Excellent IFS vs SFA Article -- 2021 Bronco's Advantages In Having Independent Front Suspension

Rick Astley · Aug 13, 2020

AutoAnything had an excellent article back in late February of 2020 written by Patrick Rich talking about the Bronco front suspension and giving the differences, benefits and weaknesses of both front axle types.

As it came out just before Covid hit, then social wokeness hit, then racial wokeness hit, then we all got drunk, it seems to have gone mostly unnoticed in these digital pages so i'm linking the article here:

2021 Bronco: How Big a Deal Is a Solid Front Axle Anyway?

"Can any vehicle really hope to challenge the Wrangler, the undisputed king of off-road? While there are many excellent off-roaders only one conjures up the image of fording rivers, cruising beaches and bouncing off rocks like Jeeps iconic open air buggy. Jeep, however, doesn’t have the corner on iconic and despite its market absence the Ford Bronco is coming back to take up its icon mantle and attempt to beat the Wrangler at its own game, but does it have what it takes to out Jeep the Wrangler?" (Teaser from the first paragraph to keep you interested)

porjos · Aug 27, 2020

Awesome article, thanks for sharing.

Ronny Dahl also has an excellent YT video on the general conversation of IFS vs SFA

ScalinoFever · Aug 27, 2020

IFS pros:
Better handling.
Better ride.
Not a Wrangler.

dgorsett · Aug 27, 2020

Rick Astley said:
AutoAnything had an excellent article back in late February of 2020 written by Patrick Rich talking about the Bronco front suspension and giving the differences, benefits and weaknesses of both front axle types.

As it came out just before Covid hit, then social wokeness hit, then racial wokeness hit, then we all got drunk, it seems to have gone mostly unnoticed in these digital pages so i'm linking the article here:

2021 Bronco: How Big a Deal Is a Solid Front Axle Anyway?

"Can any vehicle really hope to challenge the Wrangler, the undisputed king of off-road? While there are many excellent off-roaders only one conjures up the image of fording rivers, cruising beaches and bouncing off rocks like Jeeps iconic open air buggy. Jeep, however, doesn’t have the corner on iconic and despite its market absence the Ford Bronco is coming back to take up its icon mantle and attempt to beat the Wrangler at its own game, but does it have what it takes to out Jeep the Wrangler?" (Teaser from the first paragraph to keep you interested)

One thing I noticed on the Rubicon and Moab videos is that although front articulation was perhaps limited, the rear seemed to have great articulation. Ford certainly did a great job of rear suspension design.

edgeflyer · Aug 27, 2020

Only people claiming it is an undisputed king are jeep owners, and most have seen very little offroading. They are cheap to modify and have to cheapest to manufacture front end. That's the only reason all these road warriors buy them.

395N · Aug 27, 2020

I'd prefer SFA on the Bronco.
Will not be a DD and dealing with lift and CV angles, boot wear and binding were always a concern with my 5th Gen 4Runner.

Fordboi · Aug 27, 2020

interesting read and also a good comparison.

Toccoa · Aug 27, 2020

I think IFS will create a few new techniques on the trails as well. If everyone’s experience is with SFA, the methods to overcome obstacles will be based on that prior experience. Bronco could really open up off-roading to new ways of thinking in this area. Might even help lesser IFS vehicles get further along using these new techniques.

Hammerheadfistpunch · Aug 27, 2020

Rick Astley said:
AutoAnything had an excellent article back in late February of 2020 written by Patrick Rich talking about the Bronco front suspension and giving the differences, benefits and weaknesses of both front axle types.

