Sway Bar Disconnect Functionality

[BackcountryBirds]

Does anyone have any thoughts on real world functionality of the sway bar disconnect on an independent front suspension (IFS) vehicle?

I've owned a Jeep and currently own a Power Wagon so am familiar with how effective a disconnect can be on rocks with a solid front axle (SFA).

Without the SFA pushing down the other tire and the associated reduced wheel travel from an IFS I'm less convinced the Sway Bar Disconnect in the Bronco is going to do all that much to improve traction. Is there any other vehicle that has this on an IFS or has anyone manually disconnected theirs on a 4 runners or something similar? Did it make much of a difference.

I see this as the primary reason folks are going Badlands versus a lesser/cheaper trim and I'm trying to wrap my head around if this will truly add much capability or will end being more of a party trick to check a box in competing with a SFA Jeep Rubicon.

If this was such a useful offroad feature wouldn't it be added standard to Sasquatch packages?

I guess we will find out once it's real world tested side by side with a Rubicon in the rocks, but just curious on y'all's thoughts on its real world usefulness.

Sponsored

 

[BackcountryBirds]

I've seen the video. However barely touching a rock and being forced down by the other side of the SFA fulcrum are two entirely different things.

It will obviously provide some level of traction versus the wheel in the air, but how much does it drop and with what force is it pressing down to gain traction.

I guess I was hoping maybe a 4 Runner owner had manually disconnected theirs and getting some real world feedback on usefulness on IFS vehicles.

 

[Bmadda]

Like all things IFS...does it help...ya, does it help as much as on sfa? No. Can you wheel without it? Sure. Can you wheel better with it? Ya. If you don't get SB disco and just unbolt the sway bar and throw it in the corner of your garage are you going to even know it is gone? Try it!

 

[Lcubed]

I've seen the video. However barely touching a rock and being forced down by the other side of the SFA fulcrum are two entirely different things.

It will obviously provide some level of traction versus the wheel in the air, but how much does it drop and with what force is it pressing down to gain traction.

I guess I was hoping maybe a 4 Runner owner had manually disconnected theirs and getting some real world feedback on usefulness on IFS vehicles.

How would they know without being able to A/B at the same spot? How well it works also depends on the constraints imposed by the vehicle’s IFS. The 4runner’s IFS is different enough from the new bronco that ford thinks it’s worth the time and money to develop an SBA.

 

[Jchetty]

Does anyone have any thoughts on real world functionality of the sway bar disconnect on an independent front suspension (IFS) vehicle?

I see this as the primary reason folks are going Badlands versus a lesser/cheaper trim and I'm trying to wrap my head around if this will truly add much capability or will end being more of a party trick to check a box in competing with a SFA Jeep Rubicon.

If this was such a useful offroad feature wouldn't it be added standard to Sasquatch packages?

From everything I have seen, people are going with the Badlands either do to the marine-grade interior or the manual trans with front/rear lockers.

I haven’t seen too many people that go to Badlands purely due to the sway bar disconnect- they view it as an added bonus. I wish I could delete it. Seeing the issues with Rubicon’s system and the pending class-action lawsuit, I really prefer a traditional setup.

The Bronco’s suspension system is light years ahead of the Wrangler and the reviews and customer feedback will prove this. Ford sacrificed alot- including tow capability, for a suspension that will impress on the road, off-road, and in the desert.

 

[Bmadda]

W/the jeep's sfa its way more of a question of the SB limiting flex. W/ifs I think it will be similar to my ttb where undulations of the trail surface throw the vehicle in a rocking motion. Each wheel being free to handle each bump on its own w/sway bar removed it is MUCH smoother.

 

[ekim]

Rather than think of traction think of tippy-ness. With the sway bar the unstuffed tire will be pulled up. This means that the rig can "tip down" the distance that the tire is in the air. With the sway bar disconnected the tire will contact the ground sooner and provide some resistance to tipping. I can envision many cases where that (reducing tippy-ness) will be desirable.

 

[BackcountryBirds]

W/the jeep's sfa its way more of a question of the SB limiting flex. W/ifs I think it will be similar to my ttb where undulations of the trail surface throw the vehicle in a rocking motion. Each wheel being free to handle each bump on its own w/sway bar removed it is MUCH smoother.

I'm definitely sold on IFS for off-road driving at speed. Not as sold on it for longevity and not at all sold on it being superior for rock crawling. So trying to discern if this limitation make the Sway Bar Disco more valuable if it already struggles a bit more rock crawling or maybe it doesn't help much and the broncos should just be more of a higher speed vehicle in which case can get away with a lower end model without the disco. Can't wait for some real world comparison videos to help make the decision. One small advantage, I suppose of not pre-ordering site unseen, although the wait may kill me.

