Making IFS truly independent?

[briwayjones]

Personally I think the traditional IFS system on the second gen. Explorers are completely pointless and holds no advantage over the TTB of the first gen. Explorers. Due to the sway bars which keeps the independent suspensions from working independently and completely defeats the purpose of having independent suspension. In fact I have owned both first and second gen. Explorers and I think the first gen. Explorers ride less harshly than the second gens. Of course you could remove the sway bar but then you have excessive body roll.

So I was thinking. What if you could replace the sway bar end links with a shock of sorts about the same length. And put a limiting strap on it so that it couldn't down travel too far and rip the shock apart. But that way it could have up travel and let the suspension work independently yet the sway bar would still do it's job and function like it's supposed to. Or you could possibly replace the end links with a coil spring of the proper length also.

The question is, is there even any shocks or coil springs in existence that would fit the bill and work for this?

 

[mr_valingo]

Well i suppose one could attach a bicycle shock somehow but the sway bar itself is designed to flex in response to suspension movement. Adding shocks would defeat the purpose. IMO

 

[briwayjones]

They're designed to flex, but they still severely make it more stiff than if there was no sway bar.

 

[IZwack]

Sounds like all you need is a multi-spring-rate sway bar. In other words, it's spring rate (which is what it is, a torsional spring like a torsion bar) curve looks less linear and more quadriatic (or whatever power of X you want).

The TeraFlex bar is halfway to what I'm trying to describe but the TeraFlex bar is a manual operation to go between the soft torsion bar to the hard torsion bar:
http://www.teraflex.biz/jk-dual-rate-swaybar-0-3-lift.html

 

[IZwack]

Actually, I think it would be possible to utilize TeraFlex's two torsion bars into your own design where for example, the first two inches of travel is on the inner/weaker bar and after that, the system would run up against and utilize the larger/outer bar - thereby going from a low spring rate, to a high spring rate.

 

[briwayjones]

Interesting, pricey though.

 

[LIFTEDXPLODER96]

the front sway bar is HUGE on a second gen..i always used it as a front recovery point whenever i was stuck..witch seemed to be often in a second gen IFS rig

 

[IZwack]

the front sway bar is HUGE on a second gen..i always used it as a front recovery point whenever i was stuck..witch seemed to be often in a second gen IFS rig

Not sure that's a good idea cauz it's not the size of the sway bar that matters during a recovery pull, but how it's mounted - which are four small screws that attach it to the chassis via a metal strap. If you didn't kill the screws and/or straps, then you might have deformed the bushings prematurely.

 

[briwayjones]

I realized that if I did this it would in fact keep the sway bar from functioning like it's supposed to.

 

[IZwack]

I realized that if I did this it would in fact keep the sway bar from functioning like it's supposed to.

Hehe I thought that's what you wanted - a sway bar that has very minimum force in normal conditions but then gets significantly stiffer after a certain point.

 

[briwayjones]

Ideally that would probably be the best thing. I was speaking about if I did what I wanted to, not the TeraFlex bar you posted. I was aiming for the sway bar functioning exactly as it does now but would still allow more free suspension travel. But what I was thinking wouldn't work that way.

 

[colintrax]

The shock idea doesn't seem like it'd work. Once the shocks have compressed won't it already be to late? Any amount of travel worth getting is going to be to much to stop body roll. Might as well take it off, or get a smaller sway bar. BTW, the ttb is independent, just a different style (more travel, I think it's stronger, but more unsprung weight)
Get quick disconnect sway bars, unhook offroad, rehook for the street
This idea might work with rc cars, but on a 5,000 lb truck I just don't think so, regardless you could try it. Been several times I've had ideas, said ehh it probably won't work and sure as **** someone else makes it

 

[IZwack]

Quick discos originated from real vehicles and plenty of explorers run them - rc cars emulate them for the same reasons they have tiny operating winches and such.

 

[colintrax]

Rc cars emulate them?

 

[IZwack]

Rc cars emulate them?

Pretty much - mostly everything in the RC crawler world has its roots from real rock crawlers - from suspension design to tire tread patterns.

 

[colintrax]

Well I wasn't talking about rock crawler per say, just rc cars in general. But I wouldn't say emulate, they have working sway bars. Just scaled down

 

[gmanpaint]

Install adjustable rate coilovers & limit straps. No sway bar needed. No body roll, and have the articulation of true independent suspension.