frunt sway bar

[4play]

I was wondering what you all do with it on a lifted rig , I have a 88 gl I just put 2" blocks under the cross member and all that other stuff. do you take the sway bar out. I could make it work if it is better to keep it.

[bratman18]

I've always removed them in my lifted rigs.

[torxxx]

sway bars are pointless on offroad rigs.   My 98 Outback has a 6 inch lift on it and 29"s and I run without ANY sway bars.  I did have a bit of body roll before I installed the wheel spacers, but once I spaced my wheels out 1.5" on each side, it reduced the amount of body roll considerably.   

 

On a loyale/GL, the sway bar didnt make that much of a difference, it was only a 15mm swaybar IIRC.  I know I cut through mine with a jigsaw and a wood cutting blade when I lifted mine (didnt have a hacksaw or a sawzall lol) 

 

If you are dead set on keeping it you'll need to make some sway bar link extensions so you can keep the sway bar in the stock body location

Edited April 14, 2013 by torxxx

[Gloyale]

If you are dead set on keeping it you'll need to make some sway bar link extensions so you can keep the sway bar in the stock body location

 

uh.......EA82 Swaybars front, and the few models with rear,  mount to the crossmember.  They  comes down with everything else.....no need to make any extensions or anything.

 

 

 

Now, 2" lift.......if you didn't drop the crossmember too it will be harder to hook up but it will still fit.  If you do an even lift no problems.

 

That said, it's fine to take it off too.  You'll get more articulation...not much but a little.  I think it helps handling on rough roads too. 

 

It will let the body roll more on smooth highway though.  And in some states its a no-no to remove the swaybar.

 

I have front and rear XT turbo swaybars on my 2" lifted "long hauler" and non on my 6" lifted "wheeler"

[monstaru]

Common to remove them. You Could make removable pins.<br />But at that rate you have to be able to "stow" the swaybar in an up position somehow.<br /><br />I always just took mine off completely.<br />cheers

[Uberoo]

ditch it and dont look back.My subaru is lifted 8" on some 31" tires without a sway bar,it sorta handles like a worn out truck except I can still rally the piss out of it.A little more lean in the corners but its nothing bad.On an IFS rig any little bit of suspension flex helps.I will say this though, with an open diff and the sway bar installed I got stuck on a bump/dip about the size of a curb.With the sway bar gone both tires can do what they are supposed to.

[ferp420]

if its a daily driver duel purpose rig i would leave it on i disconnected mine for my last wheelin trip and dident put it back on for a month or so what a difference on the street  i got alot of front end lift when taking off and the inside wheel would come off the ground in the turns slowing me down also noticed the out side of the tires starting to scrub off  im only running 2" lift and 28" tires  if i only drove the car once and a while or if its just a wheeler i would toss it in to a corner and forget about it

[torxxx]

 I'm rolling around on one of the bigger Gen 2 Legacies on the board but yet I never noticed wheel lift, or scrubbing on my tires.  Sounds like you had an alignment issue Ferp, sway bar should not have a drastic effect on tire wear.   None of my cars have ever had them and I've never had abnormal tire wear.   The 2 inch lift is just strut spacers so it screws with your camber of your tire.  thats what caused the outside to scrub off, not the lack of the swaybar

[NorthCoast]

Ferp check your motor mounts. You shouldn't be lifting up that much.

[AKghandi]

i got 2 2" lifted gl's, one is a gl-10 turbo its more of my street car so the sway bar is still connected, the other is an 86 gl with 29" tires, its the offroad rig, and no sway bar on it. the difference isn't really noticable, though the 86 does lift in the front under hard accel in 2wd. to solve this i just start out in 4wd. the tires are brand new so it doesnt bind. the turbo i usually start in 4wd also, but that just so i dont get a ton of wheel spin.

[ferp420]

yup lift under hard acceleration in 2wd with out the sway bar very little lift with the sway bar on and when i hit a 35 mph turn at 85 peddle to the floor i dont let up with out the sway bar the front inside tire will come off the ground and spin and i loose speed but with the sway bar its all good i can hold my speed as long as i can hold on the car handles great not as good as the impreza sport but great none the less the alinment is ok top of front tires sit just a hair in at the top parked these are new to me tires so im noticing the wear more the old tires wore evenly with the sway bar on and im sure the motor mounts are shot and will be replacing them next im sure the car isent  %100 on but its fun i only drive about 100 miles a week mostly from the beach to the shop alot of uphill takeoffs entering hwy 1 traffic and a high speed wide open run home through the mountains once or twice a week  over all though not a huge difference but noticeable for sure

[92loyale59]

well i choose to keep my swat bar after removing it from my 2 inch lifted loyale. when rallying i found it to be way unpredictable with out sway bars . i went and got a XT6 sway bar for the front . it is almost twice as thick . and i made a strut tower bar also . its my daily driver so around the street it stays way more level with not much body roll at all. off road in my opinion you have to over compensate far too much with out them. But for stricly wheeling i would probably ditch them

[Uberoo]

What do yo mean "overcompensate" for the lack of sway bar?On just about any independant suspension vehicle removing the sway bar allows better turn in with less understeer on gravel/dirt because it allows both tires to grab traction.Overcompensate for a welded rear diff sure,I just don't get the issue without a sway bar.If removing the swaybar made it unstable on gravel then you have worn suspension parts.

 

if removing the swaybar was bad how come so few rally teams run them?

Edited May 24, 2013 by Uberoo