Aido
Member
The story so far.....as taken from...... http://www.navara.asia/diy-modifications-build-ups/1625-my-d22-go-whoa.html
That is a great pic.
Makes me wonder though. Is articulation more beneficial than ground clearance? From the pic above it would seem that aside from being able to keep both wheels on the ground the whole effort is hobbled somewhat by not achieving any further ground clearance.
Not wanting to piss on the parade or anything but if you were to be in some modest ruts wouldn't you just drag the diff through and possibly lose all traction through grounding it? Then follows the rear diff until the rear loses traction and leaves you high and dry?
Is this why IFS came about but that it just has too limited travel?
I know this is your build up thread but perhaps between you and Joshy you could explain why it is necessary in another?
You need articulation for grip, you don't move when the wheels don't touch the ground. ground clearance from bigger tyres to get those diffs up as you mentioned results in needing to lift the body to clear the bigger rubber.
Yeah but.....
If the diff lifts both off the ground then where are you?
"Hello cat.....have you met my pidgeons?"
The lowest point of the front diff is the diff centre itself, with ifs the whole arm holding suspension is in the way, also go over a decent bump in the tracks(this is slow off roading) and if you bend your torsion bar itl be a slow drive home as that torsion bar will be doing nothing at all.
The amount of drop a solid front end enables you to have means a 5ft rut is no problem to attempt, depending on setup and shocks used, but with ifs even if you lift it 4inch the susp arms are still bolted to the same point of the chassis so the flex is almost the same as stock, you just have a raised looking car, which is better for clearance but actually no real off road flex improvement.
Thats what I was getting at.
There is still a plane between wheel centres where obstructions will impede your travel though ( the diff and its centre)
Yeah the centre is always going to be in the way unless you fit bigger tyres or there is a gear system that bolts onto your hubs which give you a few maybe more inches of lift without fitting tyres. Ifs limits your travel but solid front end with coils not leafs is unlimited travel depending on shocks, i think iv just repeat myself there.
There not cheap, not at all.
I believe about 18 large I know.
Still its worth considering for those that want to go to extremes.
A necessary evil on a road reg 4WD, you have to compromise.
offroad is all about diff clearance and keeping wheels on the ground. More articulation will give you more traction, but does nothing if your sitting in 2 wheel ruts and the mound inbetween is hitting your pumpkin. thats when you either back up and hit it harder and use the diff as a plow or go home and put bigger tyres on and cut guards. portals would be awesome but then youll want to reset up your suspension to keep the overall height down.
Im going to get in on this argument....
IFS sucks.... there.
everything these days (hilux, navaras, rodeo etc etc) are all IFS because its cheaper for the manufacturer to make. They dont give a crap about articulation or offroad capabilties... not like they used to anyways...like my GQ having swaybar diconnects standard and range rovers and patrols having switchable diff locks! they make there vehicles cheaply for the tradie. SAS has way way more potential, as has been previously stated, IFS gets jack all articulation. How many comp trucks do you see with IFS?? none. cause it sucks. thats why joshy and solid d22 go all out as they do
Portal axles are wicked bit of engineering, check out the next army truck that drives past you they all use them. but like joshy said you have to lower your suspension if you have a big lift, keep it to 2" or so. I think having portals with 35's is equal to having 44's as to the clearance of your pumpkin off the ground. big dollars though.
IFS does suck for off roading, but most people who are serious about 4wding would have opted for a car with solid axels and coil springs all round in the first place. When i bought my nav i had no clue to 4wding but after learning about it over the years, if i knew then what i know now i would have bought a patrol.
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