Good lord! What did you buy now? .... Can I have the SwayLoc? ;D
Uhhh, no, sorry. >
1 of my favorites now. So while we're on MODS, let me add that it's a really sick mod that is far more complex and valuable than I previously knew. I really didn't understand all the benefits until the few days. I'm working on articulation, a tail pipe, and a few other odds and ends, and have been digging into the SwayLOC, and what exactly it does. It does NOT disconnect the sway bar, but uses a weaker bar to provide stability and balance, additional traction through pressure, and extremely easy use while only sacrificing 3-4% of articulation. It even has 4 levels of support for the road, and soft support for off road.
Here are some notes I found:
The point of the SwayLOC is balance. You give up what I would say is negligible wheel travel and what you gain is stability and traction. How?
Balance
The OE rear and Anti-Rock/SwayLOC front swaybars work in concert to keep the suspension forces balanced between the two axles. The aftermarket bars have thinner-than-stock offroad bars so that the front doesn't overpower the rear end. With the forces more balanced the chassis tends to be much more stable and "level" on rough terrain such that you don't have one end or the other trying to dominate such as disco'ing the front but with the OE rear swaybar hooked up.
Stability
The other benefit is improved stability in off-camber trail conditions. With a disco'd rig there is nothing to resist leaning when the jeep is in an off-camber situation. It just leans to the side. This can exacerbate potential roll-over situations. With SwayLOC/Anti-rock there is a front swaybar to provide some roll resistance which helps with stability.
Traction
This gets back to the balance somewhat. With suspension forces better balanced between front and rear axles there more even forces transfered to the tires and a more even distribution of weigh/traction to the ground.
Dynamic Trail Conditions
Having an offroad swaybar equipped Jeep does a better job overall of improving performance than simply having your front axle disco'd. There may be certain real or theoretical conditions where having a disco'd front axle might be better. But it's only in those specific rare circumstances. If you consider the other 99.9% of the time having the front axle connected via offroad swaybar will give you so many more and tangible benefits.
The front axle is ALWAYS connected. What these two bars offer is simply a softer swaybar for offroading that allows 94-96% of the articulation as being disconnected but with all the benefits of keeping a swaybar hooked up.
Ease of Use
This to me is a side benefit which at times is VERY much appreciated. First and foremost these swaybar systems are for traction and stability. But at the start and end of the day it's SO NICE not having to mess with quick disconnects, pins, and fighting you swaybar to re-connect the links.
SwayLOC vs. Anti-rock
In many ways the off-road performance of the Anti-rock and SwayLOC is near identicle. I honestly couldn't tell the difference after switching from the Anti-rock (which I ran for 2 years) to the SwayLOC. The BIG difference is ON THE STREET. The Anti-rock is a single-rate OFFROAD swaybar. On road it's a bit soft. It still does the job of a swaybar but it allows more sway and roll before you get resistance.
The SwayLOC has TWO swaybars, a thinner, softer offroad swaybar that is ALWAYS hooked up and a thicker, stiffer swaybar that can be super easily engaged at the flip of a lever.
As much as I looooved my Anti-rock the SwayLOC is 10 times better. Regaining that street-stability and flat cornering felt like I got a brand new Jeep. Most people who have disco's won't experience this as you leave the swaybar hooked up on the road. But for any who currently have an Anti-rock you'll LOVE the SwayLOC even more.
So, the SwayLOCs and ARs aren't better because they say Currie or ORO on the side. They are better because of the benefits they offer to the Jeep on the trail, and on the road in the case of the SwayLOC.
Topic: Armor Advice (Read 1303 times)
