Running I.F.S.

[brandon95]

i ran a 3rd gen with stock IFS for a while i put some 32"s on it and better shocks. but u cannot be sceared to do some 3 wheelin in a IFS truck cause it happens alot. but i kept up with my buddys 85 on 35s with allpro suspention and rear locker. and i was open front and rear.

[Rocksurfer]

Please there is no way you can wheel an IFS rig hard, they are just too weak.

[brandon95]

Please there is no way you can wheel an IFS rig hard, they are just too weak.

i totally agree with you man, as a matter of fact i bent my spendle on that truck purdy bad and my CV was starting to go out on it too. i was just sayin if its all you got, wheel it.

[Rocksurfer]

  Did you take a good look at my avatar?

[Yota-Freak]

rockin IFS=) so is my buddy solar86.

[brandon95]

Did you take a good look at my avatar?

haha nope i just assumed that u where SASd, do u have plans to do a SAS? how is wheelin on hard trails with IFS? iv only done moderate trails

[Rocksurfer]

It's all in the angles, or how many people I can put on a strap to hold me down.

[rockhound]

Wheelin' it IFS style.

[BLACKDOG]

haha nope i just assumed that u where SASd, do u have plans to do a SAS? how is wheelin on hard trails with IFS? iv only done moderate trails

technical.  Having IFS requires more skill from the driver.  You've got to pick and choose your lines carefully.

[Rocksurfer]

Ha ha I showed some IFS skills this weekend, on one obstacle I had about 4 feet of skills showing as I rounded a corner, climbed a ledge and then dropped instantly down. Granted I didn't hang around for a Kodak moment, but I'm told my left rear lifted almost 4 feet. Good thing I kept moving.

[LOL @ IFS]

IFS would be great (of course independent wheel flex is ideal in theory) but one of the biggest concerns is that not only is it heavier than a live axle, but the majority of the weight is fully connected to the chassis and at a higher location. So the center of gravity is much much higher as compared to a live axle.
The live axle's weight is fully suspended by the tires, and below the springs, whereas the IFS the weight is bolted to the chassis. This is why live axles has a nicer ride over perpendicular objects and this is why the shocks always go out on IFS much faster than on Live axles.

Just to much weight to high up and connected to the frame. I think that if it did not have this drawback, then it would out wheel a live axle.

Regards,
BigMike

Mike, being a car guy, I'm disappointed you don't have a firmer grasp on the concept of unsprung weight.  Solid axles are a tremendous ammount of unsprung weight compared to IFS, and that is much more likely to wear shocks out faster than IFS.  However, the reason you don't hear about solid axle shocks going out as much is because more often than not, they're aftermarket and are MUCH higher quality than the OEM/ Auto Zone units you'll find in just about every IFS rig out there.  THAT is why SAS rigs don't wear out shocks as quickly.  Furthermore, most IFS shocks out there are around 200K miles or so, vs. what... 20K miles on a typical SAS'd rig? 

Regarding the vertical CG location, that's really an insignificant point.  Roll cages and exo's will raise the CG *WAY* more than some control arms located no higher than the frame.  Assuming your vertical CG is somewhere between the top of the frame rails and two inches above that, your hood probably would affect your vertical CG more than a pair of control arms.  If you want to work the math and prove my assumtion wrong, the basic formula is weight X arm = moment.  Use the top of the frame rail as the datum line.  Keep this in mind... if the vertical CG is somewhere between the top of the frame rail and 2" above like I suspect, then removing the control arms will RAISE the vertical CG, since you're removing weight below the vertical CG.  Again, the change in vertical CG is quite insignificant and I'd equate it to indexing spark plugs; the time spent worrying about it isn't worth the gain/ loss.  And if you try to tell me that a solid axle acts like a keel on a sailboat, nice try... it's unsprung weight, so it doesn't count.

