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What! An advantage of IFS in rock crawling??

IfIHMadeA2021Scout

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I personally prefer the IFS because of the off-road ride quality. Most of my locations require me to drive down miles and miles of dirt roads to reach the area I like to setup base camp for my kayaking trips. My brother has a modded Wrangler and Iā€™ve been out with him several times and after 10min of driving down a washboard road I am ready to walk the rest of the way ?
This is an issue with suspension geometry and tuning, not a straight axle or IFS thing. When you say "modded Wrangler" it makes me think it was either lifted with stock control arms that are now on steep angles, spring rates are wrong, shocks have the wrong valving, or all three. There are lots of lifted Jeeps that look cool but just don't work.

Ultra 4 racers (King of the Hammer cars) are tuned regardless of if they're straight axle or IFS cars to perform great in that environment. They're probably not what people would want on something that would be driven on the street.
 

BuckeyeinNV

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This is an issue with suspension geometry and tuning, not a straight axle or IFS thing. When you say "modded Wrangler" it makes me think it was either lifted with stock control arms that are now on steep angles, spring rates are wrong, shocks have the wrong valving, or all three. There are lots of lifted Jeeps that look cool but just don't work.

Ultra 4 racers (King of the Hammer cars) are tuned regardless of if they're straight axle or IFS cars to perform great in that environment. They're probably not what people would want on something that would be driven on the street.
No, it is an inherent quality of a solid axle. Inputs to one wheel effect the other. The fact that you can throw enough money at SFA to make it not suck does not change that. If you throw the same amount of money at IFS it will still be better.

If a Squatched Bronco doesn't have better off road ride quality than a Rubi off the lot I'll eat my shirt.
 

IfIHMadeA2021Scout

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No, it is an inherent quality of a solid axle. Inputs to one wheel effect the other. The fact that you can throw enough money at SFA to make it not suck does not change that. If you throw the same amount of money at IFS it will still be better.

If a Squatched Bronco doesn't have better off road ride quality than a Rubi off the lot I'll eat my shirt.
The nice big sway bars (or anti-roll bars) that every manufacturer puts in their suspensions do the same thing to help avoid body roll makes the effects on one wheel effect the other. If a true IFS is so great, throw away the sway bar. (Thatā€™s a whole separate chassis engineering discussion.)

If you say one is better, better for what?

Rides better on the street and down a dirt road? I suspect the IFS in the stock Bronco will ride better than a stock Jeep Rubicon.

Down that same dirt road but add in whoops and football sized rocks? Whatā€™s better the IFS that when it compresses on the whoop will slam the lower A arms and differential into the rocks or the straight axle that maintains its ground clearance under the center of the axle?

Whatā€™s better for rock crawling? The sturdier straight axle or lots of smashed skid plates on a IFS from the wheel moving up while the center differential drops?

All of this depends on speed and terrain. You canā€™t have it all. You can design and tune for what you want to do but there will always be compromises.

Everyone picks their compromise.
 

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Not trying to ruffle any feathers, but I will throw my 2 cents in the fray.

IFS seems like you are on the skids more often than SFA. Whether it is not enough articulation or what the reason is, but I do notice it a lot when watching the hammers cars, even the drivers will say you're on the skids a lot more in the rough stuff, but much faster on the fast stuff. Most of my experience is with old IFS stuff that was not built beefy enough from the start to withstand the abuse let alone anyone who would build beefier stuff aftermarket back then. Now-a-days things are much different and IFS stuff has come a looooong way and the industry supports it a a lot more. I look for good things to come with the Bronco, long travel IFS kits, SFA swap kits, manual sway bar disconnects, lots of aftermarket support.

I will also add that anyone who thinks IFS cannot compete is just dead wrong you need to watch the Hammers because I see it every race, IFS OR SFA the winner is the one who can survive, and both have won just as much as the other recently.
What are you referint to when you say ' Skids " ?
 

Broncocito

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For the rocks straight axle and all other situations IFS. IFS may work in many situations, but hardcore crawling no way and I am not planning on dumping 1,000s in upgrading/bullet-proofing the IFS. I am getting a Badlands and do not plan on hardcore crawling. Just my two cents with my experience and having owned and built many rigs of all types and capabilities.
 

BAUS67

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What are you referint to when you say ' Skids " ?

Short for skid plates. Generally with IFS it will drag on the skid plates more often than a SFA. Sorry I am not a youngin' and I 'ain't a fast typer so I gots ta take shortcuts.
 

BAUS67

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For the rocks straight axle and all other situations IFS. IFS may work in many situations, but hardcore crawling no way and I am not planning on dumping 1,000s in upgrading/bullet-proofing the IFS. I am getting a Badlands and do not plan on hardcore crawling. Just my two cents with my experience and having owned and built many rigs of all types and capabilities.

I was about to post.....

" You mean I can't build a rock bouncer out of my Bronco? "

........ because most bouncers I have seen have been SFA. Then I thought to myself better do a little research. Found from 2020 in Texas. Couple of clips in the beginning at about 2:30 you get a good pic of it, 3:00 you can watch it roll on it's side. Tim Cameron. I didn't watch it all but I'm sure he puts on a show.







I'm just saying it is finding it's way everywhere, people are experimenting with it.

?
 

Broncocito

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I was about to post.....

" You mean I can't build a rock bouncer out of my Bronco? "

........ because most bouncers I have seen have been SFA. Then I thought to myself better do a little research. Found from 2020 in Texas. Couple of clips in the beginning but at 2:30 you get a good pic of it That's right IFS.







I'm just saying it is finding it's way everywhere, people are experimenting with it.

?
I love watching rock bouncers. Like I said in my post I do not want to spend $1,000s. If I win the lottery... However, that green bouncer was sick even though he flipped it.
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