- See guys, there's a number of different
designs and types of vehicle drive train
and suspension setups out in the market today.
But I don't know of any other types
of setups more controversial than the
independent front suspension versus
a solid axle setup.
Is there one that is truly better than the other?
Well my friends, let's go find out.
And real quick guys,
before we jump into today's video,
that if you are looking to upgrade your suspension
we literally carry 21 different brands of suspension
products on our website at Trail Built Off Road.
This way you guys can customize your vehicles pretty much
exactly the way you want to.
And remember when checking out from the cart
on Trail Built with your new suspension products
to click on YouTube in the who sent you
dropdown menu to help us better keep track of
our efforts through videos,
exactly like the one that we're going to go through today.
First things first,
the obvious answer to the question of which setup is better
independent or solid axle,
is that there are no right answers.
Each design has its own unique strengths, weaknesses,
compromises, advantages, and disadvantages.
And the better question would be, which set up
is going to be better for me
in my particular situation?
Well, let's start with
what are the differences between the two?
And to better understand the differences,
Let's break it down into strengths and
weaknesses of each setup,
starting with the ride quality.
Then we'll get into which one is
stronger and more reliable,
the performance of each,
customizable advantages,
and then cost,
with touching on the different situations that each
setup might be better for throughout the different subjects.
And what I find interesting is that Toyota hasn't put a
solid axle in their pickup trucks since 1985.
And it wasn't that long ago,
2001 to be exact that the entire Jeep vehicle lineup,
the Ringler, TJ Cherokee XJ and grand Cherokee WJ sported,
a solid front axle. Now, 20 years later,
only the Jeep Wrangler and gladiator have a solid front
axle.
All new Ford Broncos have IFS and the independent front
suspension is also found under all new half ton and compact
pickup trucks. All SUV's excluding the Wrangler of course.
And one third of three quarter ton pickup trucks in one ton
pickup trucks sold in the U S all have the independent front
suspension and to go even a step further,
all UTVs or side-by-sides come from the factory with
IFS setup and a majority have independent suspension,
both front and rear further IFS is used on some desert
racing trophy trucks, as well as tough trucks,
king of the hammers race vehicles and military vehicles.
So with the vast and ever-increasing number of vehicles
running IFS,
we can all see there is a rising trend of popularity towards
the IFS over the solid axle.
But the question is, why?
Originally first introduced in 1960
from Mercedes-Benz the independent suspension is any vehicle
suspension system that allows each wheel
on the same axle to move
vertically independently of the others so that the tires are
not linked together.
By creating separate pivot points
independent from the other wheels allows for increased
dynamic tuning of the performance for how each tire handles
the terrain below. Whereas a solid axle,
having less pivot points connects the wheel directly across
from it together,
which decreases the amount of dynamic tunability.
So basically with an independent suspension system,
all of the energy created by the tire hitting the bumps in
the road or on the trail on one corner of the vehicle,
independent from the other corners is absorbed and dampened
and cushioned by a fine tune coil spring and shock absorber
before the energy gets to the frame of the vehicle.
This means each individual tire is being controlled
separately from the others eliminating any energy that may
have been transferred from one tire to the other,
through like a solid axle point and IFS set up most
noticeably will almost completely get rid of the hard side
to side jarring that you get with a solid axle setup and
with a solid axle being that,
it conjoins the front tires together,
whatever energy is created by the road or trail,
even if it's only on one side of the vehicle or by one tire,
that energy will get sent in two directions.
Instead of just one, like the independent setup.
The energy gets sent up into the coiler leaf spring and
shock absorber.
And it also gets sent to the other side of the axle where
some of the suspension absorbs it and some of the tire
absorbs it,
but that energy will be felt throughout both sides of the
vehicle instead of throughout just one corner of the
vehicle.
Now it's true that with independent suspension,
you'll still get some residual energy transfer throughout
the vehicle,
but it'll be far more contained than the energy transferred
throughout from a solid axle setup.
So you can imagine when you're driving your vehicle at
higher speeds, especially on bumpy roads and trails,
how much energy is getting transferred into your suspension
and then up into your vehicle.
