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Getting More Out of the IFS

919 Views 14 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  Eric B, 
turnerd
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As the title says, I am looking to get more travel out of the IFS on my '99 Trooper. Personally, I drive the Trooper on the interstate and have no interest in a SAS, so I'm looking to just make the IFS better off-road. These pictures are a little old with the suspension setup bone stock like it came off the assembly line... not a fan of the body roll being determined entirely by the front axle, but I want both sway bar on road for obvious reasons. I seem to more frequently lift wheel than lose traction on the obstacles in my area.

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After doing a bunch of research on here, there seem to be two viable methods...

Method 1:
First is sway bar disconnects. As most of y'all know, removing the sway bar allows for much more IFS travel, gives the front wheels truly independent travel, and keeps the body a little more level off road. I plan to mimic the idea of @BigSwede as found in this thread:
www.planetisuzoo.com

2nd gen Trooper Sway Bar Disconnect ideas

Disconnecting your sway bars is a relatively cheap way to both gain suspension articulation and ride comfort off road. Sway bars (more properly called "anti-roll" bars) are basically large springs that connect to both ends of a given axle, and also are attached to the frame for leverage. The...
www.planetisuzoo.com www.planetisuzoo.com

I mocked a set up in solidworks for the front and rear and it seems easy enough to make with some hardware I have laying around + some stuff from McMaster. I plan on making these for the rear regardless, the front is TBD as of now.

--> My question here is do I need a link for each side of the front and rear? I have two concerns. With only one link connected, will it put too much force on the sway bar in a way it isn't designed for? Secondly, with links removed from both sides but the sway bar still in the truck, it seems nothing is preventing the sway bar from rotating. Sure, if I went with dual disconnects I could tie the sway bar out of harm's way, but I am wondering if my thought is even feasible?


Method 2:
"Super Flexy IFS" as it was dubbed by it's inventor, @BigMeatVX Here is the thread in which it is discussed and a video of it installed on a VX:
www.planetisuzoo.com

SUPER FLEXY IFS KIT

I have designed, fabricated, tested and patented a new set of parts that allow IFS to articulate in ways that were not possible before. The parts attach to the OEM locations and require no drilling to install. The design is such that the two torsion bars are now semi-connected and interact...
www.planetisuzoo.com www.planetisuzoo.com

This seems like a great setup for making the IFS basically act like a solid axle (or as close to it as IFS can get). To summarize the idea, it connects the torsion bars so that when one front wheel is up on a rock, the other wheel is forced down by the spring force of the torsion bars rather than just the force of gravity. There is a pin that locks the torsion bars in their "normal" configuration for on road driving. I have the ability to fabricate all the parts plus a parts Trooper that I can steal the torsion bar mounting off of to practice on.

--> My question here is has anyone run this setup? It seems that only a couple were made and I'd like to get a better idea of what I can do to make it more practical. I have read the threads and peoples ideas from 10+ years ago, just looking for more modern feedback. What issues do y'all anticipate I encounter and/or pitfalls of this setup?
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mudoilngears
One side disconnect will put zero stress on the bar. All it will do is rotate in the bushings.

As far as the super flex deal. There were only a few made, and if you ask me a mild sas would be simpler and cheaper.
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turnerd
mudoilngears said:
One side disconnect will put zero stress on the bar. All it will do is rotate in the bushings.

As far as the super flex deal. There were only a few made, and if you ask me a mild sas would be simpler and cheaper.
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Thanks for the reply -- one sway bar disconnect per axle it is. I'll lube up the center bushing before I try it to prevent too much chafing.

I can certainly imagine SAS being simpler, I'm just thinking about giving it a shot as the material and tools are free to me, so only my time would be invested. The idea is that I can always "unmodify" it if I wanna drive it to Canada for some reason
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Tentin

Here's a video you might find interesting on the topic of sway bar disconnecting. They found that leaving the rear sway bar on actually led to more overall flex compared to removing both the front and rear.
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Eric B
Hey again Turnerd. I can share with you what I have done to my 93 Trooper. I have removed the front sway bar, left the stock shocks in place , and additionally installed MX6 adjustable shocks at each corner. The truck leans a bit on freeway on ramps, but it really articulates well. I fabbed up some taller shock towers on the front frame , and lower shock mounts as far out on the lower control arm as possible. I trimmed the rubber stop bumpers too. I have about
1 1/2” of front lift in the front from the torsion bars. Old man emu springs in the back for about 1 1/2” of lift. Had it like this for about 4-5 years and love it. I could find some pics. Eric
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turnerd
Tentin said:

Here's a video you might find interesting on the topic of sway bar disconnecting. They found that leaving the rear sway bar on actually led to more overall flex compared to removing both the front and rear.
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Now that is fascinating -- I might do my own testing with my forklift and make some measurements. Curious if it is a "principle" of straight rear + IFS or something more to do with the geometry Toyota uses
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turnerd
Eric B said:
Hey again Turnerd. I can share with you what I have done to my 93 Trooper. I have removed the front sway bar, left the stock shocks in place , and additionally installed MX6 adjustable shocks at each corner. The truck leans a bit on freeway on ramps, but it really articulates well. I fabbed up some taller shock towers on the front frame , and lower shock mounts as far out on the lower control arm as possible. I trimmed the rubber stop bumpers too. I have about
1 1/2” of front lift in the front from the torsion bars. Old man emu springs in the back for about 1 1/2” of lift. Had it like this for about 4-5 years and love it. I could find some pics. Eric
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That sounds like a pretty sweet setup you've got. I'd really appreciate pictures if you could get some for me
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Enemigo
Glad that video was posted, because I was going to suggest only removing the front and he explains it better than I could. Without the rear attached, the rear can flex enough to drop the passenger side spring right out onto the trail. I've done it multiple times. Leaving the rear attached restricts the movement just enough to keep them in, which is about what you want anyway.

I need to try a trail with the front disconnected. 🤔
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AMC_bler
Enemigo said:
I need to try a trail with the front disconnected. 🤔
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You'll love it! I did Big Pine to Funnel Lake, via Coyote Flats & was glad I disconnected the front. A couple sections pushed my rig to it's limits for sure.
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turnerd
Enemigo said:
Glad that video was posted, because I was going to suggest only removing the front and he explains it better than I could. Without the rear attached, the rear can flex enough to drop the passenger side spring right out onto the trail. I've done it multiple times. Leaving the rear attached restricts the movement just enough to keep them in, which is about what you want anyway.

I need to try a trail with the front disconnected. 🤔
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You are lifted, no? I've never seen anyone with stock coils squirt them out, but I'd like to hear if someone has done it stock before I do. It seems like coil spring retainers would do the job without limiting the flex.

I have run it with the front sway bar removed entirely and there is honestly a world of difference. I just can't live with that 100% of the time as I put a lot of street miles on it (very curvy country roads around me) so that's why I'm exploring disconnects
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Enemigo
Yeah I'm lifted. I wouldn't drive it on the street without a front sway bar.
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Eric B
Forgot to mention I run limit straps in the back
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turnerd
Eric B said:
Forgot to mention I run limit straps in the back
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You mind posting a pic of the limit strap setup? I'm curious now.
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Eric B
Yes. But not right now , it raining here
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Eric B
Front drivers view. No sway bar , two shocks. Big Ford tie rods. Janky welds before I became proficient , heh.
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