As it came out just before Covid hit, then social wokeness hit, then racial wokeness hit, then we all got drunk, it seems to have gone mostly unnoticed in these digital pages so i'm linking the article here:

2021 Bronco: How Big a Deal Is a Solid Front Axle Anyway?

"Can any vehicle really hope to challenge the Wrangler, the undisputed king of off-road? While there are many excellent off-roaders only one conjures up the image of fording rivers, cruising beaches and bouncing off rocks like Jeeps iconic open air buggy. Jeep, however, doesn’t have the corner on iconic and despite its market absence the Ford Bronco is coming back to take up its icon mantle and attempt to beat the Wrangler at its own game, but does it have what it takes to out Jeep the Wrangler?" (Teaser from the first paragraph to keep you interested)

Thanks for the shoutout! If anyone has any questions about what I wrote let me know. I get carried away in the details and sometimes don't write as clearly as I would like.

Rick Astley · Aug 27, 2020

Hammerheadfistpunch said:
Thanks for the shoutout! If anyone has any questions about what I wrote let me know. I get carried away in the details and sometimes don't write as clearly as I would like.

Whoa, Pat is cyber stalking everybody who links to his article!!! (joking, obviously)

It was an excellent article IMHO and came across as dispassionately identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the two. I'm not a skilled off roader by any stretch and, like many on this forum, are hoping to get out there into nature-driving for the first time so it was critically timed and informative.

Specifically, your article helped illustrate why the front sway bar disconnect is more important with IFS and that really spoke to me. Once I was getting that, I re-read the article a few times and picked up on a lot more solid info than the first read had noticed.

bluesun68 · Aug 27, 2020

One of the things that annoys me about jeeps is they always drive so slow. Trails, roads, doesn't matter. Always crawling along 10 or 20 below the limit. Hoping the bronco won't have this problem.

Fordboi · Aug 27, 2020

bluesun68 said:
One of the things that annoys me about jeeps is they always drive so slow. Trails, roads, doesn't matter. Always crawling along 10 or 20 below the limit. Hoping the bronco won't have this problem.

it's because of the solid axle. the owners have learned their lesson lol

PDiddy · Aug 27, 2020

dgorsett said:
One thing I noticed on the Rubicon and Moab videos is that although front articulation was perhaps limited, the rear seemed to have great articulation. Ford certainly did a great job of rear suspension design.

That is because the rear is a solid axle. You can see the difference in flex between an IFS and a solid axle, just by looking at the bronco's front and rear. I think they did good on the front too. It is not easy to get 35s on a IFS.

UncleBuck · Aug 27, 2020

dgorsett said:
One thing I noticed on the Rubicon and Moab videos is that although front articulation was perhaps limited, the rear seemed to have great articulation. Ford certainly did a great job of rear suspension design.

I noticed that as well. I was floor by the rear articulation. I'm not worried about having an IFS system. Most of the driving I'm going to do will be on road, then on fire roads (dirt/gravel) then on unimproved dirt roads with ruts/rocks, then maybe rock crawling down the line. IFS is going to be superior in probably 99.5% of the miles I put on this rig.

I look at it like this, if I run the Rubicon trail annually (round trip is less than 50 miles) for ten years, SFA would have been advantageous for less than 500 miles of use on a vehicle that will have had 100k on it in that time frame. That is .5% of total miles. Half of one percent! I won't be doing the rubicon annually for ten years so it will be less than that for me. I can't see a world where SFA would be better for me.

PDiddy · Aug 27, 2020

Toccoa said:
I think IFS will create a few new techniques on the trails as well. If everyone’s experience is with SFA, the methods to overcome obstacles will be based on that prior experience. Bronco could really open up off-roading to new ways of thinking in this area. Might even help lesser IFS vehicles get further along using these new techniques.

The IFS isn't new to off roading. It has been on the 4runner, Tacoma, FJ, and many other off road vehicles for over 20 plus years. Nothing new to be learned, you just pick easier lines that keep your wheels on the ground. It is what it is. It has some limits off roading, but is a better daily driver and tracks better at higher speeds.

Excellent IFS vs SFA Article -- 2021 Bronco's Advantages In Having Independent Front Suspension

Rick Astley

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porjos

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ScalinoFever

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dgorsett

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edgeflyer

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395N

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Fordboi

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Toccoa

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Hammerheadfistpunch

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Rick Astley

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bluesun68

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PDiddy

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UncleBuck

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PDiddy

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