More travel, more clearance, and no gearboxes?

[SierraBronco]

Vasher has an awesome Bronco solution that’s reminiscent of the RCLT kits for the Toyota crowd. I hit him up for some details and you’re getting 15-16” of travel, +2” of clearance, and you can use the factory knuckle or go with his fabricated units. Obviously you’ll also need UCA’s and longer centers for the CV’s. Might as well upgrade to a +3” D60 out back while you’re at it

Having worked with him extensively on two projects I’m confident these are thoroughly designed and well thought out. With his 5” kit and 17”+ of travel there is no discernible bump steer, just about 2 degrees of hub roll. (Credit to @87-Z28 for noticing)

Curious to get some feedback from the forum on this setup.

https://vasherdesign.com/shop/ols/products/lca-kit-3-5-rs-hc/v/LCA-KIT-3-514

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[Snacktime]

 

[BigMeatsBronco]

Do his fabricated knuckles use the same OEM wheel bearings and OEM stub axle? Seems like the weak point compared to others F450 unit bearings with 35 or 40 splines...? The additional wheel travel must be at the outer limits of OEM CVs?

 

[SierraBronco]

Do his fabricated knuckles use the same OEM wheel bearings and OEM stub axle? Seems like the weak point compared to others F450 unit bearings with 35 or 40 splines...? The additional wheel travel must be at the outer limits of OEM CVs?

Yeah the factory unit bearings just bolt in to the fabricated knuckles. He’s happy to do custom stuff if you need a different pattern and flange to accommodate the other options.

 

[87-Z28]

With diligent kinematic analysis, you can probably keep the CV angles under control. It does seem that he has rigorously designed the full suspension cycling.

 

[BigMeatsBronco]

Yeah the factory unit bearings just bolt in to the fabricated knuckles. He’s happy to do custom stuff if you need a different pattern and flange to accommodate the other options.

An option for HD unit bearings would be FANTASTIC! And options for the press-in OEM upper and lower ball joints would make it longterm maintenance free setup. I'd pull the trigger on this setup for our ranger raptor.

On the rear 3 link, Im not a fan of the non-triangulated upper control arm...didn't you bend that piece on a recent trip?

 

[SierraBronco]

An option for HD unit bearings would be FANTASTIC!

Absolutely I agree. Do you have a link to a specific product you’re interested in? I’ll send it to him and get his opinion on it

 

[userdude]

Fly little knuckle, fly your little heart out!

That's my contribution, based on the video. Looks cool! And, wee! Even better if it's engineer for near-earth orbit with only the most expensive aluminium. Triple points if it's got a bottle opener hidden somewhere clever.

 

[SierraBronco]

Fly little knuckle, fly your little heart out!

That's my contribution, based on the video. Looks cool! And, wee! Even better if it's engineer for near-earth orbit with only the most expensive aluminium. Triple points if it's got a bottle opener hidden somewhere clever.

Making things out of aluminum negates the need for useful engineering. Everyone knows that.

 

[BigMeatsBronco]

Absolutely I agree. Do you have a link to a specific product you’re interested in? I’ll send it to him and get his opinion on it

https://www.currie4x4.com/CE-8000X5...-FMzHYqqdNQHXRdktXsxqVJY-yTwOLP2jFCtJxHVcq1mp

Or

https://branikmotorsports.com/99-04-super-duty-unit-bearings-6-on-5-5-35-spline/

Of coarse YOUR favorite 17welds has them available with the correct brake encoder film built in, but no link to their stink.

 

[87-Z28]

On the rear 3 link, Im not a fan of the non-triangulated upper control arm...didn't you bend that piece on a recent trip?

It’s not clear from his webpage but I would think he is adding a Panhard bar to constrain lateral motion on the 3 link? @SierraBronco

 

[crenca]

It’s not clear from his webpage but I would think he is adding a Panhard bar to constrain lateral motion on the 3 link? @SierraBronco

Removing panhard as an advantage is one of the bullet points:

"Eliminate your upper links and track bar! Gain incredible articulation with our 3-link system."

I assume the triangulation is enough for acceptable locating of the axle...but I'm no expert.

 

[SierraBronco]

An option for HD unit bearings would be FANTASTIC! And options for the press-in OEM upper and lower ball joints would make it longterm maintenance free setup. I'd pull the trigger on this setup for our ranger raptor.

On the rear 3 link, Im not a fan of the non-triangulated upper control arm...didn't you bend that piece on a recent trip?

Missed the second part

We didn’t just bend it, we snapped the fucker pulling into our driveway (aka we bent it a bunch of times prior to that. So far we’re the only ones that have broken it, allegedly) Granted it was one of the first links he ever made. His new ones are much thicker.

And while the link is significantly stronger, I think we’re still going to go conventional three link with panhard bar like the long travel build. The current issues I have with the wishbone three link and the mullet build:
With the bigger D60 differential housing it pushed the upper link location much higher, and raised our antisquat value significantly. Good for climbing I guess but we’d like to get it back down.

With the 14” coilovers and 1.33 motion ratio we have a ton of very controlled and stable travel, but there is a lot of axle steer when fully articulated. You can see the axle pointing inward a little in the below picture. It’s not a huge deal but it is something to account for. And this picture is with the limit straps holding back roughly two inches of travel.

There is A LOT of force on that third link. It’s a 1 1/4” end with a 3/4” bolt and beefy as hell but still. It’s taking on a lot compared to the rest of the links.

 

[SierraBronco]

Removing panhard as an advantage is one of the bullet points:

"Eliminate your upper links and track bar! Gain incredible articulation with our 3-link system."

I assume the triangulation is enough for acceptable locating of the axle...but I'm no expert.

On the conventional three link (with panhard) he designed for us at my request, the bar is 9” longer than stock made possible via the custom axle and panhard mounts. With 20” of travel there is only one inch of lateral axle movement, but even then you can occasionally feel the tendency to steer if going over bumps at the correct angle.

 

[Rkgzx9leftcoast]

All his stuff is awesome looking, glad he is forging ahead on even more designs. Cool dude to deal with also.

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