I needed some lift on my ride over stock... the original springs were starting to sag (and have been too soft). Over the weekend I put on the Downey heavy-duty 1.5" coils and Dowey torsion bars. I complemented it with Rancho 9179s and standard Ranch IFS 9000 series in the front thinking the addition of adjustability would be a plus.

Turns out the bars are way too stiff, even with them adjusted "down" to 14.5. I don't want to go much lower on the front, as at this point the truck already has a small amout of rake as it is (just enough for loading purposes). I love the rear-end ride, but the 26mm bars aren't the ticket. I'll take stock torsion bars with the 9000s adjusted to dampen the suspension more... at least you get the flex you need.

Comparing them to the stock bars, they're huge - almost looks like they should be on a full size truck. I called Downey to get the size of them over stock - Downey knows nothing, doesn't sell them anymore. I many people would use these beasts except in huge load situations (such as a TJM front bumper and winch).

I did some internet research and finally found the problem:
Downey is 26mm diameter (huge)
Sway Away uses 25mm (larger then stock)
Toyota (stock) uses about 23.5mm (?)

4x4wire's article provides a reference - even the author swapped 25mm Sway Away in over the 26mm Downeys:
http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/tech/torsion_bars/

Anyhow, stock bars for now with adjusted 9000s. I may get 25mm bars later if I notice too much buttoming out.

 

It's all torsion bar...
Just use stock one and cranked it up some.

 

Yeah like anthony said, they're called torsion bars, not sway bars...there's a big difference.

The majority of people here always recommend the stock torsion bars unless you have a huge bumper and winch.

 

Well apparently 31x10.5s are not heavy enough to really use the 26mm bars. I had played around with adjusting the front end down to 14" fender to rim. Even at this setting I had less then half the travel of a stock bar. Running a rough offroad situation was a jaring experience - even with the shocks adjusted to the softest position.

 

Hmmm...just re-read my reply and it sounded harsh, I didn't mean it that way. Sorry about that.

The sprung weight (vehicle) has much more of an influence than the unsprung weight (tire). Just return the tbars and put your old ones back on.

 

for a stock setup, if your springs feel saggy...get new stock springs...even the sway aways are too much for stock....in my experience.