Who wants portal axles..everyone! (1 Viewer)

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Portal axles have an Achilles heel, when the rig is going up a V notch it puts an inward force on the bottom of the tires. This force can and has snapped portals off. Kinda a game ending trail break...


IMO they tick the cool factor but other than that not much else.
 
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Portal axles have an Achilles heel, when the rig is going up a V notch it puts an inward force on the bottom of the tires. This force can and has snapped portals off. Kinda a game ending
IMO they tick the cool factor but other than that not much else.

Never thought about it, but yeah it would change the leverage values when you run on the sidewalks of a wash or when you twist it all up.
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You can check with @2fpower and see how he's doing with Foo........
 
So I guess I shouldn't ship my 80 to OZ and have that conversion? haha
I would rather you ship my 80 to OZ and have done then let me know when I can pick it up. :hillbilly:
 
Portal axles have an Achilles heel, when the rig is going up a V notch it puts an inward force on the bottom of the tires. This force can and has snapped portals off. Kinda a game ending trail break...


IMO they tick the cool factor but other than that not much else.

I think that's a bit narrow minded, you know a few folks that have done this or just from watching TTC?

I've busted Toyota parts from a lot less than running up narrow routes. If you were in muddy trails and side hills you'd appreciate the clearance and decently low COG over something lifted higher for the same clearance.

As for running a heavy rig in the rocks, if that's your stomping grounds then yeah u might be much better with one tons, but if you got a snow wheeler, or play in muddy trails perhaps they shouldn't be so quickly dismissed, especially when you gain gain 6" of clearance roughly without going 12" taller in tire.
 
I think that's a bit narrow minded, you know a few folks that have done this or just from watching TTC?

... Well not many of us wheel with anyone who has has portal axles. I have friends of friends of friends in the community who have experienced this. It's not a mystery, just stroll through google. Yes you can gusset the portal but that starts to negate that benefit you paid for.

I've busted Toyota parts from a lot less than running up narrow routes. If you were in muddy trails and side hills you'd appreciate the clearance and decently low COG over something lifted higher for the same clearance.

Have you broken an axle housing?

Also portals don't keep your CG low, rather they would raise it over larger tires. (because a lift wouldn't provide the 'same clearance' only larger tires would do that).

As for running a heavy rig in the rocks, if that's your stomping grounds then yeah u might be much better with one tons, but if you got a snow wheeler, or play in muddy trails perhaps they shouldn't be so quickly dismissed, especially when you gain gain 6" of clearance roughly without going 12" taller in tire.

Not sure you've ever snow wheeled an 80..... but it's certainly not their stomping ground due to weight. yea a portal might help somewhat but if you really want to plow pow you need an IFS rig with full skids.. And mud? whats wrong with 37's?

It's not a stretch to say that 80's live in the rocks far more than the mud or snow.


Yea portals could be cool but for the expense they don't deliver enough benefit. Properly built they will be plenty strong and capable. Of course that's my view. If you want to do it then do it.
 
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While portals are crazy cool and I would love the thought of getting 5-6" of extra clearance under the pumpkins, they are stupid at the same time.

All that extra unsprung weight, being physically imited to 60-65mph, all the extra maintenance of oil changes, plus the insane price tag.....cool on a Unimog, not on our 80's.
 
... Well not many of us wheel with anyone who has has portal axles. I have friends of friends of friends in the community who have experienced this. It's not a mystery, just stroll through google. Yes you can gusset the portal but that starts to negate that benefit you paid for.



Have you broken an axle housing?

Also portals don't keep your CG low, rather they would raise it over larger tires. (because a lift wouldn't provide the 'same clearance' only larger tires would do that).



Not sure you've ever snow wheeled an 80..... but it's certainly not their stomping ground due to weight. yea a portal might help somewhat but if you really want to plow pow you need an IFS rig with full skids.. And mud? whats wrong with 37's?

It's not a stretch to say that 80's live in the rocks far more than the mud or snow.


Yea portals could be cool but for the expense they don't deliver enough benefit. Properly built they will be plenty strong and capable. Of course that's my view. If you want to do it then do it.

Yeah, the comment about it being in part a legal way to lift when equipment laws are restrictive is important here. Australia, like many other places, if pretty restrictive when it comes to lifts, bigger tires, etc. Portals aren't cheap, but they do serve well in such situations.

