- Joined
- Jun 3, 2019
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- 18
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- 876
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- Location
- Plymouth Michigan
- Website
- www.brokeninnovation.com
- Vehicle(s)
- 2021 Bronco Badlands non-sas 4 door manual
- Your Bronco Model
- Badlands
All good points, I think we are getting off the rails a bit for this thread but i'll just add that we don't yet know how wide the bronco body will be (or the new ranger for that matter). At least I don't, and I worked on the current Ranger launch! That, along with the inner suspension hardpoints/hardware will determine how much travel they can get for a given track width. Lets not forget the rear is for sure a solid axle, so there is less overall compromise in articulation. I am not directly involved with the bronco program but my instinct tells me that it will not be an SFA and I can already hear the screams of horror.To get a regular independent suspension vehicle to articulate like a solid axle can, you have to make it a foot wider (or hack the body off) -- the 'old' Ranger Raptor went from 73" to 85" wide. A Bronco that is already a foot wider in the body at 73" and equal track width flapping little A-arms is going to have a hard time competing with a Wrangler that has a 60" wide body and 74" outside track. If they have to push it out to 85" like the current Ranger Raptor, a lot of people are going to ask why the hell they didn't just make a full size Bronco if the F150 Raptor is only 1" wider.
Ultimately "competing with the wrangler" is about more than just improving on their platform with refreshed powertrain and styling. There is a whole array of vehicle attributes that need to be balanced for off-roading alone! I just hope people give it a shot, whether its SFA or IFS I can speak from experience that it will be heavily benchmarked and that particular team wont be satisfied with something uncompetitive.
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