Sway bar. Needed or not?
 

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.

Re: Sway bar. Needed or not?
 

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

Re: Sway bar. Needed or not?
 

Not needed at all.

Re: Sway bar. Needed or not?
 

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.

Re: Sway bar. Needed or not?
 

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

Re: Sway bar. Needed or not?
 

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

Re: Sway bar. Needed or not?
 

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.

Re: Sway bar. Needed or not?
 

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.

Re: Sway bar. Needed or not?
 

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.

Re: Sway bar. Needed or not?
 

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.

Re: Sway bar. Needed or not?
 

My 2wd Blazer came with a front sway bar