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

[SoDak1623]

The swap is neat, but I just have to wonder why so many Bronco fans obsess over IFS vs SFA? So many people complain about the bronco being IFS, but the bronco has been IFS since 1978. Nobody bitched about the 2nd - 5th gen broncos having TTB IFS, but suddenly everyone acts like Ford should have made the 6G SFA, even though only the first gen had it.

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[BigMeatsBronco]

The swap is neat, but I just have to wonder why so many Bronco fans obsess over IFS vs SFA? So many people complain about the bronco being IFS, but the bronco has been IFS since 1978. Nobody bitched about the 2nd - 5th gen broncos having TTB IFS, but suddenly everyone acts like Ford should have made the 6G SFA, even though only the first gen had it.

close but not correct. it was 1980.

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/20...Traction Beam four,straight axle and IFS eras.

 

[Bmadda]

The swap is neat, but I just have to wonder why so many Bronco fans obsess over IFS vs SFA? So many people complain about the bronco being IFS, but the bronco has been IFS since 1978. Nobody bitched about the 2nd - 5th gen broncos having TTB IFS, but suddenly everyone acts like Ford should have made the 6G SFA, even though only the first gen had it.

80-96 was TTB, Gen 2 was SFA...but not important. Really it's because 6g was marketed as a competitor to Jeep Wrangler

 

[SoDak1623]

80-96 was TTB, Gen 2 was SFA...but not important. Really it's because 6g was marketed as a competitor to Jeep Wrangler

Lol my bad on that one, definitely a brain fart moment. My train of thought was that the bronco was SFA for for 15 years and IFS for 17 years and that Ford hasn't made anything SFA other than HD trucks since 1999, so it definitely shouldn't have surprised anyone.

 

[BigMeatsBronco]

I'll add that the way I see things with Solid front axle swap is this.
I feel the solid front axle is antiquated as the model T. With the technology available today it is utterly going backwards to downgrade this vehicle to solid axle.
Most people don't have the understanding of geometry to do any real IFS upgrades besides bolt on parts.
It requires ALOT more suspension understanding and design to upgrade the IFS, than to slap a solid axle under there with a few do-it-yourself-garage-fabbed mounts.
junkyard front solid axles don't belong under the Bronco period.
If you want to build something modern day impressive, a long travel IFS that does articulate well and is STRONG, is far superior in my book.

in short a solid axle swap is only for the folks who CANT build IFS correctly. But the broncos fancy steering is a real problem for the garage-swapper-solid axle. too much thought and engineering and geometry for 99.9% of folks to do. This is the #1 reason we don't see alot more antiquated front axles installed already! I mean if the average Bronco owner is too dumb to make IFS work fantastic,
you're probably too dumb to make the steering work at all.

When KOH first came out, I knew it was only very short a matter of time before IFS (and IRS) vehicles not only were competitive, but actually WON the event several times. . ...that was the end of the solid axle being superior era. In the future, folks will look back and compare the solid axle to a paper airplane and IFS to a modern day drone.

NO COMPARISON!

 

[BAUS67]

I'll just put this here for reference.

 

[Bmadda]

I'll add that the way I see things with Solid front axle swap is this.
I feel the solid front axle is antiquated as the model T. With the technology available today it is utterly going backwards to downgrade this vehicle to solid axle.
Most people don't have the understanding of geometry to do any real IFS upgrades besides bolt on parts.
It requires ALOT more suspension understanding and design to upgrade the IFS, than to slap a solid axle under there with a few do-it-yourself-garage-fabbed mounts.
junkyard front solid axles don't belong under the Bronco period.
If you want to build something modern day impressive, a long travel IFS that does articulate well and is STRONG, is far superior in my book.

in short a solid axle swap is only for the folks who CANT build IFS correctly. But the broncos fancy steering is a real problem for the garage-swapper-solid axle. too much thought and engineering and geometry for 99.9% of folks to do. This is the #1 reason we don't see alot more antiquated front axles installed already! I mean if the average Bronco owner is too dumb to make IFS work fantastic,
you're probably too dumb to make the steering work at all.

When KOH first came out, I knew it was only very short a matter of time before IFS (and IRS) vehicles not only were competitive, but actually WON the event several times. . ...that was the end of the solid axle being superior era. In the future, folks will look back and compare the solid axle to a paper airplane and IFS to a modern day drone.

NO COMPARISON!

This from the guy who drove his in "armstrong mode" for 2 months? Alot of what you say may be true, but most of the tech you are talking about is out of the reach of a "regular guy" both for cost reasons, and manufacturers don't like selling race parts knowing they will be used on the street. SFA isn't going anywhere, and as much as I love my 6g Bronco, and enjoy the IFS...it's not a starting point I would recommend to anyone looking to build a hardcore rig. Find an old Jeep...throw 1 tons under it...done! It will be many years before 6g catches up (seems like we go backwards more than anything!). In the meantime I would like to know what it takes to go SFA...not saying I'm doing it...academic interest!

 

[BigMeatsBronco]

I'll just put this here for reference.

I'll take that over this junk.

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