Chicagoland Showing (Bronco = Awesome) + measured Sasquatch vs Badlands suspension height difference

[kodiakisland]

Over at ClassicBroncos.com, all I ever heard was frame to top of axle, but they were almost always trying to determine what the suspension lift was, as body lifts are pretty obvious on the EB.

In all my years of being around 4WDs, I've never seen anyone crawl under a vehicle to get the same info you can get from just measuring center axle to fender. Even accounts for people running different axles. I've mostly been around Chevy and Toyota though?

If you know what the measurement is on the stock vehicle, you know how much lift or sag you have easily without crawling under anything and makes it easy to compare several vehicles. Either way works I guess, just easier not to crawl under stuff if you don't have to. Maybe so many of the EB have different or modified fenders to make it impossible. Chevy and Toyota tend to maintain factory fenders more than the EB I would guess.

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[HoosierDaddy]

In all my years of being around 4WDs, I've never seen anyone crawl under a vehicle to get the same info you can get from just measuring center axle to fender. Even accounts for people running different axles. I've mostly been around Chevy and Toyota though?

If you know what the measurement is on the stock vehicle, you know how much lift or sag you have easily without crawling under anything and makes it easy to compare several vehicles. Either way works I guess, just easier not to crawl under stuff if you don't have to. Maybe so many of the EB have different or modified fenders to make it impossible. Chevy and Toyota tend to maintain factory fenders more than the EB I would guess.

Ha, I forgot about the cut fenders!!! Yeah that could be a huge variable, as the newer stretchy ones can go from stock flare cut all the way to cutting up tobthe body line.
The big thing was always trying to figure out what this 40yr old rig has on it, what's been done to it etc, not just trying to figure what size tires will fit.
Axle center to fender would include any body lift too, which is usually not the question being asked.

My way is better, that's all. Lol

 

[dgorsett]

Sorry I should have been clearer about my "stuff going on in the frame" comment. It's not a bad thing. It's just different than my experience with older Jeep frames. The two frame rails on my TJ, started life as straight tubing, and were hydroformed in terms of the curves.

Ford seems to have used a different approach, welding various sections together. And inside each section, Ford has some subsections or brackets. Too bad Ford did not have one of those "frame only" displays from some of the other events, I would have liked to inspect that.

I looked at it in Moab and took away a couple things: Nicely boxed and tall so it should be stout. In addition to standard cross members there are members near transmission running diagonally, additional stoutness. It looked to me that the 4dr may actually be an extended two door chassis with a 16" extension forward of the rear suspension.

 

[Steve-0]

Ugh... I ordered a Cactus Gray 4 door. These pics make it look like Seafoam green. Blech! Someone please assure me the Cactus Gray is as nasty as the pics

 

[Orangecrush]

Just received my reservation for a Bronco Family Intro at my local dealership today. Event is on Wednesday. I can't wait to see it in person!

 

[Compta38]

Ugh... I ordered a Cactus Gray 4 door. These pics make it look like Seafoam green. Blech! Someone please assure me the Cactus Gray is as nasty as the pics

it's just gray...

 

[Brongo]

Really great detailed review! Thanks!

 

[Headsong]

Ugh... I ordered a Cactus Gray 4 door. These pics make it look like Seafoam green. Blech! Someone please assure me the Cactus Gray is as nasty as the pics

Just returned from my second visit....NO worries, mate. There is only the very faintest HINT of green in certain lights....I think it's a very sharp color, tho' I'd love it even more with a white top, alas. It's also on the Sports, find a dealer nearby and see for yourself.

 

[Big Boss]

Ugh... I ordered a Cactus Gray 4 door. These pics make it look like Seafoam green. Blech! Someone please assure me the Cactus Gray is as nasty as the pics

Cactus Gray is one of those colors that just photographs horribly. You can be looking at it, take a picture of it and that picture looks nothing like what you see in person. It's weird but it just does not photograph well.

 

[SantaStephen]

Cactus Gray is one of those colors that just photographs horribly. You can be looking at it, take a picture of it and that picture looks nothing like what you see in person. It's weird but it just does not photograph well.

The Cactus Grey looks MUCH better in person. Was just at the event in OBT...was great to finally see them in person. They have a great presence in person, unlike any other stock vehicle.
Also test drove the baby bronco they had there as well (they gave me a free water bottle for taking the test drive, along with the baseball cap, carabiner and sunglasses). The baby had a surprisingly throaty engine note, but too small in the back for our dogs but as a grocery-getter it would be ideal.

