If Solid axel is so great, How come most of the pros have IFS. Is it the style they use? Is it from a much higer budget? Or are we just scared of change?

 

I think it depends on what you do, SAS is WAY better for heavy offroading like rubicon and rock crawling. So SAS is the way to go for that...

But if your into BAJA 1000 they all have IFS cuz of the smoother ride over the harsh terrain....

 

Who exactly are you talking about when you say pro's. Most racing 4x4 sports will have IFS and it is better for these applications; however most of the people who want a solid axel are using there rigs for rockcrawling. I don't know if I have ever seen a "pro" rockcrawler with IFS.

 

Pro what?

Competitive rock crawlers do not really have solid axles because swapping from IFS was easy.

The rest of the people swap or want swaps because it is cool to talk about on the internet.

 

Sorry should have been a bit clearer. Rock crawling on TV, with the pro series, They run the tube frames, Like the spider builts, and it is IFS all the way around. I know the theorys that you read on hear all the time for strength, and the baha is obvious, due to the rough ride at high speed. You do gain more travel with solid, but you have a higher ground clearance from wheel to wheel with IFS. I think Flygtenstein kind of hit it on the head. I would like to see more companies like Total Chaos Fabrication doing more research in the CV's to get more travel, and ground clearance. It can't be all bad if that is what all the manufactors are going to for some reason. I know it is a more comfortable ride on road, and that is what SUV's are made for now, but I think there is more out there to be done.

 

Typically a custom buggy with IFS has long arms. This allows it to have WAY more ground clearance than a SA buggy can. This helps them to clear obstacles between the wheels. On a SA rig, the diff is always hanging down in the middle. The only way to get more ground clearance is bigger tires.

I saw this over the weekend at the SE4RJ on the campground's rock course. There was a custom buggy with SA. Its diff was getting stuck on rocks BADLY. ravencr and Zman, not to be outdone, pulled up there Runners and took about the same line with no problems. At Tellico the Runners also took most of the same trails as highly modified SA Jeeps. SA is not always better.

 

A big problem with IFS is you lose ground clearance as you suspension compreses, with a solid axle it stays constant. A solid axle also applies the weight of the vehicle much more evenly to each tire. Walker evans was running a very high tech ifs setup on his comepetition rock buggy but has since switched back to solid axles and has done consitintly better ever since. Not to say that IFS doesnt have its place, but for me its all solid axle.

 

I own both a Live axle and IFS and have come to appreciate both of them for what they are. My SA rig offers waaaaay more travel (like 28") over my IFS rig. I use it to get me down to my favorate fishing spots and those extreme and remote areas that have a pucker factor over 7. My IFS rig is my dd and my go fast on the washboard and endless trails... also it's great for moderate to even tough wheeling, just not as tough as what I use the other rig for I like them both. The IFS first gen runner for long highway trips and moderate wheeling for it's comfort and my 80 pickup for the "I ain't skeered" trails.
You can make an IFS get a great amount of travel, Ive seen some that sport like 20+ inches..... then again the stegnth of a Solid axle is pretty hard to beat.

 

True. Unless you are running volvo c303/ or 404 portal axles then diff clearence isn't a issue. Unimogs and Pinzguers make most obsticles look like they are taking a sunday drive. Most of the portals are geared super low like 7.13 and 6.73 so running 48" and 52" tires is a option. The downside they have a top speed of 50 mph.
There has been some development of Hybrid/Portal Axles I have seen one that uses a Dana 60 center so you can use common gear ratios. The only issue is cost alot of these axles are big $$ a set of used volvo portals will run you about $3000 or so. The hybrid portal Dana 60 axle I saw was about $12000 at the time.