It's also the terrain. Lots of mud, sand, etc. Sure they have rocks, but crawling them seems less of an issues for many there than it is here. Portals are a different way of balancing capabilities.

As for the weakness some perceive, anything can be broken is abused enough. I suspect there's some good engineering behind this. The short video that intros this thread doesn't do this justice, just shows the end results. There was another video linked to that goes into more detail on that starting at 8:00 in.



The axle itself is reinforced, so to make it stronger and less prone to flex. I suspect by engineering it as a system they've addressed the tendency of the portals to flex.

I am pretty sure that cody c, living in Calgary, has experience with snow and portals are a definite aid with that. Does the cost justify the means? I'm sure there are some jeepers who think the whole Landcruiser thing is overblown, but most of us would beg to differ. I recently saw a video of a camper conversion of a G-wagen and it stated the price of portals on it was $80,000, so the Marks 4WD version of the 70 series sounds like a bargain. YMMV, I can't afford either.
 
If I win the Powerball, yes. Otherwise, for what I use my truck, is way too much $$$ just for the looks.
 
... Well not many of us wheel with anyone who has has portal axles. I have friends of friends of friends in the community who have experienced this. It's not a mystery, just stroll through google. Yes you can gusset the portal but that starts to negate that benefit you paid for.

Have you broken an axle housing?

Also portals don't keep your CG low, rather they would raise it over larger tires. (because a lift wouldn't provide the 'same clearance' only larger tires would do that).

Not sure you've ever snow wheeled an 80..... but it's certainly not their stomping ground due to weight. yea a portal might help somewhat but if you really want to plow pow you need an IFS rig with full skids.. And mud? whats wrong with 37's?

It's not a stretch to say that 80's live in the rocks far more than the mud or snow.

Yea portals could be cool but for the expense they don't deliver enough benefit. Properly built they will be plenty strong and capable. Of course that's my view. If you want to do it then do it.


Hey, so.. Yeah I may have wheeled in the snow a couple times. Haha. They may not seem ideal for weight, but if you've heard of a place called iceland apparently they are popular there for flat snow terrain.

Broken an axle housing nope, ring and pinions, yeah a few, birfields yup, weak ass spindles and components, yeah, but to try and be fair I'm biased as I have much more torque behind my axles than you, as well as weight, but if you read around a bit bent 80 series axles aren't uncommon thing amongst those who play in the rocks either.

And, to me a broken axle is a broken axle, a portal housing is money, but so are chromoly shafts. I've seen pictures of broken housings, sheared trunions and knuckles on IH8MUD as well as you probably have, so I'll argue the point a little bit.

If you can't grasp how you can use portals to keep your COG low (built two cruisers for the same amount of clearance under the axles, one with and one without portals) then explaining the point is waste of my time.

It may seem that the only wheeling done by 80's is in the rocks to you. Well, the world is a big place, you may want to check a few places outside of moab or rubicon. Around here, mountain trails and muskeg, not alot of rock crawlers to be honest, but folks do run down south for rubicon often.

If the argument is portals are too expensive or not as strong as one tons, I wouldn't argue, you'd be right. But I think you may be happier if you start a separate thread about how awesome 80 series axles or one tons are.


Having said that, I am in the process of putting a SD60 and 14B under my 80. I am also biased as I'm putting together portals slowly as well for my 89 4 door hilux.

Not trying to ruffle your feathers here, JMO, so take it with a grain of salt.
I'm on 38" tires now, and I realize I've been in "the one tons zone" for a while, it would have saved me money fixing and upgrading axles that still aren't strong enough.
 
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Not going to turn this into a pissing match, never intended to so I'm not going to respond as we likely agree on more than we disagree.

I do have to correct you on one thing though your COG will raise with portals more than it would if you got larger tires and a equivalent lift. Its basic physics.

Lets say vehicle A. has a normal axle and a 6 inch lift with 37's;
  • Vehicle A's body is 25" from ground and axle pumpkin is 12" from ground.
Now lets bring in vehicle B. which has a portal axle (6" lift equivalent), no lift on 37's.
  • Vehicle B's body is the same 25" from ground but the axle pumpkin is now 18" from ground.
All things equal Vehicle B has a higher COG because the mass of the axles are now 6" higher.

Portals are cool, I like them and if some landed in my lap I'd probably find a way to make them work. Just don't blindly be a fanboy because it's your team, everything has benifit's and drawbacks.
 

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