Solid Axle vs. IFS

[Peter D]

Hey fellas. Hope everybody enjoyed the holidays. Question:

I love my XJ, that's a definate. But I was wondering about the Toyota Tacomas. I know they have a reputation for reliability but wanted to know the real reason/difference for the use of an IFS front end. The Cherokee has a solid front axle, making it stronger than an IFS, correct? What are some advantages/disadvantages of an IFS? I know the HiLux was made with a solid front axle for many years until finally changing to IFS. Does it just make for a smoother ride? Are there more things to go wrong than a solid axle? Easier/harder to work on? All replies welcome.

Happy New Year.


Peter

 

[tbburg]

Advantage IFS: better handling, better ride, lower weight(both sprung and unsprung.)

Advantage solid axle: Stronger unit, fewer moving parts.

Most manufacturers are switching to IFS to deliver better ride quality.(less of a truck like ride) Even Jeep has switched everything except the Wrangler. They'd drop that too if they thought they could get away with it.

 

[tharlanjr]

I like solid axles, but there is a bit more ground clearance with IFS too...

 

[downhillracer]

Advantage IFS: better handling, better ride, lower weight(both sprung and unsprung.)

Advantage solid axle: Stronger unit, fewer moving parts.

Most manufacturers are switching to IFS to deliver better ride quality.(less of a truck like ride) Even Jeep has switched everything except the Wrangler. They'd drop that too if they thought they could get away with it.

X2.... That being said, I also have a tacoma pre-runner. Its not 4wd but the ifs is the same and it rides very nice for a small size pick-up.

 

[js_customs]

Yeah, like tbburg said, ride quality is a lot better with IFS. My bro has a 98 chevy on 35's and it rides and handles awesome...that's the only good thing about it though I think. Lift kits are really expensive though, I think his was $2500 or so, and now he wants to swap it out for a solid axle. His truck eats through tires too because of all the moving parts in the IFS. If you really know what you're doing and have alot of money that shouldnt be a problem, but solid axles are a lot simpler and cheaper to work on.

I'm not really too educated on this stuff, I'm just going by what I've heard from my brother and from driving his truck sometimes.

 

[tbburg]

X2.... That being said, I also have a tacoma pre-runner. Its not 4wd but the ifs is the same and it rides very nice for a small size pick-up.

'Buddy of mine has a class-7 MJ. It's 2wd, solid front axle, and rides rough as a cob. BUT,..

you would not believe the hits it can take.

 

[JoesXJ]

buy the Taco and swap to a solid axle

 

[Original_MudButt]

My GMC 2500 rides soooooo much smoother than my F350 ever thought about riding......

I know the 2500 is 3/4 ton and the F350 was 1 ton...... But the difference between 1/4 ton of payload and the IFS vs. solid is a no brainer.......

IFS = MUCH better ride!

 

[themangeraaad]

For off road use a solid axle will allow for more articulation as well. Check out videos of hummers and Jeeps in the rocks, the Jeeps can keep the tires planted while the IFS vehicles are constantly lifting a tire or 2.

So solid axle: better articulation, stronger, less complex/easier to fix.

IFS: better ride quality/handling

The question comes down to are you using it primarily as a street ride or are you planning to do a good amount of 4 wheeling? For off road I would take a solid axle any day. For street only, independant.

 

[wicked_xj]

ifs= no flex,great for Baja,smooth ride,cv axles break easily on rocks
solid axle= rough ride,better flex,great for rocks and mud

 

[Peter D]

Cool. Thanks guys, that's kinda what I was thinking. I think if I do decide at some point to buy a new car it will either be another XJ or some year Tacoma 4x4. But rest assured I will keep my current XJ. Which I just changed the serpentine belt on and then took me and the parents on a 700 mile road trip, no problems. 104,300 miles on it now. It smells alot like the dog though; or is that me?

 

[TunaSoda]

If you put an IFS truck up on (4) 2'x2'x2' blocks and take one away, the IFS truck will tip till it touches the ground where the block was removed, if you do the same thing to a truck with a solid axle, the axle will drop the tire down to the ground where the block was removed and the truck will stay level and not tip over like the IFS

 

[Darky]

I've wheeled both and unless you're getting really into rock crawling, it's not that big a difference. If you're gonna run bigger tires, you'd probably be better off with solid axles, but I never broke anything on my Tracker and my buddy never had any issues with his Tacoma. I was only very slightly larger than stock (225/75s vs 205/75s). He was still stock size, 31x10.50s.

