To sway bar, or not to sway bar, that is the question...
Whether or not sway bars are a good fit on an off-road vehicle is a hotly debated issue. On one side of the argument, is that some people say sway bars limit articulation and removing them enables better performance. On the other side, it's illegal and significantly less safe to remove them.
To begin with: Don't believe the hype about removable sway bars!
Before we get into any information about sway bars, we should talk about removable sway bars, which have been touted as the answer to the age old conundrum of whether to fit sway bars or not. Many drivers have tried them out, but the feedback out there at this stage is not great.
Adjustable sway bars however are tried and tested.
The core function of a sway bar, which is connected to the front, rear or both sets of wheels is resistance to the vehicle's tendency to roll as it corners, helping to keep weight on the inside wheels as the vehicle takes the corner - increasing grip and cornering control.
How does a sway bar work?
A sway bar works by resisting the twisting force applied to it when one wheel moves lower or higher than the other wheel, transferring weight from one side of the vehicle to the other. As that resistance takes place, the sway bar essentially tries to keep the wheels as level as possible.
The sway bar is mounted to the suspension control arms and connects your vehicle's suspension components on either side... they run through bushings to ensure there is no up and down movement, only the necessary twisting.
So, as the vehicle turns a corner and weight moves from one side to the other, the natural effect of the wheel on one side moving up is counteracted by the sway bar twisting and forcing the weight back to the originating side of the vehicle. The vehicle begins to level out, the roll action minimised.