 

[Td3]

It's an illusion. The "step" is still there, it's just hidden because of the angle of the shot.

I took this photo of a BL with MGV with the rear seats folded down:

:

 

[Headsong]

The Cactus Grey looks MUCH better in person. Was just at the event in OBT...was great to finally see them in person. They have a great presence in person, unlike any other stock vehicle.
Also test drove the baby bronco they had there as well (they gave me a free water bottle for taking the test drive, along with the baseball cap, carabiner and sunglasses). The baby had a surprisingly throaty engine note, but too small in the back for our dogs but as a grocery-getter it would be ideal.

It's fake engine noise! Shocking but true. Why oh why?

 

[SantaStephen]

It's fake engine noise! Shocking but true. Why oh why?

Wow, well it’s pretty convincing!

 

[SantaStephen]

Here’s the freebies they were giving away...

 

[FunForAll]

I saw the new Bronco (Saturday, April 24) at an event in the western suburbs of Chicago. Very impressed. In my opinion, Ford hit it out of the park .

My angle? I'm a long time owner of open top 4x4s since 1989 (Jeep and Land Rover). I did a lot of off-roading while living out west. Majority rocky trails rather than mud. And I'm mostly a utility buyer. Meaning, I buy items with key features that I will actually use. (I'm not an image or "just in case" or "use someday" buyer.)

There were two Broncos on display:

A) 4-door First Edition auto trans (Cactus Gray)

B) 4-door Badlands manual trans (Area 51)

Some info I collected:

1) **** The Sasquatch suspension provides a 1/2 inch lift over the Badlands.

I crawled underneath the Badlands and FE Sasquatch, and measured the vertical distance from the top of the rear axle tube, to the bottom of the vehicle frame. Here are the measurements:

FE Sasquatch = 6.5 inches
Badlands = 6.0 inches

I measured that way, because it provides accuracy, and cuts out other variables such as tire size differences. If someone can provide the same measurement for a base model, that would be great. Then we will have a more complete picture, in terms of suspension lift between the key versions, without all the other variables.

Here is a photo of me measuring. Don't go by the photo, the angle is off. The numbers above are the accurate measures.

2) **** The manual shift lockout ring works well.

I had been concerned about having a lockout on the stick shift, after a not so good experience with a rental car. Happy to say - I now have no concern with the Bronco implementation. The lockout ring has a good feel, and pulls up smoothly. I shifted through the gears, in and out of Reverse and Crawl, with no problem.

3) **** Some stuff going on inside the frame.

The two main frame rails are not completely open, and have some supports or frame-within-a-frame stuff going on inside certain portions. (See arrow in photo below.) The frame rails appear to be several sections joined together with welds. Unlike my TJ frame having single piece hydroformed rails, and my CJ frames having two simple c-channels welded together. Regardless, overall the Bronco frame appears strong. The inside seems covered in a cosmoline-like substance, probably for rust prevention. Time will tell how well the frame holds up.

4) **** 4-door cargo area size is a revelation.

I'm a 2-door guy, but from my perspective, the 4-door cargo area is large. I'm coming from smaller vehicles, including TJ/CJs with not much room behind the seat. Count me a fan of the 4-door cargo area.

5) **** Side windows press into a groove when closed.

I pushed on the rubber gasket, where the top of the sides windows will contact, and underneath there is some supporting structure, that will make kind of a lip. Meaning the closed window will compress the gasket, and the underlying structure will create a mild groove for a tighter fit. Also, I asked the Ford rep (who had overall good knowledge based on my other questions), and he said yes, the windows drop down a slight amount automatically, when opening/closing. So it has that feature common to many newer vehicles.

6) Cactus Gray was surprisingly nice in person.

This was a shocker to me. I don't generally care for greyish paint on vehicles. But it looked nice in person. Still not my color, but I can now see why some folks are ordering it. (Also my 21 year old son very much liked the Area 51 color, and I also thought it looked nice.)

7) Fold down rear seats worked well.

Seat back has a largish lever for folding, rather than having to fiddle with a strap as in some of my other vehicles. And I didn't find the step up much of an issue, and the seat got close to flat. A generally good design in my opinion, given the body on frame design constraints.

SUMMARY: Impressed and looking forward to seeing a 2-door in person and test driving. Informative event, nice reps, thanks Ford!

Thanks for your write-up and contribution to the forum! Regarding the suspension measurements, did you happen to notice if either or both vehicles had the towing option? I seem to remember somebody posting about different springs being included with towing.

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