- Joined
- April 25, 2000
- Messages
- 15,941
- Reaction score
- 3
- City, State
- Houston, Texas
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2008 JK
We all know how much a rear swaybar can limit your axle articulation offroad. Many of us have removed our rear bars and not felt much difference. The stock rear endlinks are a PITA to disconnect and their bushings get torn up with repeated wrenching.
I installed a Saleen rear bar in place of my stocker when I got 31s. However, once I got 33s, the stock endlinks (my second set) were all torn up and causing problems. Removing the bar resulted in no difference in ride or handling, so I kept it off and sold it.
John Vanek at EE recently asked me to try out his rear bar with Warrior disconnects to see what a difference it made on a lifted rig. Yesterday, I installed his rear swaybar, bushings, split collets, and Warrior quick disconnect endlinks. I used hardware from Home Depot and Pepboys to fasten everything together.
The install is straight-forward, as anyone who's played with the rear bar knows. However, I did have to modify the Warrior endlinks a little bit by drilling some new holes and grinding on them a bit. These were not meant to be installed on a 4.5" lifted rig, so the angles and holes didn't match up quite right without some modification. No big deal, but this added about 45 minutes to an hour to the install. FYI I did the entire install myself in under 2 hours using ratchets, wrenches, drill, and grinder. No jack needed on a lifted rig without the stock spare. Oh, and I always wondered what the EE split collets do. They install on the bar to inhibit lateral movement of the bar and to keep it centered.
Verdict: The front end of the truck is much more stable and tracks truer in corners and quick lane changes. It's also much harder to lift a tire when cornering hard. With only the front bar installed, I could lift up the front inside tire anytime I wanted
However, there is a tradeoff. The rear end is a bit more skittish and wants to kick out more. However, as most good drivers know, oversteer is usually preferred to understeer in spirited driving. I don't know if this behavior is just due to my setup, power, or driving. But after only about an hour with the new bar I've gotten used to it and it doesn't bother me at all and I like the added front end stability. The quick discos are fairly easy to disconnect, but I'll probably disconnect them before a trip to not worry about them at the trailhead.
I definately recommend the EE rear bar on all Explorers. However, the cost of the bar added to the cost of the Warrior discos adds up. The bar alone is a good deal, but the quick discos almost double the cost of the mod. IMO though the DIY cotter pin mod of the stock endlinks is not as good in the longrun as this still tears up those bushings and craps out the stock endlinks.
There is no comparison of the stock bar or Saleen bar vs. the EE bar. Like I said above, both the stocker and Saleen bar made almost no difference with lift and larger tires. However, the EE bar is definately noticable.
My lift currently consists of a 3" TT up front and 4.5" lift leaf springs out back without warrior shackles or aal.
I installed a Saleen rear bar in place of my stocker when I got 31s. However, once I got 33s, the stock endlinks (my second set) were all torn up and causing problems. Removing the bar resulted in no difference in ride or handling, so I kept it off and sold it.
John Vanek at EE recently asked me to try out his rear bar with Warrior disconnects to see what a difference it made on a lifted rig. Yesterday, I installed his rear swaybar, bushings, split collets, and Warrior quick disconnect endlinks. I used hardware from Home Depot and Pepboys to fasten everything together.
The install is straight-forward, as anyone who's played with the rear bar knows. However, I did have to modify the Warrior endlinks a little bit by drilling some new holes and grinding on them a bit. These were not meant to be installed on a 4.5" lifted rig, so the angles and holes didn't match up quite right without some modification. No big deal, but this added about 45 minutes to an hour to the install. FYI I did the entire install myself in under 2 hours using ratchets, wrenches, drill, and grinder. No jack needed on a lifted rig without the stock spare. Oh, and I always wondered what the EE split collets do. They install on the bar to inhibit lateral movement of the bar and to keep it centered.
Verdict: The front end of the truck is much more stable and tracks truer in corners and quick lane changes. It's also much harder to lift a tire when cornering hard. With only the front bar installed, I could lift up the front inside tire anytime I wanted
However, there is a tradeoff. The rear end is a bit more skittish and wants to kick out more. However, as most good drivers know, oversteer is usually preferred to understeer in spirited driving. I don't know if this behavior is just due to my setup, power, or driving. But after only about an hour with the new bar I've gotten used to it and it doesn't bother me at all and I like the added front end stability. The quick discos are fairly easy to disconnect, but I'll probably disconnect them before a trip to not worry about them at the trailhead.
I definately recommend the EE rear bar on all Explorers. However, the cost of the bar added to the cost of the Warrior discos adds up. The bar alone is a good deal, but the quick discos almost double the cost of the mod. IMO though the DIY cotter pin mod of the stock endlinks is not as good in the longrun as this still tears up those bushings and craps out the stock endlinks.
There is no comparison of the stock bar or Saleen bar vs. the EE bar. Like I said above, both the stocker and Saleen bar made almost no difference with lift and larger tires. However, the EE bar is definately noticable.
My lift currently consists of a 3" TT up front and 4.5" lift leaf springs out back without warrior shackles or aal.