 

[srimes]

Advantage IFS: better handling, better ride, lower weight(both sprung and unsprung.)

I thought IFS was usually *heavier* than solid, but had much lower unsprung weight, which is why it rides better. :dunno:

 

[XJ98Jeep]

Another disadvantage of IFS is that as the suspension articulates, the diff gets closer to the ground, but with a solid axle the diff will move with the rest of the suspension.

 

[Matthew Currie]

I thought IFS was usually *heavier* than solid, but had much lower unsprung weight, which is why it rides better. :dunno:

You beat me to that one. That's my understanding as well.

I would add to the + side of independent front or rear, added control, because it does not hop sideways on bumps.

 

[XJEEPER]

From an article that 4 Wheel Drive did a few years back.........
http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/brandpages/chevy/131_0306_evan_walker_chevrolet_s10/index.html
http://image.4wheeloffroad.com/f/9012016/131_0306_walk03_z.jpg

"I spoke to Walker Evans at EJS a few years ago and a season after he switched back to solid axle set up and his words were..."It wasn't really a matter of how much money we poured into it, it worked excellent on 9 out of 10 obstacles but worked so bad on the 1 out of 10 obstacles that we lost everything we gained on the first 9, with more time I'm sure it could be worked out". Team Pflueger is pouring a ton of money and engineering into the rear independant set up on their trophy truck but still can't beat the solid rear axle trophy trucks to the finish line, with budgets and commitment like that we just might see a major change in suspension design in the near future."

Looks like he went back to solid pretty quickly.

Worldwide, rigs of many offroad sport variations seem to share a common theme......solid axles.
http://www.mxrra.com/id18.html

IFS is awesome for go fast, big air and big whoops, but for slow speed, techical driving in the rocks, solid axles rule.

 

[BlueCuda]

I used to have a 91 Toyota with 33s, 5.29 gears, and a rear locker. The IFS was great on the road because you could turn it like a go kart and it just turned, no body roll because there wasn't enough suspension travel. Even with the sway bar discoed it handled fine. If I drove my XJ like I drove that toyota it would have been upside down many times on the side of the road sway bar or not.

Offroad the XJ with the solid axle wins hands down. The toyota was very capable but in a different way. Where my XJ settles into a crevice or when you drop one tire the toyota just fell in. As you pull into a deep crevice and you can feel the XJ flex up the toyota just pivoted until a front tire hit the ground leaving a rear tire off the ground. Without a locker I think it would have been borderline worthless offroad.

I am way happier in the XJ depsite the fact it doesn't handle all that good on road but thats not what its for. Its also nice that my XJ could pull the toyota to 60 before it could get there on its own!

 

[fscrig75]

..... His truck eats through tires too because of all the moving parts in the IFS. If you really know what you're doing and have alot of money that shouldnt be a problem, but solid axles are a lot simpler and cheaper to work on.

Yea my Mazda had IF/R, yes I know its not a truck, and that thing ate tires like they were going out of style. The front would hold the alignment better than the rear would, it was rediculious. I was getting the rear checked twice a year, and the front once a year.

 

[Root Moose]

From an article that 4 Wheel Drive did a few years back.........
http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/brandpages/chevy/131_0306_evan_walker_chevrolet_s10/index.html
http://image.4wheeloffroad.com/f/9012016/131_0306_walk03_z.jpg

"I spoke to Walker Evans at EJS a few years ago and a season after he switched back to solid axle set up and his words were..."It wasn't really a matter of how much money we poured into it, it worked excellent on 9 out of 10 obstacles but worked so bad on the 1 out of 10 obstacles that we lost everything we gained on the first 9, with more time I'm sure it could be worked out". Team Pflueger is pouring a ton of money and engineering into the rear independant set up on their trophy truck but still can't beat the solid rear axle trophy trucks to the finish line, with budgets and commitment like that we just might see a major change in suspension design in the near future."

Looks like he went back to solid pretty quickly.

Worldwide, rigs of many offroad sport variations seem to share a common theme......solid axles.
http://www.mxrra.com/id18.html

IFS is awesome for go fast, big air and big whoops, but for slow speed, techical driving in the rocks, solid axles rule.

This makes a good point, for most people IFS is more than enough suspension to wheel where ever they want to go.