The front swaybar on your Jeep JK Wrangler is designed to stabilize your ride and quite literally prevent too much swaying from occurring when turning or making quick maneuvers. The only problem is, it will also prevent your axles from articulating on the trail which limits the overall performance of your Jeep. The more you can allow your axles to articulate, the more you can ensure that all four tires will be making constant contact with the ground and let’s face it, that’s something we all want when off-roading. Needless to say, disconnecting the front swaybar links has become a standard procedure amongst Jeepers when hitting the trails. In fact, it’s become such a common practice that Chrysler decided to design an electric swaybar disconnect into their new 2007 Jeep JK Wrangler Rubicons. Of course, with all its benefits, there are some drawbacks to disconnecting your Jeep’s front swaybar links and that is… your ride will feel a lot more unstable.
Now, over the years, there have been a few companies who have addressed this problem by offering an aftermarket swaybar that had a softer torsion bar. By doing this, you could still keep your swaybar on and get an optimal amount of axle articulation while maintaining stability. However, the drawback to this design was that it was ultimately too soft for most people who rely on their Jeep to be a daily driver as well. Well today, TeraFlex is officially announcing the release of a product that will give us all the best of both worlds:
Murray, Utah- November 17, 2006. Tera Manufacturing, Inc., manufacturer of TeraFlex suspensions, low range gearing and HD axles, and pioneers in the off road swaybar market introduces their newest suspension accessory – The Dual Rate S/T Swaybar System.
The TeraFlex Dual Rate S/T (Street & Trail) Sway Bar system is one of the most advanced disconnect systems available, with its easy engagement knob you can go from street to trail in seconds – literally!
The Dual Rate features two torsion bars, one for heavy duty highway handling and one tuned for off road articulation. Engaged in the ‘street’ position, the bar allows for a stable highway drive. Disconnected in the ‘trail’ position, it allows your vehicle to articulate and your tires to bite despite the terrain with balanced suspension travel with enough resistance to limit excessive body roll when in off camber and sidehill situations. It also helps to maintain and keep constant the vehicle’s center of gravity by keeping the vehicle weight distributed evenly. To disengage the swaybar with the S/T system, simply twist the knob ¼ turn clockwise and you are on your way. To re-engage, rotate the knob counter-clockwise and the swaybar will self-engage when the vehicle is level.
Extensive testing and engineering gained over the last several years from the Standard S/T Swaybar provided a solid platform for the Dual Rate Swaybar. The proven design came after several other designs such as hub or actuated designs failed. The high-strength spring-loaded hardened engagement pin is tapered to eliminate free play, and provides a long term wear free surface that does not ‘mushroom’ or become deformed from repeated use, but remains solid and tight after every use. The split bushing design used on the trail torsion allows for an increase spline diameter to compensate for the higher load capacity needed when articulating. The heavy duty arms feature adjustable mounting locations and is bent to follow the contour of the frame for maximum tire clearance.
The TeraFlex Dual Rate S/T Swaybar System features applications for all JK, TJ, and YJ Wrangler models including the Rubicon and Unlimited. The Dual Rate comes complete with HD street torsion bar, trail torsion bar, HD arms with adjustable mounting holes, self-lubricating bushings, adjustable links, and all necessary hardware.
TeraFlex products are only available through authorized TeraFlex Dealers. For a complete list of Dealers in your area, or for more information, contact TeraFlex at 801-288-2585 or visit them on the web, http://www.teraflex.biz/.
With the new TeraFlex Dual Rate S/T Swaybar System, you can now have your cake and eat it too. Or, should I say, you can now have your Jeep JK Wrangler be an off-road machine and be a daily driver too.
Eddie
FYI: The new TeraFlex Dual Rate S/T Swaybar System will be available for purchase at Quadratec and 4Wheel Drive Hardware.
man they are very quick to copy!
This looks sweet! How do you think the on-road stability would be with this compared to stock?
Hey doojer,
Hard to say until someone gets to test it out. I would however think that they could easily calculate what the factory torsion rate of the swaybar is and match it.
Eddie
To address some questions-
The Standard S/T sway bar was one of the first of it’s kind, allowing the connection of the sway bar to be separate from the links themselves. The S/T sway bar was first tested and engineered in the summer of 2002.
In 2002, The Dual Rate idea was looked at also for market study and cost analysis. It required some additional engineering and testing to get it to the proper standards we wanted. Several prototypes were built and, The final pre-production sample Dual Rate has been in long term testing for the last year (TJ model). We chose to debut it at the 2006 SEMA show in conjunction with the new 07 Wrangler feeling confident that the product is ready for production, and purchase.
The Dual Rate and the Standard S/T swaybar HD street torsion bar provide a 10% stiffer rate than factory for improved on-road stability. Both the street and the trail torsion bars are constructed from heat treated 4130 chromoly.
Thanks TeraFlex, I apprecaite you coming by to answer these questions and clear things up 🙂
Eddie
Thanks for the info, TeraFlex– sounds very promising!
Eddie!
What type of tool or can the engagement knob be turned by hand?
Roy
It’s just a locking pin that holds the secures the sway bar to the arm.