Ok so i've read quite a bit on the stablizer bars on our trucks. i have a lot to say so dont kill me haha, but here is it. To get things straight, the steering stabilizer bar is the same thing as what you guys call the sway bar right? what does it really do?

1) dumb question but, since we have a steering stabilizer bar(if that is what is it), does that mean we don't need steering stabilizers?(i mean the ones with the shocks on them) i've seen some rancho ones and such on f-250s and other trucks. i had one on my frontier, don't know if they do the same thing.

2) in that case, i know some of you have removed them completely. some say its not needed since our coil overs are quite heavy duty enough to keep stable, and the rear sway bar keeps the truck from going out of control, is this true? B/c than i want to just remove it to improve bump handling and stuff(which would consist of removing the sway bar links and sway bar completely yes?)

3) on a separate note, has anybody thought about adding shocks to the front. What i mean is shocks additional to the strut for better dampening, is this even necessary? b/c i've seen dual shock set ups and such and wonder if it would help the front end much or at all.

 

The sway bar is actually an anti-sway bar the connects the left and right suspension arms. It's there to reduce roll without having to use monster springs and the stiff ride that comes with them.

A steering stabilizer is like a shock absorber that attaches to the drag link to reduce wheel shimmy that comes from running those monster thornbird 38's on your 4x4. The Dakota doesn't have one because it doesn't have a drag link. It's rack and pinion.

If you just had a (anti) sway bar on the back, you'd spend a lot of time going backwards in your truck. The rule of thumb is to run a small or no bar on the drive wheels so that they stay on the pavement and run a big bar on the non-drive end to help keep the vehicle level.

I've seen pictures of a Dakota/Raider desert truck with dual shocks but there wasn't much of the stock suspension left. There really isn't room for them with the stock suspension.

Thank you and good night.

 

alright thanks for clearing things up for me..so will removing the sway bar completely improve handling? especially when taking bumps, because thats what i read, if i do remember correctly

 

I have seen some DIY ones. I am not sure if they really help any. I am sure you could fab something up.

Here is a cool little writeup on a f150
http://www.f150online.com/forums/art...tallation.html

make sure to read post #3

 

(anti) sway bars are a compromise. When you're driving straight down the road and hit an expansion joint, left and right suspensions compress together and the sway bar doesn't do anything. When you go around a corner, the outside spring/shock compresses but the inside one droops. For that to happen it has to twist the sway bar. That has the effect of increasing the spring rate on the outside wheel and reducing it on the inside wheel. The sway bar helps keep the vehicle flat in turns without affecting the ride in a straight line.

Removing your sway bars won't improve the ride in a straight line but it will cause the vehicle to lean more in a turn.

Removing just the front bar will allow more suspension movement in the front. The rear sway bar will still be working and tend to unload the inside rear tire in turns. That reduces rear traction and will tend to increase inside wheelspin on acceleration or oversteer on decceleration. You go into a turn, realize you're going to fast, let off the gas and the vehicle swaps ends. Not fun...,

You can remove the rear bar and it'll reduce wheelspin on acceleration but it will feel sloppy when turning and will tend to causeere understeer if the front bar is still installed. That's because now the rear suspension moves more and will tend to unload the front inside wheel and cause understeer. Now you turn the steering wheel and the front wheels turn but the vehicle doesn't..., Not fun either....,

If you want to run without sway bars you'd need to put stiffer springs on and then the straight line ride gets worse. The only time I'd recommend removing a sway bar is if you have a problem with wheelspin on acceleration. Removing the rear bar will allow more articulation and keep the rear tires loaded more evenly. You'd still need to increase the rear spring rate to prevent understeer.

Remember these effects are "tendencies" and, depending on the particular vehicle, you can change it's tendencies toward overteer, understeer, wheelspin and ride quality by changing or removing sway bars, or by changing spring rates at either end.

It's all a compromise. What do you want?

 

I figure if the manufacturer put a suspension part on a vehicle, it is there for a reason.

 

thanks guys...ya the sway bar thing makes a whole lot more sense now. djsilver you know a lot, thanks. i guess thats why people only take them off for wheeling and such

 

lol were not racing sports cars here. these are trucks. heavy trucks that bounce all over the road. ive had my front swaybar off for as long as i can remember and it drives just fine in straight lines and in corners, and DEFINITELY off road. sure all that understeer oversteer stuff is true about sway bars. but if your cornering fast enough in a truck that you need to worry about under and over....you dont need to be in a truck.

and the manufacture puts alot of crap on vehicles that are useless or can be changed out for better things. they only put swaybars on for crash ratings to make themselves look good. and so retired ronald doesnt get scared when his truck leans a little in corners. same reason they make auto transmissions shift smooth (which is totally against what a transmission wants to do) hence why they make shift kits to return a trans back to hard shifting. the manufacture only does it for comfort.

coming from someone who takes swaybars off of trucks for a reason....id say take it off and see how you like it. if its not your cup of tea. put it back on. its not hard at all.

 

I prefer to keep mine on. Ronald Reagan or not.

 

Thanks for the compliment. Maybe it's because I use my truck to tow my race car! If you like to go off-roading you can get quick-disconnects for your sway bars and have it both ways!

I do agree with at least some of what projektdirtfab says. I have a shift kit in my auto transmission ;-)