Now imagine each corner of your vehicle being able to handle
that energy independently from each other,
and ultimately having much more control over that energy
compared to the solid axle setup where all of that energy is
being transferred up through the entirety of the front axle
and into the front of the vehicle.
So then you can see just how much of a difference with
cushioning the bumps and jolts from the terrain,
the two different types of suspension setups make.
Another difference is the loading and
unloading from the weight of
the vehicle through the suspension.
I think that most would agree if you're planning on mostly
higher speed travels, dirt, or paved roads,
plus prefer a smoother ride that the independent suspension
is the main choice there.
But what if your vehicle is built primarily for crawl speeds
to conquer the more technical and controlled obstacles like,
well, massive boulders and rock ledges?
Then I would imagine the solid axle would be the choice
there and here's why,
if you're not as concerned with how the
energy is transferred up and into your vehicle and are more
concerned with traction at slower speeds and keeping the
rubber from the tires planted on the ground,
then the solid axle is an easy choice.
And this is where I'm referring to the loading and unloading
from the whittier vehicle, through the suspension,
to the tires.
Picture this, you have a solid axle ring,
you're in four low,
and there's a rather large boulder field in front of you.
And the only way to get your destination is,
to drive through it.
So you start by picking out your line and come up to the
first big rock with your driver's side tire to be the first
tire to drive up it.
There's nothing in front of the passenger side tire at
this point,
just the driver's front tire.
As your tire begins,
it's ascent to cruising altitudes.
The passenger side tire is going to remain on the runway,
and as the driver's tire continues up the huge boulder,
it's going to be putting a lot more weight from the tire and
axle into the spring and shock absorber in the form of
pressure,
because it's also going to be pushing against the weight of
the vehicle on the driver's side of the front suspension.
It's commonly referred to as loading up the suspension.
Meanwhile,
as the axle begins to angle up or articulate upwards on the
driver's side and the front of your vehicle is starting to
be pushed upwards from that pressure,
the passenger side tire continues to stay planted on the
ground with the passenger side suspension,
starting to unload.
Meaning that the pressure on the passenger side front
suspension is decreasing because of the weight being
transferred to the suspension on the driver's side,
from the weight to the front of the vehicle.
Think of it like a Seesaw, you know,
those playground things that have a seat on each end of a
big long board with some sort of fulcrum or pivot point
in the middle. Well, when one end goes down,
the other end goes up.
When the driver's side tire is going
up the rock while the passenger side tire is basically
getting forced to stay on the ground. And by doing that,
you'll have both front tires contacting the ground.
And if one of the tires isn't touching the ground, then,
well, what are we missing?
That's right.
We're missing the traction that we could have had if the
tire was to stay contacting the ground.
So with a solid front axle,
when we load up the weight and pressure on one side of the
axle, as the tire travels upwards,
it's also going to force the opposite side of the axle
downwards towards the ground,
keeping your tires planted firmly,
and keeping that much needed traction to the tires.
So it loads up the suspension on one side,
unloads the suspension on the other side,
because an independent suspension is just that.
An independent from each other,
the driver's side front tire is going to do its own thing
separate from the passenger side tire in a similar
circumstance.
When the driver's tire starts climbing the rock and pushing
the front of your vehicle upwards,
or loading up that side of the suspension,
the passenger side of suspension will max out
or fully droop out to the
point where the passenger side tire is going to start
lifting off the ground. And guess what?
When the tire is no longer contacting the ground,
what are we going to be missing?
Exactly. The traction needed to help your vehicle climb over
those obstacles. Plus guys,
when you're off camber and the vehicle is tilting one way or
the other, it creates an unsafe and unstable situation.
And the last thing you want at that point is for your tires
to be dangling off the ground. For one,
you lose that instant traction for
if you have to punch the throttle, and for two the higher
the weight is off of the ground for any particular part of
your vehicle, the higher the center of gravity is,
and the more likely you are to roll your vehicle over.
I haven't necessarily fact check this,
but from my experience and observations through all the
years of wheeling, I've done,
I would be very confident in saying that an independently
equipped suspension, UTV, or side-by-side,
whatever you guys call them, are much more likely to roll
over and are much more dangerous on the trails,
than a solid axle vehicle is.
