Please help me understand the Rear Sway Bar argument

First: stock suspension, stock size tires 275-65-18, no lifts/shims

I want to put on a rear sway bar to improve the "side to side" motions on curvy 2 lane roads.

However, I also frequent a highway with concrete road surfaces that cause my truck to bounce around all over already.

So I don't want to make that worse with a rear sway bar.

I've read many of the threads around the rear sway bar and the feedback seems to be inconsistent.

I just want to know, will the "bouncing rear end on concrete highways" get worse when I add the rear sway bar?

 

Tundra rear suspensions are designed to haul / tow weight, and the rear will bounce around when there is no weight in the bed or weight attached to the trailer hitch.

Is your trucks bed empty most of the time?

As for the anti-roll bar, it will firm up the rear a bit and it may make an empty bed feel like it's bouncing more. Install the bar, secure some weight in the bed, and enjoy the improved stability in the turns.

 

You need to upgrade your socks also if you still have oem.

 

The bed bounce is due to the wheel base and the amount of flex our frames allow. It’s really just a bad combination that is an unfortunate design flaw

The sway bar does not add spring rate, it has links that allow it to move up and down with the axle.

 

The bounce is not just a Toyota thing. My F250 bounced soo much it felt like it was going g to fall apart...which it eventually did.

 

We have a couple bed bounce highways around the Denver area, I didn't notice any more bounce after installing the sway bar.

 

For your preferences I would say add the sway bar. I agree with all above that it will not increase any of the bed bounce.

 

Bed bounce and sway are two different issues so that’s probably why you’re getting inconsistent feedback. For the purposes of sway control and improved handling, I’d say 9/10 folks would recommend the sway bar. Myself included. If you don’t plan on lifting the truck, get some Coachbuilder +1 shackles with poly bushings. You’ll feel a noticeable difference in the bed bounce on rough roads. That being said, it’s still a truck and will ride as such when that bed is empty...
Upgraded suspension will help as well but it doesn’t sound like you’re interested in going down that path.

 

The bounce is because it's a truck. A truck is built to take a load on the bed/hitch, so it has a heavier spring rate. Pre-load the springs a little and it goes away 100%. Throw about 200lbs of sand bags in the back of the bed and you'll see what I mean.
The sway bar will not exaggerate the bed bounce from segmented highways. It will exaggerate scenarios where one wheel has to articulate significantly since you've effectively connected the two wheels with the RSB.

You'll probably feel potholes more, but not a segmented highway.

 

I only really notice it when I go through a dip at a less than 90 angle. It rebounds much quicker which is the nature of a sway bar. If both rear wheels hit the dip at the same time, it’s unnoticeable.

 

No it's not a design flaw, it's a truck with a live axle sprung by leaf packs.

Adding an anti-roll bar is one of the best mods you can make to a Tundra that spends most of it's time on improved road surfaces - just do it.

 

What will the shackles and poly bushings do?

No plans to do any suspension work on the truck. This is my wife's DD and our tow vehicle for the travel trailer. Just looking for ways to smooth out the ride. Its a 2014 with only 50,xxx ish miles on it. I'm trying to get a smooth ride out of it.

 

This is a 2014 with only 50,xxx ish miles. I don't want to lift the vehicle, but am interested in reasonable ways to improve the ride quality (make it smoother). I only have p rated tires.

I am not opposed to putting new shocks on the truck, but I have read on this forum that the stock black shocks are the "smoothest" ride already. I don't think my shocks are bad since it only occurs on this concrete highway. But if there were shocks that made a smoother ride (within reasonable cost) I will put that on my list of things to do in the near future.

 

When we tow our travel trailer the bouncing is lessened so I understand the benefit of the weight in the bed. However, if there is a way to lessen the bounciness before adding weight, then I would like to try. I personally don't drive the Tundra enough to be bothered by the bounce, but making my wife happier makes my life better. My plan is to buy her a 4th Gen in 2022 after they've been out for a year. So I just want to make her life a little better in the meantime.

 

Sway bar will not fix bounce which is a separate issue.

Sway bar will make a nice improvement in handling. Tightens up rear end ‘sway’. Gives a tighter/sportier feel to the truck.

Highway Bounce is a separate issue which I’ve read many posts here that many with your year/gen Tundra experience. Do a search. 1st Gen doesn’t have this problem.

 

OEM Black shocks provide a smooth ride, but they don't seem to last all that long. I may be a good idea to replace them with a new set, even at your relatively low mileage. You should be able to find a set cheap, new take-offs would be a great deal.

 

Better suspension and leaf springs help. Prior to my Pro I had an SR5 and the bounce on highways is 90% of the reason why I got a Pro, otherwise I was happy with my SR5. Unfortunately there isn't an expensive way to correct it other than a few bucks in sand, or a water bag in the bed or something.

 

Agree. 5 years on original shocks is pretty good. Time for new.

