Join Us For a Live Discussion: IFS vs. Solid Axle Swap

[tmason10]

One comment we see A LOT on Bronco content is "Why not just do a solid axle swap??" We'll have our friend Eric from Lone Star Ring and Pinion (who's solid axle Bronco did stellar at this year's King of the Hammers) with us to talk about the pros and cons and the work involved in both setups.

We love to talk about this stuff, but we enjoy the interaction even more. What are your questions or thoughts on this? Experience? Horror or success stories?

Share them here and we'll discuss them on the show.

We go live on our youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/broncbustertx) just about every Tuesday @7pm CST.

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[RagnarKon]

Oooo watching.

I have no desire to do a front-axle swap... if I wanted one I would have bought a Jeep--but very curious what hurdles they had to overcome to make it happen.

 

[Tricky Mike]

Personally I feel a solid axle takes away too much from what the Bronco excels at in order to address it's main weakness. There are better platforms if you only need to crawl.

 

[Snacktime]

Welcome back, are you just passing through or are you going to stay a while?

 

[UtahBrandon]

Many of these conversations are centered around how the Bronco (or Jeep) performs for a very specific use case, which in this case, is likely hardcore rock crawling. Still a valuable discussion, however, let's hear about how these modifications affect performance across all of the use case that the Bronco was designed for.

E.g. Aside from rock crawling, how is it at highway speeds? Would you drive it hundreds, or a thousand miles, on a road trip to a rock crawling destination? How does it handle the tight turns of a Starbucks drive-through, etc.

 

[Bmadda]

This is definitely a topic I have been on both sides of. I really wasn't enthused about the IFS at 1st...but it has DEFINITELY grown on me. Still there is a certain level of "glass ceiling" w/IFS...but the ceiling is higher than I thought, and the technology continues to advance. Still very interested in what exactly it would take to do solid axle swap properly...mainly how to make the steering system right...yes I know Lone Star went full hydro, but that's going to leave a black hole in CAN where the PSCM used to be, and leave you w/no steering angle sensor signal, which other modules depend on for various functions. If they adapted this to an orbital...well that would be just plain COOL! I probably have somewhere between 25 and 1000 other questions...but in my head, steering has been the real stumbling block for me!

 

[mjohnso3]

Having owned several Bronco's with the SFA in years past, I have mixed feelings about the IFS. I get the whole gamut with the high speed advantage with the IFS but my issue with that is it might work well out west with the wide open space that is found in many areas and states but not so much east of the Mississippi. Going 80 down a Forest road in Georgia is asking for trouble . All the places I know are mostly rock crawling or crawling up red clay. The SFAs on the Wranglers have come a long way in terms of road manners. But the IFS on the Bronco handles much better and it's grown on me over the last couple of months.

 

[Bronc-Itus]

Many of these conversations are centered around how the Bronco (or Jeep) performs for a very specific use case, which in this case, is likely hardcore rock crawling. Still a valuable discussion, however, let's hear about how these modifications affect performance across all of the use case that the Bronco was designed for.

E.g. Aside from rock crawling, how is it at highway speeds? Would you drive it hundreds, or a thousand miles, on a road trip to a rock crawling destination? How does it handle the tight turns of a Starbucks drive-through, etc.

pretty sure I’ve seen this idea attempted before.

 

[Razorbak86]

One comment we see A LOT on Bronco content is "Why not just do a solid axle swap??" We'll have our friend Eric from Lone Star Ring and Pinion (who's solid axle Bronco did stellar at this year's King of the Hammers) with us to talk about the pros and cons and the work involved in both setups.

We love to talk about this stuff, but we enjoy the interaction even more. What are your questions or thoughts on this? Experience? Horror or success stories?

Share them here and we'll discuss them on the show.

Question: Is it true that it’s easier to swap the front axle if you flip the Bronco upside down first?

 

[SS Bronco]

This is definitely a topic I have been on both sides of. I really wasn't enthused about the IFS at 1st...but it has DEFINITELY grown on me. Still there is a certain level of "glass ceiling" w/IFS...but the ceiling is higher than I thought, and the technology continues to advance. Still very interested in what exactly it would take to do solid axle swap properly...mainly how to make the steering system right...yes I know Lone Star went full hydro, but that's going to leave a black hole in CAN where the PSCM used to be, and leave you w/no steering angle sensor signal, which other modules depend on for various functions. If they adapted this to an orbital...well that would be just plain COOL! I probably have somewhere between 25 and 1000 other questions...but in my head, steering has been the real stumbling block for me!

That was my thinking also. When I purchased my Bronco in 21 the plan was drive it home and install custom 9” axles. After a few set backs getting all the parts together, the IFS has grown on me also. The IFS has not held me back from running the trails I like , it actually opened the door to the high speed stuff I’ve been missing.

 

[Xjeepowner]

If you want a rock crawler get a Jeep. Why try and modify a Bronco into a Jeep.

 

[tmason10]

Really appreciate all the feedback guys. Keep it coming!

We'll cover all of these on the show tonight so join us live if you can.

Questions/thoughts on portals? We know this is a hot topic and the price seems daunting, but when you compare it to all the components you might use to get that kind of lift (which we will do during the show) you might be surprised how close they are in cost.

If you're starting a new build maybe they're a good option, but we're the first ones to agree that every rig is unique and your mileage may vary depending on what you personally want to do with it. We're just honestly excited to see this tech come to market as an option.

 

[tmason10]

Welcome back, are you just passing through or are you going to stay a while?

 

[Bmadda]

Really appreciate all the feedback guys. Keep it coming!

We'll cover all of these on the show tonight so join us live if you can.

Questions/thoughts on portals? We know this is a hot topic and the price seems daunting, but when you compare it to all the components you might use to get that kind of lift (which we will do during the show) you might be surprised how close they are in cost.

If you're starting a new build maybe they're a good option, but we're the first ones to agree that every rig is unique and your mileage may vary depending on what you personally want to do with it. We're just honestly excited to see this tech come to market as an option.

Biggest question involving portals is do they actually exist for a "regular guy"? 74Weld only sells them to KOH race teams AFAIK...that may of course change. Who else makes them, or has them in development? Are there kits to adapt existing portal boxes to 6g? Where would a guy even start if considering them?

 

[tmason10]

Biggest question involving portals is do they actually exist for a "regular guy"? 74Weld only sells them to KOH race teams AFAIK...that may of course change. Who else makes them, or has them in development? Are there kits to adapt existing portal boxes to 6g? Where would a guy even start if considering them?

100% we'll cover this on the show tonight, but in the meantime...

We actually just partnered with Tibus to bring the only bolt-on portal compatible for the "regular guy" to market! (https://broncbustertx.com/products/portals) We'll be installing these on some of our own vehicles very shortly and making some videos, but in the meantime you can read about it in a couple of articles we've written here explaining portal axles and talking about Tibus and their history and pedigree with the product.

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