnects are not needed with an IFS suspension." So, no, they weren't just talking about 4-Runners. Thanks, though.

 

[Mattwings]

It's an interesting article, but I agree with several of the posts. #1 If you get more droop and you have a tire in the air (locked) and it touches down earlier because of the additional droop, you will get more traction and be able to clear obstacles that otherwise might be impassable. #2. Every vehicle has different maximum droop. If the 4Runner or other IFS vehicles have droop that is only slightly changed by the swaybar disconnect, it might not make much difference. If the Bronco was engineered from the start, expecting the ability to disconnect the sway-bar, they could engineer characteristics to take best advantage of the feature. Personally, I doubt I will use it. Most of my wheeling is either sand or mud in MI.

 

[Incognito]

Comparing the off road purpose built IFS of the Bronco to the Tacoma pickup sourced 4Runner's IFS, is like comparing Corvette with a Corvair.

Sideways question: why do so many chat as if manually removable sway bar links won't work, or be available from the aftermarket, on the Broncos launch date?

 

[Comadivine11]

Comparing the off road purpose built IFS of the Bronco to the Tacoma pickup sourced 4Runner's IFS, is like comparing Corvette with a Corvair.

So you're saying Toyota's TRD Pro setups aren't purpose built for off-road? Again, the quote is from a company, Sanoran Steel, that designs off-road kits for various Toyota models. They are of the opinion that sway bar disco is not all that helpful for IFS suspension. I doubt Ford came up with a radically different IFS system for the Bronco than what's been done with IFS systems for decades now.

 

[Incognito]

So you're saying Toyota's TRD Pro setups aren't purpose built for off-road? Again, the quote is from a company, Sanoran Steel, that designs off-road kits for various Toyota models. They are of the opinion that sway bar disco is not all that helpful for IFS suspension. I doubt Ford came up with a radically different IFS system for the Bronco than what's been done with IFS systems for decades now.

Absolutely. I've built amateur level racecars.

The limiting factor in the factory TRD is that the suspension A arm mounting points are baked in the cake.
You can only get a suspensionoptimized road driving under a heavy load, hauling a trailer safely to articulate so much.

The Broncos A arms are made for offroad first and towing second. the actual internal cargo carrying weight is far lower than the Tacoma.

By comparison, the original military Humvee was built extra wide to deal with both a high load capacity and large suspension flex without tipping over.

 

[Spooled]

Is it needed? No. Is it something that maximizes the off-road capabilities? Yes

 

[King Luis]

even if the other tire has limited weight being put on it, it can still aid in movement and stability. its like saying ice is slippery, but you are still able to walk on it because there is still some grip.

anyone remember magic school bus?

 

[Rick Astley]

5” of travel is a big difference. (That’s what she said)

Wish I had a spare 2" for just such an occasion. You're getting greedy with the 5".....

At some point full is full.

 

[Bison]

It helps. I have the front sway bar for my Fj in the attic for the last 60,000 miles. Is it a huge difference no. But anything helps with ifs and I feel like it rides better off road too.

 

[Buckin' Bigfoot]

Wish I had a spare 2" for just such an occasion. You're getting greedy with the 5".....

At some point full is full.

It all depends on what you’re starting with ?

 

[Studawg]

OP, just watch this GIF video over and over again until you get it. Its pretty obvious that it helps by giving several more inches of articulation. ?‍

Instead of looking for information about the the Bronco on the 4Runner forum you could also try looking for information about the Bronco on the Bronco Forum.

From your 4Runner article: " We do not recommend sway bar disconnects as we have found them to be completely useless on this {4Runner} vehicle."
Meaning, on the 4Runner, it is NOT an evaluation about the SBD on the Bronco.

Bronco Badlands Stabilizer Bar Disconnect In Action!

 

[Megawatt]

When the sway bar is connected And a wheel goes downward in travel it will pull the body of the vehicle down also because it’s connected. If you disconnect the sway bar and the same wheel travels down, the body of the vehicle will not be pulled down because the body is not connected to the axle thew the sway bar.

Traveling off-road disconnected makes for a much better riding experience and less fatigue on those day trips off-road.

A disconnected vehicle on a bumpy road will appear to have the hood barely moving up and down and the wheels will be bouncing underneath like crazy. But the passengers will not be bouncing much because they are “disconnected“ from the axle movements. A connected vehicle on the same road will show the hood to follow up and down movements with the axle. The passengers will be bouncing inside the vehicle much more because they are connected to the axle.

It’s not all about rock crawling, traction, droop. The sway bar is designed to limit the sway of the vehicle body from what is happening with the axles. Always disconnect when possible off-road Either by push button electronic or manual removing links.

For those of you saying you would never use the feature in a Badland Bronco only shows you have never experienced the benefit. It is a fantastic feature to have.

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