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by Kyle Buchter
Quadratec Trail Boss
When talking about sway bar upgrades, most assume the vehicle’s front sway bar is being referenced. That’s usually because the front is where disconnects are added for extra off-road articulation. However, upgrading that rear sway bar is a nice upgrade as well.
On my Wrangler LJ, I have used a few different front sway bars over the years but I have never changed the rear. Then one day I was on the trail and noticed something hanging under the rear of the Jeep. It turned out to be the factory rear sway bar which had snapped off and was hanging down. Turns out, I didn’t break the mount, but actually broke the bar in half. So, to get off the trail without causing further damage, I removed the rest of the sway bar.
I ended up driving the Jeep around for awhile with no rear sway bar. And to be honest, the ride was quite sketchy with a lot of rear body roll and sway on the road. However, I soon got comfortable with it and learned to drive slowly. It wasn’t really the correct thing to do but it worked till I figured out a solution.
Recently I built a new rear axle for the Jeep and while it was being installed, I decided to finally add in a new rear sway bar. I wanted something that would fix the driving issues, clear the axle and be a nice upgrade over the factory version. So I chose the Currie RockJock Anti Rock rear sway bar. It is a fairly simple bolt-on install and I chose to weld on the brackets.
This rear bar’s overall job is to help free up suspension articulation to increase off-road performance and traction, while maintaining a level cabin to prevent that tipping feeling.
Currie offers these kits with forged or aluminum arms and they also include a 45-inch sway bar that is engineered with 4130 heat-treated chromoly for unmatched strength, powder-coated bolt-on frame brackets, sway bar bushings, adjustable heim joint sway bar links, weld-on housing tabs as well as all the necessary installation hardware.
For me, the first test drive was amazing. I could drive corners doing the speed limit for the first time in a long time. It also completely fixed my sway issue and body roll. Off-road, it improved my tire articulation and definitely was a lot more stable in off-camber situations.
Additionally, the RockJock Rear Sway Bar does not get in the way of anything and absolutely takes stress off of my front suspension. I highly recommend it as a great upgrade for overall on and off-road performance.
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