Sway bar. Needed or not?

[rayfinseats]

83 chevy K10 4x4 11x31 tires. No lift to 4" lift. Sway bar needed or not on the street? Anyone try running without one? It handles fine now but ride is a little rough. Thought removing it might help.

[Chevy1TonFun]

A sway bar is for body roll control and has nothing to do with the ride comfort.

[Redcap]

Not needed at all.

[Stocker]

A sway bar will help cornering somewhat, but also hurts articulation if you off-road your 4x4. So it depends on how you'll use your truck.

Dunno when they started putting them on new trucks; my '72 K20 left the factory with no sway bar. And as stated, they have virtually no effect on ride quality..... unless you are on uneven surfaces.

[Mr. 250r]

I took mine off when i went to a d60 in the front because the aftermarket plates don't have the design for them which ill be putting it back on soon but it does help a little on sharp turns corner etc that's about it and since i don't rock crawl or articulate it's not hurting me

[mud slut 350]

I took mine off when i put in my crossover steering cause it waould inter fere but i dtivr on the road a lot i got 4" suspention lift and it was noticably more body roll around corners but not crazy bad and it flexes a LOT better now too so just go without it. every k 10 20 30 is gonna ride rough its not a caddy. hope this helps a lil

[special-K]

I have trucks with them and without them and don't notice any difference in handling. I have kept them on the ones that came with them and left them off the ones that didn't. I have a '72 that the previous owner installed one on. When I lift the truck 6" it's going bye-bye.

[maskale]

like others have stated its for body roll.

how the truck will drive depends on the driver and the truck.

with a heavy front and a real light rear, taking a hard corner while on the brakes can lift a rear tire off the ground, especially if for what ever reason u take the front sway bar off and leave the rear one on.

[Mr Pops]

I have a 6" lift on my Squarebody crewcab and left the sway bar out. The leafs are stiff enough that I can still merge through a cloverleaf onto the highway an still go about 70-80 Kilometers per hour without any noticeable body roll.

[special-K]

Me too. I really enjoy taking an exit with some sporty car is bearing down on my tail,then watching how far they drop back by the time I'm through the cloverleaf. It's a gas. A solid axle truck handles flat as any sports car in corners,just have to mind the higher center of gravity. There's a neighborhood I do a lot of work in that,to control through traffic speed,has a chicane.island. An island comes out a full lane width,in front of that on the left is another island who's right edge lines up with the left edge of he other. It's a full vehicle width zig zag in a car length. Just up the road before it,about a 1/4 mile,is where I pull onto this road. Al the cars this chicane is trying to slow down come rolling over the crest of the hill on my left. I pull out when I see no one coming and always end up with someone on my but about 1/2 way before the chicane. The speed limit is 35,so that's what I drive. I have respect for residents of neighborhoods and cops always seem to single out the working man. I get a kick out of passing through this chicane without changing my speed at all and watching these people in their high-tech new cars suddenly be 1/8 mile or better back,then wind up right back on my tail again. It's a fun game I play and I figure if I'm doing the speed limit I should be able to pass through the chicane w/o slowing down. It takes some good timing to not kiss the curb. Pretty funny to me to be able to zip through there in a big 4wd loaded up work truck with n o sway bars. Independent and/or softer suspension gives excess body roll and that's where sway bars are needed. It's funny,though,IFS GM trucks aren't equipped with sway bars.

[Mr Pops]

Originally Posted by special-K

IFS GM trucks aren't equipped with sway bars.

My 2wd Blazer came with a front sway bar