ntsqd

I've been in Baja with Bufay. That trucks works very nice at speed. It also crawls fairly well. I don't know that Bufay has run the Rubicon, but it is in his backyard and the truck wouldn't have any trouble with it, though Little Sluice probably isn't on the list & I doubt he'd be interested anyway.
To get decent rear wheel travel that truck has GM 65's on the rear. Going backwards I know, but apparently he did a lengthy study on the options and that was the best for his use. Linkage options interfered with the rear seat. When you have kids in the eqxn that isn't an option.

That formula, a TC front with rear GM 65's, is what 90+% of the yota owning LocoMocos use. Ask me how I know.

T-bars are well known for their large spring rate progression. Any VW based desert racer can tell you this. They can be made to work, but it takes some tricky valving & other damper hijinx for it to happen. If coils are an option they make life, or at least damper tuning, a lot easier.

I love how the crawlers are convinced that you can get a comparable ride out of an SA. I contend that they're wrong, but since they don't usually drive fast - & I mean pre-run kind of fast & I mean for miles - not A mile, I also contend that they really don't have the back ground experience to make that call. 50 to 200 miles at speed off road is a LOT different than A mile at speed off road.
You might come close in ride quality, but an SA's unsprung weight is comparatively huge. It just isn't ever going to be equal. A single tire upset effects the other tire. There is no way to damp that out. If the two fronts are permanently connected together they are going to effect each other and that works to the detriment of ride quality.

If you are going to make a SA run with IFS pre-runners for any distance it's going to take both a c/o &, minimum, a 3 tube by-pass per tire. And linkage, well thot out linkage that has a decent Castor curve, some rearward progression, and obviously no bump steer.

Sign me a solid axle driver ('84). Not b/c I wanted it, but b/c the truck I bought came that way. Been many, many times that I wished Patch were an IFS. There have also been times that I was glad he is a SA.

BTW, Res dampers aren't just for jumping. They're needed for fade control - not large damper shaft displacements.

Oh, and Hi Ed!

Lysmachia

Hey good point..... a good foundation for a LT wiki too

x2!

norcalsvx

rockcrawling is boring to me i like the high speed stuff myself

tc

Molly has 63" chevies on her rig, and they seem to do OK. I just hate to have to do SO MUCH cutting off of all the link stuff that's already there.

Seems the trucks on the jd fab website were all using triangulated 3 links...

ewong

Ya talking to ME

(just pulled the 4Runner out of storage - LT is on hold until we see the bill for the fuel line red- common rust issue)

Thanks for the JD info... that was helpful to know.

dlbrunner

Another thought, See if you can "borrow" a truck with the LT for a day or go on a run with someone who does.

How cool would it be to wake up, strech, and ponder over your morning coffee: "Hmmmm am I in a LT or SAS mood today?" good thinking.

Personally having logged close to 20K miles in ONE summer/fall driving dirt roads to mine sites, I will contend that a IFS vehicles handle much better at speed than SA. That summer I also had several flats, at speed, in the front. The IFS was fairly easy to control and keep on the road to slow down, I almost messed my pants when I lost a front tire on a SA truck, it was all I could do to keep the truck from pulling off the road into a ditch where I surely would have rolled several times. Keep in mind, you can't just slam on the brakes at 70 mph on a dirt road with a flat front tire.

My particulars were on a 40-80 mph dirt road 80 miles one way to the site, some washboard and some relief. Actually the TC guys did some runs in the area of Nevada I speak of. This was also in all conditions, rain, snow and dry. In the drivers seat at speed for long stretchs, argue all you want, but IFS wins if equipped with good shocks, Thats why toyota put it on their trucks in the first place, for a better ride. Bump steer at speed gets old after about the 10th time and you are 20 miles into a 120 mile stretch.

Washboard can be crazy scary in a solid axle eqipped vehicle, the road may look flat and smooth, but at certain speeds, and conditions I think almost a "floating" effect takes place and the vehicle wants to slide all over the place like a roller skate. It must have to do with how big the washboards are and how far the "peaks" and "valleys" are apart, I guess.

On road, I can't really tell the difference, a truck is a truck is a truck, they ride like.... a truck, unless you have a total POS.

Point is, try it out, get your own feeling. I am not against LT in any form, but If I were spending 3-5K on a MAJOR change to a vehicle I would damn sure drive one first and go over it with a fine tooth comb. The LT argument in just about any 4 wheel drive community is going to be like talking about politics in a bar, everyone has an opinion. but at the end of the day you have to be happy, not some web wheeler who thinks they know it all.

I think it is going to be a wash on which one to buy. Same travel, same cost, etc... I think the deciding factor for me would be support from the company, but that may be pretty close from two custom fab shops. The question will be are you going to do it all at once or in steps.

hardcore IFS SAS wannabe, thats funny.

mudbutt

TC, I have been considering LT setups and have decided my rear needs attention first. I need a new housing(cracks) and would like a bigger diff(broken 5 now). I'm thinking I will do leaves in the rear due to shock height clearance and link location.

My first plan of attack is a Tacoma housing with it's "bigger diff". My hope is that the bracing in the rear diff will help the gears hold the power. Next for me is some Alcans, set up for the weight of my 4runner, spring under. The hope here is less axle wrap. After I get it dialed to 14"-16" of vertaical travel with dual shocks and bumps, I'll start on the front. I've not made up my mind yet on what front kit, the options seem to be getting better so well see.

LT is a good option for Colorado because of the large amounts of normal 4x4 trails. Give me any SAS truck and I will break it. You can wheel in a manner to not break your IFS. I have 250hp and bash the crap out of my truck and don't seem to have any front end failures(TC idler arm helps tons) just know when to let off and you'll break less.

Former SAS fan(10years) because I have to drive my truck. It is a DD/wheeler and average at both.

Lysmachia

THIS is eactly why we want to do Troy's rig as LT!!!! We already have my SAS. It would be so fun to do exactly what you said and be able to then DO IT!