Anti-Sway bars questions

[Snakebitten]

It doesn't negate the smooth ride.
Rather it gives that solid axle some added composure over road irregularities.
On a smooth nice surface, in a straight line, the sway bar won't even come into play.

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[HammaMan]

I can see the potential value with a rear sway bar on the F-250 or F-350 trucks but my F-150 has a smoother ride than the 2018 SUV that it replaced. The SUV had a smoother and softer ride than my Mercedes CLK coupe.

Rear sway is a night and day difference in handling. Right before installing take a drive on some twisty roads and then repeat post installation. It helps reduce body roll quite noticeably -- you're likely to come away questioning why it wasn't there in the first place.

Have shared with the class your new beater?

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

Granted I have the Ridetech 3/5 kit, but did their sway bar setup as well. Definitely worth it, the back don't feel like a "wagging tail" in the corners.

 

[Bossharp]

I'm ordering a 2024 Regular cab two wheel drive XL short bed and planning out my modifications. I wont be doing 1/4 mile runs but do want to improve handling. Basically a 'street truck'.. I haven't owned any truck for a dozen years I'm not sure if a sway bar will be worth doing for my application. I am considering the 2"-4" Ford 'performace' drop and will probably not haul or carry anything heavy in the bed regularly. No plans to tow anything now but I might get a very small travel trailer if I can physically manage it in the future. So what do you think? Will a sway bar make any noticeable difference in handling for a two wheel drive regular cab short bed?

 

[powerboatr]

I have now almost 500 miles on my truck since adding the steeda rear anti sway roll bar.
Our roads are mostly 2 lane country roads, with winding curves , etc and un even patches
Ride is unfreaking believably better
I did a 44 mile 2 lane up down turns
Bad pavement, it was like a ford proving ground in un even, less than smooth road
Truck did not hop around like before

 

[Calson]

Pickup trucks with their light rear are far more susceptible to wheel hop than a SUV or sedan. If I kept more weight in the bed the problem would much less. Vans used to come with a 300 lb plate mounted at the rear to deal with this problem.

All pickup trucks should ship from the factory with a rear anti-sway bar and owners should not need to spend over $600 to add one later. At least it is easy for the average owner to install these themselves with the rear wheels on the ground or on a small ramp.

 

[isthatahemi]

I've put Helwig on 2 previous F150's.
I have no idea why they have basically doubled their price for the rear bar. It's literally the same kit as previous generation.

Someone here on the forum pointed me to the Steeda.
It's got nicer endlinks and was priced at what Helwig used to be.

I don't get it.

Exactly the info I was looking for, same as you I rant the Hellwigs, now they are stupidly priced.

 

[isthatahemi]

Pickup trucks with their light rear are far more susceptible to wheel hop than a SUV or sedan. If I kept more weight in the bed the problem would much less. Vans used to come with a 300 lb plate mounted at the rear to deal with this problem.

All pickup trucks should ship from the factory with a rear anti-sway bar and owners should not need to spend over $600 to add one later. At least it is easy for the average owner to install these themselves with the rear wheels on the ground or on a small ramp.

They destabilize the truck at the limit, Ford wants understeer, no rear bar gets that in spades. Set the rear bar too tight, and hold on to your shit when it steps out on a fast merge........

 

[Rinn69]

I'm ordering a 2024 Regular cab two wheel drive XL short bed and planning out my modifications. I wont be doing 1/4 mile runs but do want to improve handling. Basically a 'street truck'.. I haven't owned any truck for a dozen years I'm not sure if a sway bar will be worth doing for my application. I am considering the 2"-4" Ford 'performace' drop and will probably not haul or carry anything heavy in the bed regularly. No plans to tow anything now but I might get a very small travel trailer if I can physically manage it in the future. So what do you think? Will a sway bar make any noticeable difference in handling for a two wheel drive regular cab short bed?

The sway bar handling improvement will be very noticeable immediately. I put one on my 2019 Ranger 4x4 (none from factory) and now it handles like I want it to. If you want better handling in the curves, it's a GREAT mod for any vehicle.

