1. Registration trouble? Please use the "Contact Us" link at the bottom right corner of the page and your issue will be resolved.
    Dismiss Notice

antisway bar

Discussion in 'Intermediate CJ-5/6/7/8' started by 73cj5, Dec 10, 2006.

  1. Dec 10, 2006
    73cj5

    73cj5 Member

    Maine
    Joined:
    Jan 15, 2004
    Messages:
    905
    Has anyone installed an antisway bar on their jeep? I would like drive mine on the highway but I'm scared of the body roll. Does it make a dramatic improvement in handling? I'm thinking about buying one from a 76 and newer and modifying it to work.
    thanks
     
    73cj5, Dec 10, 2006
    #1
  2. Dec 11, 2006
    sparky

    sparky Sandgroper Staff Member Founder

    Perth, WA
    Joined:
    Sep 20, 2002
    Messages:
    9,221
    With your tires and suspension I'd think you'll be fine as it is. I have 33s and a 2" suspension and 1h" body lift and drive it on the hiway.

    Just don't take any sharp turns too fast. Antisway bar won't help in that situation anyway.

    So, my advice really is just get used to the feel of it. Once you've driven it for a while you'll be more comfortable with it for better or worse.

    I know when I went from driving my TDI Golf on I80 at 75-80 mph going back to my TJ w/ 31's and a 2" lift felt scary. Then I got used to it. When I got my current CJ-5 I didn't go much faster than 50mph initially. Then by the time I got home, 5-6 hours later I was going 65-70...

    But I wouldn't discourage you from trying to make one fit. It might work.
     
    sparky, Dec 11, 2006
    #2
  3. Dec 11, 2006
    timgr

    timgr We stand on the shoulders of giants. 2022 Sponsor

    Medford Mass USA
    Joined:
    Aug 10, 2003
    Messages:
    23,596
    I'm not sure what Sparky means, but a sway bar does cancel some body roll by transfering weight to the inside of the curve. This would help on sharp turns, like emergency lane changes. "Too fast" would get a little faster, and might then extend beyond your 'lateral adhesion" speed.

    There are other things you can do too: keep your tire pressure up, reduce the amount of lift, narrower and/or shorter tires, stiffer springs (does the same as the sway bar), outboard your rear springs, lower your COG and total weight, change your driving habits, probably more. Many of these run counter to mods made to improve off-road performance (height, traction, flex) however. You have to make your compromise and live (or ?) with it.
     
    timgr, Dec 11, 2006
    #3
  4. Dec 11, 2006
    sparky

    sparky Sandgroper Staff Member Founder

    Perth, WA
    Joined:
    Sep 20, 2002
    Messages:
    9,221
    I meant, it's a Jeep. Get used to driving it. Which is what I think you said in your second paragraph with "change your driving habits".

    My experience with my TJ with the swaybar connected and disconnected led me to believe, that yes, it will body roll more without. But, it was still driveable as long as I kept my head about me. It wasn't that bad without it and the suspension on it was quite softer than the suspension on my CJ-5.
     
    sparky, Dec 11, 2006
    #4
  5. Dec 11, 2006
    73cj5

    73cj5 Member

    Maine
    Joined:
    Jan 15, 2004
    Messages:
    905
    Thanks guys i will give it a try as it is now.
     
    73cj5, Dec 11, 2006
    #5
  6. Dec 11, 2006
    timgr

    timgr We stand on the shoulders of giants. 2022 Sponsor

    Medford Mass USA
    Joined:
    Aug 10, 2003
    Messages:
    23,596
    Well, I guess the operational phrase is "too fast" - you're right - don't ever take a curve too fast, even in your Elan :)

    But "too fast" does become faster with a sway bar, so there is room for improvement. No need to resign ourselves to the problem.

    And yes I agree that you should drive a Jeep differently from a sports car, or your family car. John Muir wrote that he hoped VW bus drivers would think of themselves as strapped to the front of their bus, like the victim in some Aztec sacrificial rite. You need a bit of that sort of thinking when you drive any car, not just a Jeep, ie keeping your vunerability foremost in your mind. All cars are dangerous; driving to work is likely the single most hazardous thing you do in a day.
     
    timgr, Dec 11, 2006
    #6
  7. Dec 11, 2006
    73cj5

    73cj5 Member

    Maine
    Joined:
    Jan 15, 2004
    Messages:
    905
    just got back from a trip a couple of miles down the highway and it seemed fine. Thanks guys.
     
    73cj5, Dec 11, 2006
    #7
New Posts