How a Disconnecting Front Sway Bar Helps Your OffRoader
Hardcore off-roaders know to disconnect their sway bars for better suspension articulation. But why does this trick work, and how?
Serious off-roaders tend to modify their rigs in the exact opposite way you'd spec out a high-performance car. Tires get bigger; suspensions get taller; springs get softer. And more often than not, a solid-axle 4x4's sway bars get disconnected, either at the head of the trail or permanently. It sounds backwards if you're thinking in terms of cornering g loads or lap times, but it's an easy trick to make your hardcore truck or SUV more capable off-road.
It's become such a common trick that Ram has incorporated an electronic front sway bar disconnect on every generation of the modern Power Wagon, a 2500-based off-road pickup with all the goodies you'd add to a regular 2500 to make it more rock-crawl capable, straight from the factory.
But why does disconnecting your front sway bar lead to better suspension articulation, and thus, more off-road capability? And how does that electronic disconnect mechanism work to give you predictable, controlled handling on the pavement, and improved suspension flex in the dirt?
Our pal Jason Fenske, host of the excellent YouTube series Engineering Explained, is here to show you just how that electronic sway bar disconnect works, and why it leads to enhanced off-road capabilities in a 4x4
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