(Cont. . .) Currie Anti-Rock Review


Trail Performance:
The performance of the Anti-rock is amazing. The idea of running a swaybar is contrary to conventional wisdom in the Jeepn world. After all, the point of a swaybar is to limit body roll and thus articulation. However, the Anti-rock performed superbly. Not once all day did we lift any tires while running the most difficult rated trails at Rimrock, WA. All four tires stayed planted all day long. Even with open diffs at each end there was never an issue of too little traction from lifting a tire.

On steep off-camber side slopes the Jeep seemed just as stable as before when I was running the stock swaybar. I understand in these instances, not having any swaybar connected can induce an earlier roll point. Not a worry all day long. Over undulating terrain producing high flex situation the Tj was very well compose. It felt like the Jeep just melted over the terrain. Everything was very smooooooth and balanced.

Later in camp we found some large rocks on flat ground to test out the articulation. I crept up to place the front tire on the rock, eased on the throttle and the Tj climbed right up. Everything was nice and smooth with no theatrics. I was floored to find we now had about 30 of articulation before any of the tires lifted. And this was with both front and rear swaybars connected! See Fig. 1 thru 4 to see the results. And the important part for me, no tire rubbing at full steering lock. Just incredible!

Road Performance:
When it was time to head home we just kicked the Tj into 2WD and rolled out. No need to crawl under the Jeep and re-connect quick disconnects or anything. On the road you will definitely notice substantial body roll. But as others have said it isnt too bad. The Jeep does lean more but once it takes a set in a turn everything is fine. We traveled a few hundred miles during the weekend going to and from Rimrock. We drove gravel roads, twisty back country routes, hit speeds of 70 mph on the highways and crossed many mountain passes. Nothing gave us pause for concern and I felt completely comfortable driving with the Anti-rock on. I would recommend that braking be done BEFORE you enter the turn. It helps slow the Jeep down in a nice straight line without compounding body lean.

As I was making decisions on modification routes I wanted to have a well controlled vehicle that maintained as close to stock on-road handling characteristics as possible. I liked the taught handling of the stock swaybar and would prefer that for the road. Considering the amazing trail performance the Anti-rock delivers the increase in body roll isnt anything to get excited about. The extra body roll is there but its still being countered by the Anti-rock swaybar. I do notice that as I accelerate from a dead stop I can feel the chassis twisting on the suspension from the engine torque.


3) INSTALLATION

Preparation:
First, disconnect your fog lights if you have them. Then unbolt and remove your front bumper. This will make the installation process much easier. This requires a strong T-55 Torx bit. Finally, remove the plastic cover over your anti-swaybar and unbolt the anti swaybar and endlinks from the frame and axle. Finally, take a rag and clean out the first inch of the front cross-member. If there are large burs or slag these might need to be ground down. Now you're all set for the Anti-rock installation.

White Insert Modification:
The white plastic-like bushing inserts for the front frame cross member are a pain to get in. The toughest part is getting them started. The primary cause of this is a non-uniform opening to the cross-member. While the white inserts are machined to fit the flat spot in the round cross-member there are nonetheless abnormalities to the cross member opening.

I tried taking a knife and whittling a shallower bevel on the insert but that would have taken forever. I'm not quite sure what type of plastic the material is but it's darn tough. I finally took my angle grinder and went to town. Even with a 10,000+ rpm angle grinder it took some time to shape the beveled edge. I didn't need a big bevel, just enough. Some reshaping of the existing bevel and rounding off more of the "shoulder" on the flat spot really helped. With the new profile the inserts could be pounded in nicely (Fig. 5). It is recommended you pound on a block of wood placed over the insert instead of hammering directly on the insert.

Inserting Sway-bar:
This and the Arm Placement were the easiest steps. Grease up the inside of the inserts and the sway-bar ends. Take a mallet and pound the rod into the inserts (Fig. 6). It aligns easily on the other end of the cross-member. Tap the sway-bar until it is centered in the frame.




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