Jeep Jamboree (Big Bear, CA)

[hoaxci5]

Did you unhook any of your sway bars? Just curious. Wheels stay on the ground better when they're unhooked.

No, they had a respected Jeep dealership mechanic there and after talking to him he said he wouldn't do it. They were there for support, and were disconnecting/connecting everyone sway bars for free. He said that disconnecting the front risked damaging a CV since the lift already put them a little out of spec and that if it dropped all the way down it would just be an even nastier angle.

Besides wheels in the air make for way cooler pictures and I had zero issue getting through any of trails we went on based on traction, it was always a ground clearance issue.

[superacerc]

Understandable. I never mess with my front cause i don't have any limiting straps to keep the CV's from going too far. The rear I like off cause it is always a bit disconcerting to have wheels up in the air. It seems to help with traction having the wheels articulate a bit more. Cool! i was just wonderin.

[hoaxci5]

I asked him about the rear and he said that the rear bars are a lot softer sprung than the front bars so it wouldn't make much of a difference. That may or may not be true I've never compared.. like I said though I had no issues with traction so I never second guessed it. And I kind of like teeter-toddering

[strokeZ]

Outstanding thread! Thanks for posting....

[TrialByFire]

Great photos and an excellent post!

I asked him about the rear and he said that the rear bars are a lot softer sprung than the front bars so it wouldn't make much of a difference. That may or may not be true I've never compared.. like I said though I had no issues with traction so I never second guessed it. And I kind of like teeter-toddering

I found disconnecting the rear sway bars to be a huge improvement in stability and flex. I didn't like the teetering feeling either. Teetering on the flat is one thing, but teetering while going down a steep incline is very unnerving.

I may try to disconnect the fronts some day but like Matt said, you need limiting straps.

[Sal-XK]

No, they had a respected Jeep dealership mechanic there and after talking to him he said he wouldn't do it. They were there for support, and were disconnecting/connecting everyone sway bars for free. He said that disconnecting the front risked damaging a CV since the lift already put them a little out of spec and that if it dropped all the way down it would just be an even nastier angle.

Besides wheels in the air make for way cooler pictures and I had zero issue getting through any of trails we went on based on traction, it was always a ground clearance issue.

I would of picked that dudes brain apart. I haven't been able to find the operating or min max angles of our CV's anywhere

[hoaxci5]

Moe at http://www.donavee.com/ - not sure if he really knew, but it wasn't worth the possibility of damage.. and with QD2 even with a wheel in the air it just didn't matter.

[Matt]

Great write up! !!!!

Fyi, with stock length rear shocks disconnecting the rear sway bar doesn't add any travel.... I tried it.

I'm 50/50 on disconnecting the front. While you do risk CV damage, you're sacrificing off-camber stability. The sooner that front tire touches the ground the better, especially when going down a sketchy incline where rollover risk is high.... you don't want that front end dropping in a rut.

[Sal-XK]

I haven't been to a jeep jamboree yet I want to go. Jeep School to thats another one but there expensive for a wheeling weekend. I'll have to keep an eye out for one on east coast

[hoaxci5]

The cost is defiantly an issue, but they did give solid support. For the weekend I had..

Catered dinner Fri/Sat night.
Snack bags for both fri/sat
Experienced trail guides who have been running these trails for a long time.
Jeep Dealership there to fix you if you break with no towing fees and no labor fees.
Raffle drawing (didn't win....) for about $4000 worth of prizes

A fun atmosphere with people who understood that not all of us have been offroading our whole lives. No one was upset about needing to spot or taking it slow.