 

Replace, it's old. 2nd and 3rd gen will not ride as good as the 1st gen. My 05 dc is a Cadillac compared to my 16 with oem shocks and air springs and to my 2020 with 5100's and air springs. All carrying the same load.

Rear sway bars will improve handling, while your at it, go replace the front too.

 

My 02 has a Hellwig RSB and 4600 series Bilstein shocks, it rides like a Cadillac.

My 07 has a short wheelbase and I have set it up as a sport truck by mounting the springs under the axle, adding 4600 series Bilstein shocks, Firestone air bags and the TRD RSB. The truck corners really well on stock Michelins, and extremely well on TOYO's, but the ride is a little on the firm side - no bed bounce though.

 

So my take away is this:

Go with the rear sway bar to improve roll.
Replace 4 shocks with OEM black ones in case they are shot.
Put weight in the bed of the truck at all times.

 

Shackles and poly bushings allow for a smoother ride than the stock bushings.

 

Just so I can confirm, you're saying the Fox shocks from the TRD Pro did in fact help correct your highway bounce? I'm guessing you do not have a RSB on your Pro so is the truck unstable when in corners like the rest of us "non-pro" trucks are without the RSB?

 

Just my 2c, when I installed my RSB on my TRD OR I definitely noticed that my truck's rear tightened up/didn't scare the living daylights out of me when I made turns -- however, I did notice that bumps in the road were a LOT more noticeable/threw the truck around when the truck was unloaded. Stock, I didn't have these issues. I installed the RSB probably at the 700 mile mark or so (purchased in Vegas then drove ~500 miles back to CA), so I had some time on the stock TRD OR suspension.

I primarily use my truck to haul dirt bikes around, and have definitely noticed that with 2/3 dirt bikes in the bed, the truck rides a ton better.

 

And this is what I mean about reading conflicting reports about the rear sway bar. I appreciate everyone's input, so don't take this the wrong way, but I'm not sure I resolved anything yet.

 

The sway ber limits the axle articulation and will transfer more rigid vibration to the truck. It helps with handling but will change the dynamics of your rear axle. You will feel it but the handling upgrade is nice. Its a simple choice, more handling or more comfort. My tundra rode rough so I might as well get the handling upgrade.
I took both sway bars off a while back for a test and the truck rode like a cloud on a dream.

 

Yes. 100%. I don't really notice it anymore.
I actually put the RSB on my Pro. It leaned a lot more in the corners than the SR5 did. The roll combined with the stiff leather seats was causing me some discomfort on my tailbone, so I decided to do the unheard of and put the RSB on a Pro. Night and day difference, and it didn't affect the bounce.

 

If you want it to corner better get the Sequoia or TRD front sway bar, and the TRD rear sway bar. It wont have any effect on your bounciness down the road, but will make it a whole lot more fun in the corners.

 

I wouldn't say it's conflicting, just lacks detail. What are "bumps"?

Minor bumps aren't more noticeable. Minor bumps that hit both wheels at the same time aren't more noticeable. A pothole that hits one wheel will have some of the energy transferred to the other side, you *may* feel it more, you might not, depend on the pothol. Major bumps and ruts will become more pronounced, same for long stretches of rough surface. I do a lot driving on forest and logging roads and I can tell you I lost some ride quality, but oh well? Small price to pay for the upgraded comfort on the road surface I spend most of my time on. If I need articulation, I can remove it in about 10 minutes.

 

I think this is the type of stuff that causes confusion. There are obviously guys that get a more "rigid" ride with the sway bar. For the record I have run the RSB for about 35,000 miles and had it off for about the same amount of miles.

when your shocks need replacing you can upgrade suspension and it can greatly increase comfort. You don't have to lift it. There is a lot of complaints in here about the rough tundra ride and bed bounce.

Once my wife started complaining about the bouncing I had to act.

I switched to 6112 in front and 5160in the rear and it made a world of difference. I also did shackles in rear with poly bushings (the stock ones are metal on metal). This will eat up a lot of vibration. You can change to poly bushings and keep your stock shackles for pretty cheap but coachbuilder shackles will help limit that bounce immensely.

You can also replace your leaf spring packs but they are pricey and can affect your towing capacity and payload.

You can also toggle your tire pressure lower for more comfort.
I was able to upgrade to 33" tires with no mods except removing the front mud guards and this was also a comfort upgrade due to the extra rubber.

You can also remove you factory front sway bar (which some say is dangerous but I say its only dangerous if you drive as if you never took it off). It smoothes the ride alot but makes the truck feel more body roll which means you have to be more conscious when towing and such.

Weight in the bed should be a last resort as weight tends to become "Heavy Blunt Objects" during and accident or emergency braking situation. They do have plates to bolt down in the bed for permanent weight addition but this eats away at you payload.

All in all remember, you can't get something for nothing. You either sacrifice comfort for handling or payload or you pay for the equipment that will give you both.

I also added a 1/4 memory foam to all seats by adding seat covers that had this option.

Good Luck!!