Articulation vs Sway Bar | Not What You'd Think!

How much articulation does removing your sway bar add? Which sway bar should you remove, front, rear, or both? How does that change on road driving? We focus on the Toyota Prado platform (FJ Cruiser, 4Runner, Prado, GX470) but the same idea applies to similar IFS 4X4s.
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Parts in my rear suspension: Amazon links are affiliated. I earn a small commission from Amazon if you purchase through my links, but no added cost to you. Thanks for your support!
-Stiffer rear sway bar ADDCO K2-301 7/8" (FJ/T4R): amzn.to/3IPe2lh
(These are 4X the stiffness to my FJ sway bar based on my measurement. Not sure how it compares to that of the 4Runners or other models)
-Extended rear SB endlinks Skyjacker SBE702: amzn.to/3CLvyCY
-Timbren active bump stops: amzn.to/3iMp8wu
-4" longer rear shocks OME 60071L: amzn.to/3kg8IwU
(These are valved for LC80 long travel but bolts on to FJ/T4R. They are VERY stiff if you have no added weight. My FJ has 250 lb drawers, 150 lb RTT, 115 lb spare tire. Only after these weight, it rides decent.)
-You also need LT springs, offset lower links and extended brake lines. They are the same as those in typical rear LT kits. Metal Tech, Dobinsons and a few other brands sell them. Note, the Timbren bump stops above are 1.5" taller than stock at 1000 lbf compression, so you do NOT need additional bump stop spacers with OME 60071L.

[@TinkerersAdventure]

Here are the responses to a few frequently asked questions. I really appreciate you all for engaging and asking questions. Keep them coming!

[@ocvegasproperty]

How did I get sucked into this video? I drive a 911.

[@bradarsenault6984]

Sway bars are often used for controlling body roll and weight transfer at or near the limits of the tires, so you may not notice a dramatic difference with everyday on road driving, but when you need to make an emergency maneuver at highway speeds, it can be the difference between recovery from the maneuver and extreme oversteer/vehicle rolling over.

[@VanceGreen]

Man, I love your channel! This is exactly the kind of stuff I love geeking out on. You do an excellent job of breaking down the problem, explaining the possible solutions simply with pros and cons (with real data!), and managing to still feel concise and to the point.

[@zedxrom7867]

Good stuff, your videos are basically reinstating everything I learned over the years of messing around with my 4runner, I run no front sway bar, extended travel kings, SPC ucas, Icon long travel rear shocks, doninsons springs, OEM rear sway bar with extended links, panhard bar rise bracket and notched lower trailing arms. I love this setup, it gets me places!!! Dreaming of dirt king LT front! Thank you for your videos, I send them to all my IFS wheeling friends, especially when they ignore what I say about chasing caster and cab mount clearance! Haha

[@HaugenDustin]

Your videos keep getting better and better. Such relevant information that isn’t covered accurately in other DIY videos. Really appreciate your hard work!!

[@Aliholic]

I was just talking about the suspension travel with my GF re: solid axles vs. independent suspension. The amount of effort that went into making this video is phenomenal. I applaud you good sir!

[@lexus_offroad_adventures]

I’m definitely going to be following this data on my build. My rear sway bar broke and I’ve just been running as-is for a while but I now see I’m missing out on a bunch of front articulation by not forcing the front suspension to work, which leads to the rig feeling a bit tippy and makes it prone to wheel lifts off road.

[@zeitgeist785]

On-road performance - with rear sway bar only, that reduces grip on the rear which might lead to oversteer instead of the usual (and safer) understeer tendency of most unmodified vehicles. I know from racing a front wheel drive car with an open diff. We stiffened up the rear sway bar to help keep the front wheels on the ground giving better drive out of corners (same method that you show) but it changed the grip balance to the front making the car oversteer more often. Great video by the way. Love to see someone explaining how things really work instead of giving people what they want to hear.

[@redvikinghobbies]

Happen to not only be an FJ guy, heck might have already commented on this video, but I'm also into rc cars and trucks as a hobby where these exact principles are used and this has to be one of my favorite videos on KZbin. Just great. Kudos!

[@TrailTape]

Every video you post challenges my existing understandings, and you always show the results/data to back up your claims. I LOVE your channel and all the content you put out!

[@-A.n.d.r.e.w-]

An excellent video - thorough, well tested and well justified. Thanks a load for this! Suspension is so much more complicated than people realise (me included): stiffness per corner, ride height, front to rear balance, roll centers, etc. etc. It's a mine field for anyone except a trained engineer! This did a great job of demonstrating complex interactions in "layman's terms".

[@unwrangler11]

I really appreciate your honest reporting and unbiased views about 4x4ing products and mods

[@Shibby13499431]

Best videos on the net for information on vehicles. Cuts through all the opinions and ill-informed with proper information gained from hard work and actually trying. Thanks for the all the videos!

[@dixonbuttes6564]

Great analysis, as always. Another thing I would like to know is; How much added stress is put on other parts, and what new weaknesses are added by removing the sway bar. I know the CV axles and ball joints are exposed to much more articulation and strain, but I don't know by how much. And, it would be good to know by how much the strain is amplified on these parts at the extremes of travel. As in, CVs aren't as strong at full-lock steering and droop or compression of the suspension -- but Toyota likely designed these tolerances with the sway bar or KDSS in place. It would be interesting to learn more about the amount of stress removal of the sway bar puts on these other critical parts, in relation to what they were designed for. The number of Yotas being recovered offroad due to balljoint and CV axle failure is pretty significant, so I suspect there's a tie to these other parts being impacted with removal of the sway bar.

[@shermangriffin2722]

I'm currently driving a jeep commander, same platform as the grand cherokee from 2005-2010, they are solid rear axle and independent front suspension. your videos have been very informative with how isf front ends work. Quality videos man, keep em coming.

[@adia6910]

The amount of work you did on this video is much appreciated!

[@ronbbaker]

What a fantastic channel! I’m a software engineer with a 2022 Bronco Badlands, so some of the concepts apply, but it would be great to see this kind of data-driven approach on my vehicle. I’ll keep watching as it’s been very educational. Keep up the cool videos!

[@G5Hohn]

Kai, I love your channel. Some of the best Toyota-related content I could ever hope for, and super thankful for the information as I look at my recently acquired older GX460.

[@kalesoup7633]

I have been running with out a front swaybar on my 3g4r since I had it and I like how it handles on road. After I installed my 3” lift I left the rears disconnected to see how it felt and it was too unstable for me.