E-KDSS
- Thread starter Jstawgn
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Thta's a rear sway disconnect...I'm missing something?
I will call out the front driver wheel modulated very well (compared to older atrac systems I've seen)
I will call out the front driver wheel modulated very well (compared to older atrac systems I've seen)
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- #5
As you can see in the screen grab above the swaybar swing down on the KDSS ram side. It catch a rock ledge it would rip the swaybar. The lower link arm might still protect it most of the time.
The video (1:13) offers more visual context of the actual ground clearance increase is such situations. I’m not saying Never but the benefits far outweigh the obscure circumstances when it could be damaged.
Maybe I’m misinformed but is the eKDSS for only the front?
It's on both axles.
On the LC250 and the Tacoma, they have a sway disconnect on the front axle only.
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- #9
That is exactly the time where you could see the swaybar swing down and hang below axle.
Not to keep repeating the same thing but that is exactly the time when it has the most ground clearance.
My truck has been in the same situation more times than I can count and believe me that scraping anything underneath is the last thing to worry about.
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- #11
How do you know? Rear KDSS are behind axle on 200, 120 and 150. It's totally different design. This is mine at full flex with extended rear shocks. Does not swing down below axle.
This overtrail Rear swaybar rotate down and stick below lower control arm. I landed on my lower control arm more than a few times and this would act like anchor when it hits rock.
If it land on rocks it should not be a problem. The problem is if it hit a wall end up pushing the whole thing back toward the axle. It would potentially rip the arm and it might rip the KDSS ram at same time.
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When one wheel is up on a big rock
Think about the situation where one wheel is fully stuffed and the other side extended - one wheel up high on a tall rock, which is going to be the highest point and unlikely to have other stuff to get hung up on. Not going to hurt the sway bar, it's hardened, forged steel. You'll rip the links off if anything. It's also a hinge and would be pushed upward and out of the way
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- #13
Hopefully that is the case. Not many would wheel hardcore on this vehicle anyway. At least the first few years.
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From this perspective it looks like it doesn’t descend much if any lower than the rest of the upstream undercarriage. If that’s the case I’d be far less concerned about its vulnerability to a lateral strike
I had issues in my KDSS 4Runner with the fixed side getting bent on rocks. If you play in the rock areas - everything underneath gets a hard rock impact occasionally. Hopefully it's strong enough to handle it. The placement is exposed in stock form. Very few of these will ever see the type of trails where it matters, but the ones that do will probably need to find a solution.
It's right next to the lower control arms that require day-1 upgrades if you want to play in rocks. I think it may be the case that a well designed lower control arm replacement could be built to incorporate protection for that KDSS arm. Doesn't have to actually cover it, but just be lower than it immediately adjacent to it to take the rock hit instead. Probably a relatively easy fix with a well designed LCA on that side.
It appears that the muffler hangs quite low. I'd be worried about that too. Not sure why, but my 4Runner muffler never got damaged. Must just have a lot of flexibility in the hangars or something. It was also pretty exposed to the rocks. Gas tank skid took an absolute beating on the other side.
It's right next to the lower control arms that require day-1 upgrades if you want to play in rocks. I think it may be the case that a well designed lower control arm replacement could be built to incorporate protection for that KDSS arm. Doesn't have to actually cover it, but just be lower than it immediately adjacent to it to take the rock hit instead. Probably a relatively easy fix with a well designed LCA on that side.
It appears that the muffler hangs quite low. I'd be worried about that too. Not sure why, but my 4Runner muffler never got damaged. Must just have a lot of flexibility in the hangars or something. It was also pretty exposed to the rocks. Gas tank skid took an absolute beating on the other side.
I'm pleased to see the conventional GX550 has more articulation than the previous generation KDSS. I assume the same will be true with the 1958 LC250. To be seen is how eKDSS compares to SDM.
The SDM Tacoma TRD OR has finally been tested.
Remember that it has a longer wheel base so it's not really apples to apples with the last model. I do think that we could apply the relative height on the ramp to the various wheelbases to get a pretty good idea of RTI scores and flex.
New Taco on the 20* ramp climbs 18.96" wheel lift, 54.27" on the ramp with sway connected, and 22.06" wheel lift, 64.51 up the ramp with sway disconnected. That's probably about what the new one will do.
That calculates out to an RTI Score of about 574 if you had a 112" wheelbase on a new Tacoma with the SDM. It's good. Not great. Less than outgoing TRD Pro Tacoma. Curious to see what new TRD Pro Taco will do. Current GX460 on that same test did 20.8 and RTI was 555 (but remember old WB was 109.8"). Same flex on a 109.8" WB would be 587. Old LX570 on the same ramp did a wheel lift height of 22.6. Effectively the same as the new Tacoma with SDM. Old KDSS LC200 wheel lift was 25.4" - about 10% more.
It'll be interesting to see how the new products compare. If the marketing numbers above are accurate, new GX is very similar to the LC200 KDSS flex. Pretty good results.
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- #19
One drawback of stiffer frame are less flex. 3rd gen Tacoma flex a lot more compared to 4th gen due to its C channel frame. This is totally opposite on pavement the stiffer frame would help handling on pavement.
The new GX are claimed to be 20% more rigid. If they flex as good as 200 series then it is impressive on its own.
The new E-KDSS also change fundamentaly than the previous generation of KDSS. It does not seem to be linked front and rear hydraulicly anymore. The single green line connecting front and rear looks to be single line. The KDSS on my GX470 feels a lot sportier than GX460 when they try to make it softer to reduce head toss. One thing that I really like about my KDSS is how balance it is front and rear. It does not give max articulation but always balance front and rear to make it feel more stable off camber.
The new GX are claimed to be 20% more rigid. If they flex as good as 200 series then it is impressive on its own.
The new E-KDSS also change fundamentaly than the previous generation of KDSS. It does not seem to be linked front and rear hydraulicly anymore. The single green line connecting front and rear looks to be single line. The KDSS on my GX470 feels a lot sportier than GX460 when they try to make it softer to reduce head toss. One thing that I really like about my KDSS is how balance it is front and rear. It does not give max articulation but always balance front and rear to make it feel more stable off camber.
IIRC from some of the videos that I saw, they claim that the suspension travel on the GX55 is higher than that of the 200 even on the base trims, with more on the Overtrail.
One of the claims I've heard from reviewers is that the GX 550 has less head toss. We'll see.
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