Even at this year's Easter Jeep Safari in Moab,
the only vehicle we witnessed personally roll over was a
side-by-side.
And there's been numerous other occasions as well,
but is it driving error or is the independent design of the
suspension of a side-by-side inadequate for low speed
crawling?
I definitely would be curious as to what you guys think
about that,
so make sure and let us know in the comments below.
All right,
so we've covered the two different types of suspension and
how they work differently from each other.
We've covered how it affects the ride comfort in handling
characteristics of each other.
So, given what we know so far,
we probably already have a pretty good understanding of
which setup is better for our own personal needs related to
what we use our vehicles for,
but there are a few more points to cover before we can
really make the ultimate determination on which one is
better for us.
One thing is for sure,
in almost every situation and that is the more moving parts
there are to something the more
costly it gets to repair or replace.
With a solid axle setup,
it's a pretty simple design without an overabundance of
pieces and parts.
Starting from the middle,
you have your center section that houses
that houses the ring and pinion,
the locker, If you have one,
some bearings and it's filled with gear lube.
That's then connected to the axle shafts,
housed inside the axle tubes
of which had the inner c's affixed to them and are
attached to the outer c's via some ball joints and
connected to your outer c's.
The knuckles spindles wheel bearings, outer axle shafts,
U joints, lockouts or dry flanges,
and ultimately the wheel and tire package.
The axle is then held in place by some sort of link system
and held up by a variety of different spring shocks,
et cetera,
depending on what you have or decide to go with.
Simple, right?
And I realize it's a little bit more complex than that,
but not by much.
An independent suspension,
on the other, hand is comprised of a series of control arms
with some that have torsion bars,
multi-piece axle shafts with CV shafts that are more
susceptible to breaking from greater angles,
a fixed center section that houses the ring and pinion,
and are often made from a weaker, but lighter cast
aluminum and steering links that are also weakened from
greater angles due to suspension flex,
or lifting an IFS suspension.
And lifting an IFS setup also
entails lowering the cross-member that houses
the center section in order to maintain proper steering and
CV angles,
but also drastically reduces ground clearance as well.
So all in all to properly enhance the off-road performance
of an independent front suspension,
especially to get all the angles, right,
without sacrificing ground clearance.
You're looking at one hefty bill of which if you planned on
taking the money,
you would've spent properly lifting your independent
suspension. There's a good chance.
You could have replaced the entire IFS with a good
condition, salvage yard sourced, solid axle,
and swap that in with a brand new suspension for probably
around the same price and not even that much more work at
all with all the different moving parts that you'd have to
replace an upgrade on an IFS system.
Yes, ride quality is ultimately better with IFS,
but the solid axle setup is easier to work on and upgrade
plus less costly to replace parts or to properly lift.
And solid axle set-ups,
because a straight axle system is just naturally
stronger than IFS can also handle higher load carrying
capacities.
It's exactly the reason as to why both Ram and Ford have
continued to put straight axles in the front of their three
quarter ton trucks and higher compared to GM or Chevy.
GM or Chevy,
They chose ride quality and plushness over strength and
durability.
So for anyone to looking for a three-quarter ton truck or
heavier, the rule of thumb is you want a nice ride.
You go purchase a GM product,
but if you want a truck that still has a purpose in life,
then get yourself a Ford or a Ram.
I can just hear all the GM and Chevy fans already blowing up
those comments.
I know I'm starting to sound a bit biased here,
but really just trying to get the facts out there.
Although personally, I will say this for me.
I do like the way of lifted solid axle vehicle looks much
better than the lifted IFS vehicles,
but that's just my opinion.
So with all of the different comparisons we went through
with you guys today on independent front axles versus the
solid axles,
definitely make sure and let us know what your preference is
or which set up you think is better and make sure to let us
know why.
Or even if you guys have anything else to add about the
differences between the two setups.
Definitely make sure and let us know.
Also, don't forget to check out
all of the different available
suspension upgrades on our website at Trail Built Off Road.
And if you guys enjoyed today's video,
make sure and hit that thumbs up and that subscribe button
and guys as always,
we appreciate all of you for watching and all of your
support. I'm Josh from Trail Built,
and we'll see you guys out on the trails.
(upbeat music)