Jan 13, 2022
In August of 2021 Ford issued a press release highlighting the capabilities and advantages of the High-Performance Off-Road Stability Suspension (or HOSS) system, a key component of the Bronco and Bronco Sport architecture. At the time, two statements in the release regarding stabilizer bars (or sta-bars, also known as anti-roll bars, anti-sway bars, or simply sway bars) really caught my attention.
First, the rear suspension of the Bronco was designed with "stabilizer bar-delete for added articulation", meaning there is no rear sta-bar at all. I recently removed the rear sta-bar from my '91 Bronco and I love the extra articulation that provides, but I really appreciate that the new Bronco suspension is designed to provide the extra flex without compromising high speed cornering and stability.
Second, in addition to discussing the hydraulic sta-bar disconnect exclusive to the Badlands model that we know so much about, the press release contains an obscure reference to a "downsized front stabilizer bar to help improve roll disturbances" for Broncos equipped with the Sasquatch Package. I have been unable to find any other documentation or specifications for the Bronco sta-bars, and have been wondering how much difference there is between the standard sta-bar and the downsized Sasquatch sta-bar, or if this was just a mistake or mis-construed media hype. After getting underneath the front end of several Broncos recently, I have confirmed that there is in fact a difference in sta-bar diameter. The standard sta-bar diameter is 35.1mm, and the Sasquatch sta-bar diameter is 33.0mm. (This is exclusive of Badlands and FE of course, since they have a completely different sta-bar structure.) It will take someone with a strong mechanical engineering background (or at least an RTI ramp plus a Sasquatch and non-Sasquatch Bronco) to figure out how much articulation difference that equates to.
This topic also make me curious to know how much articulation difference there is between either a standard or Sasquatch sta-bar and a Badlands with the sta-bar connected. From what I've observed so far, I would anticipate that a connected Badlands sta-bar is probably stiffer than the standard sta-bar, but I think we need to do some experiments to determine that for sure.
First, the rear suspension of the Bronco was designed with "stabilizer bar-delete for added articulation", meaning there is no rear sta-bar at all. I recently removed the rear sta-bar from my '91 Bronco and I love the extra articulation that provides, but I really appreciate that the new Bronco suspension is designed to provide the extra flex without compromising high speed cornering and stability.
Second, in addition to discussing the hydraulic sta-bar disconnect exclusive to the Badlands model that we know so much about, the press release contains an obscure reference to a "downsized front stabilizer bar to help improve roll disturbances" for Broncos equipped with the Sasquatch Package. I have been unable to find any other documentation or specifications for the Bronco sta-bars, and have been wondering how much difference there is between the standard sta-bar and the downsized Sasquatch sta-bar, or if this was just a mistake or mis-construed media hype. After getting underneath the front end of several Broncos recently, I have confirmed that there is in fact a difference in sta-bar diameter. The standard sta-bar diameter is 35.1mm, and the Sasquatch sta-bar diameter is 33.0mm. (This is exclusive of Badlands and FE of course, since they have a completely different sta-bar structure.) It will take someone with a strong mechanical engineering background (or at least an RTI ramp plus a Sasquatch and non-Sasquatch Bronco) to figure out how much articulation difference that equates to.
This topic also make me curious to know how much articulation difference there is between either a standard or Sasquatch sta-bar and a Badlands with the sta-bar connected. From what I've observed so far, I would anticipate that a connected Badlands sta-bar is probably stiffer than the standard sta-bar, but I think we need to do some experiments to determine that for sure.
ne2000, Bschurr
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Jan 13, 2022