Live axles don't always have a nicer ride over objects.  Ride quality is purely a function of spring and dampening rates, to a lesser degree to unsprung weight, and to a much lesser degree, sidewall height and stiffness and tire pressure.  We come back to the unsprung weight thing again... The heavier the unsprung weight compared to the vehicle weight, the rougher the ride is going to be because of inertial loads on the rest of the vehicle. 

Come on, man... you know this stuff!  You were a car guy!

[Yota-Freak]

just messed up my left CV=( it sucks..id like to go solid axel. im gunna try to find a toyota like mine that has a SFA then buy the truck and swap the bodys. or something=)

[88_Pathy]

I see a guy up at Bald mountain running a dual ultimate with a nice IFS lift on 37s. He says it doesn't break and I saw him hit the toughest stuff there. 3 wheel yeah but he made them, crawling. Hopping, full lock turns and lots of skinny kills cv's. And stock birfs for that matter. If you don't want to swap to a live axle get some gear reduction it will help.

[Yota-Freak]

well it doesnt flex all that well ither=( maybe it will if i drop a shock (the guy that had it b4 me put dual shocks up front)

[eMOJO]

I'm wheeling IFS in my '04 Lux with an ARB in the front... snapped the left axle at the spline inside the diff  dropped into a deep rut on a steep climb and ran out of clearance... causing a bounce and a bang!

Been trying to chase some chromo or chryo inner axles but can't track anything down... would rather bust a CV and fix it on the trail

[Goose]

mcr6
wheelin the ifs with 33's

[Yota-Freak]

i love when my truck doesnt have a front bumper=) his looks sexy as well.

[NorCalToy]

mcr6
wheelin the ifs with 33's

did you break anything that trip?

[Plekto]

IFS is fine.  You just gotta go nice and slow.  Really, almost painfully slow.  Like when it's broken and you need to limp home slow.

Then again, I did take some speed bumps in my neighborhood today at 30-35mph.  The old only hit it with one side trick.

[BLACKDOG]

figured I'd throw up some pics of what IFS can do.  You just gotta pick your lines, and know the limits of the vehicle.

In the five, almost 6 years of owning and wheeling my truck, I've broken a half dozen CVs (4 of them my last trip out ) a steering rod, and a tie rod end.  There has been other stuff, but thats all the IFS related stuff. 

[NorCalToy]

having duals must reallllllly help though.

[BLACKDOG]

having duals must reallllllly help though.

cetainly does, but it never stopped me before I had them.  I beat on my truck plenty before I had duals, I just don't have any pics, because they're trapped in my other computer, and I haven't recovered them yet. 

Even that says something.  I decided to go for duals rather than do a SAS, I'd rather have the duals and wheel an IFS rig than have a stock t-case in a SAS rig.

[NorCalToy]

cetainly does, but it never stopped me before I had them.  I beat on my truck plenty before I had duals, I just don't have any pics, because they're trapped in my other computer, and I haven't recovered them yet. 

Even that says something.  I decided to go for duals rather than do a SAS, I'd rather have the duals and wheel an IFS rig than have a stock t-case in a SAS rig.

thats basically my thoughts, if you can keep traction and not bounce around all teh time it seems like you could do alright, and your locked front and rear arent you?

[BLACKDOG]

thats basically my thoughts, if you can keep traction and not bounce around all teh time it seems like you could do alright, and your locked front and rear arent you?

[NorCalToy]

dang, your setup.

[BLACKDOG]

dang, your setup.

patience young one.    I got my truck when I was 18, bought it in 2003.  I've had it for 5 years, almost 6, and its still constantly evolving.  Its still not where I want it  

[eMOJO]

Those tracks are inspiring... top effort driving 

Here's a pic of mine...



and I just put my front end back in today... here's why it was out

[BLACKDOG]

Those tracks are inspiring... top effort driving 

Here's a pic of mine...



and I just put my front end back in today... here's why it was out

nice!!    I've broken that a few times

[eMOJO]

Haha, yeah I've got to learn how to rebuild my diffs myself... this one cost a fair bit of coin to get fixed!

[boggerunner]

nice thing about wheeling ifs is all the cheap parts floating around from all the sas's