 

[jcaspar]

Does anyone have experience with the RideTech rear sway bar?

 

[Bossharp]

So much I have read concerning sway bars has been in towing applications for extended cabs.. I almost feel like the "Red headed Stepchild" of the F-150 world with a regular cab short bed. But that configuration IS kinda cute..
Edit: isthatatahemi can you explain just what you mean? Especially 'set the bar to tight'..? I'm new to the whole swaybar mod and want to really understand the 'cons' too. My 2015 Honda Fit is very twitchey at 70 plus (almost rolled it once) and part of the reason I want the latest safety tech.

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

Does anyone have experience with the RideTech rear sway bar?

I posted above that I have it on my truck. They state it only works with their 3/5 kit, but I would imagine it would fit other flip kit brands. The biggest thing is that it only fits a lowered truck due to the bracket and link mounting configuration.

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

So much I have read concerning sway bars has been in towing applications for extended cabs.. I almost feel like the "Red headed Stepchild" of the F-150 world with a regular cab short bed. But that configuration IS kinda cute..
Edit: isthatatahemi can you explain just what you mean? Especially 'set the bar to tight'..? I'm new to the whole swaybar mod and want to really understand the 'cons' too. My 2015 Honda Fit is very twitchey at 70 plus (almost rolled it once) and part of the reason I want the latest safety tech.

RCSB is insanely popular these days, especially with all these shops building and racing them.

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

I'm ordering a 2024 Regular cab two wheel drive XL short bed and planning out my modifications. I wont be doing 1/4 mile runs but do want to improve handling. Basically a 'street truck'.. I haven't owned any truck for a dozen years I'm not sure if a sway bar will be worth doing for my application. I am considering the 2"-4" Ford 'performace' drop and will probably not haul or carry anything heavy in the bed regularly. No plans to tow anything now but I might get a very small travel trailer if I can physically manage it in the future. So what do you think? Will a sway bar make any noticeable difference in handling for a two wheel drive regular cab short bed?

Absolutely it will, I have the Ridetech 3/5 kit on my truck with their sway bar and the back send feels a lot less "waggy" in turns now.

 

[Broomsky]

I just installed my Steeda sway bar this evening and noticed a couple things.

For what it’s worth—it was pretty difficult to get the adjustable arms to secure. I had no choice but to set it in the middle setting as it was too long to be able to try the first hole. Not sure if this is because of my truck being a PB or what.
The overall installation was easy minus that particular part.

(@Snakebitten here is where I look for your input lol) I immediately took it out to the highway merge area where I typically feel myself sliding out of the seat trying to hang on while curving into the merge lane. The truck was 100% planted and watched my son barely move in his car seat vs almost toppling over. (No I do not take the merge curve at 100 mph but at 50-60 mph it was leaning pretty bad prior to the sway bar install lol)

I did notice during the driving later this evening it feels as though the overall drive is stiffer as I feel bumps in the road a heck of a lot more. Now, I did put on a set of 2024 BAP wheels that came with factory 275/65/18 Goodyear Wrangler Territory tires today as well. (I wanted to step it down to 18” from my 20” wheels hoping to smooth out the drive a little combined with the body lean I had with the sway bar). I actually feel like with the sway bar and swapping the tires I made the drive worse. Granted, I did eliminate almost all the body lean which is great, but wondering if the middle setting on the sway bar is causing the issue or if my Goodyear tires are just that much crappier than the Hankook’s that I had. I did lower the tire pressure from 42 to 35 (rated max 51) as discount tire set them all to 42 and thought that was maybe my issue- but zero change. The wheels and tires were brand new take offs so they weren’t worn and no steering shake or vibration so they are balanced correctly.

I’m assuming having a stiffer ride is not an affect the sway bar would cause, correct? As it just primarily adjusts body roll. Should I take another stab at putting it on the first setting or would that not really make any difference? Truck is stock height, not leveled.

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