 

[BackcountryBirds]

Rather than think of traction think of tippy-ness. With the sway bar the unstuffed tire will be pulled up. This means that the rig can "tip down" the distance that the tire is in the air. With the sway bar disconnected the tire will contact the ground sooner and provide some resistance to tipping. I can envision many cases where that (reducing tippy-ness) will be desirable.

This is an interesting theory, but if there is little resistance with the IFS then that stability may be reduced. Is the wheel actually applying significant downward pressure once it touches? Also, curious as to actual travel distance. It looks pretty good on the one or two videos highlighting the feature but is that more marketing? The moab videos seemed to have tires in the air quite a bit, but it was hard to know which features those broncos had.

 

[2Jeeps&PatriotX1]

Granted I have a wrangler and used to have disconnects where I'd pull the pins and swapped those out for the currie anti-rock system which has been awesome but saw this pic from the other thread of the bronco on-site at the bronco event this week. All you need is a socket, ratchet or cordless impact gun to remove a couple of bolts.

 

[Bmadda]

I'm definitely sold on IFS for off-road driving at speed. Not as sold on it for longevity and not at all sold on it being superior for rock crawling. So trying to discern if this limitation make the Sway Bar Disco more valuable if it already struggles a bit more rock crawling or maybe it doesn't help much and the broncos should just be more of a higher speed vehicle in which case can get away with a lower end model without the disco. Can't wait for some real world comparison videos to help make the decision. One small advantage, I suppose of not pre-ordering site unseen, although the wait may kill me.

Well you will be waiting a long time then. I can tell you this...a sway bar is not your friend off road, and on road? Well if you expect this type of vehicle to handle like a corvette? I remove my sway bars from all my 4x4s and don't look back...its how I expect them to handle! I just drive around it! So for me its not so much a disconnect as a reconnect!

 

[Ramble_Offroad]

I’m currently on the Badlands train 100% due to the swaybar disco feature. This single feature is that important to me.

I have what I consider to be a well built Colorado style Tacoma. All the aftermarket toys; high clearance front & rear bumper, fox coils, armor, GFC, Bla bla bla, etc. Several years ago a buddy and I removed my swaybar in Moab during Rock Therapy and it’s been hanging in my garage ever since.

Side note, in the Tacoma community manual Swaybar disconnects are not available despite decades of consumer demand. Complete swaybar removal is an option widely documented with great success (again I’m referencing Tacoma users) But only when paired with aftermarket suspension upgrades.

Enter Bronco desire. Why not simply remove the swaybar and hang it in the rafters again? Several reasons but mostly because our eldest will be driving sooner than I care to admit and my commute has recently doubled. Yes, I currently drive 50 miles each way to work in a fully armored Tacoma on 35s. yeah.....I know. So With young drivers entering the mix highway safety is starting to climb the hierarchy of my decision tree. Also, as the Bronco is new we don’t yet know how it will behave sans swaybar with proper aftermarket coil overs. Probably fine..... But with my family situation and I’ll spend the cash for the disco.

When the Bronco arrives I’m planning to keep my Tacoma, reinstall the swaybar, Step down to 34’s etc. it will be the family camping rig & our third vehicle for the famIly. Lucky little turd will be rolling around in a badass Tacoma, she is already starting to call it her truck! ? The Bronco will be my weekend wheeler & fresh daily driver.

Has the removal of my swaybar changed my truck’s off-road behavior for the better? Yes. Was it a game changer. No. I echo some of the comments above, it helped but it’s not like an SFA.

All in, my current Tacoma is very capable off-road vehicle. Time will tell if a 4D Sasquatched Badlands will be more capable. That’s the goal, but it’s a tall order.

 

[Comadivine11]

For what it's worth, I posted this very topic about a week and a half ago. You can see what people had to say on that thread in addition to the responses you're getting here.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/sway-bar-disco-essentially-useless-on-ifs.4715/

 

[Ramble_Offroad]

Rather than think of traction think of tippy-ness. With the sway bar the unstuffed tire will be pulled up. This means that the rig can "tip down" the distance that the tire is in the air. With the sway bar disconnected the tire will contact the ground sooner and provide some resistance to tipping. I can envision many cases where that (reducing tippy-ness) will be desirable.

This is true.

Sponsored