Nah, 'cause that'd give opportunity for being told what I ain't hearin'.
The 4WheelUnderground 3 link thread
- Thread starter jcardona1
- Start date
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Nah, 'cause that'd give opportunity for being told what I ain't hearin'.
4WheelUnderground
Suspension is EVERYTHING
I don't have brackets for after market axles. And won't have the time to make them for a long time. I'm in deep on three other R&D projects at the moment.
4WheelUnderground
Suspension is EVERYTHING
Make that 5
I'm running the stockers.
You must have gotten one of his 9 projects confused. Please try and keep up with Delancy's shell game 
lol
lol
I'll take them back now if you don't want them...
They've a higher purpose planned....
I certainly hope so!
but I don't want to confuse the thread or the hawt chick, Ryana Scott, by discussing further....
Haha oh whatever you know we are all just jealous of your herd. What's the new plan?
Ornamental iron in the garden area is not a higher purpose and they'll look akward as a rusty feature in the koi pond
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2004
- Threads
- 200
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- 12,482
- Location
- Boise - Idaho
- Website
- www.snlandcruisers.com
K, I'll stfu. Sarcasm and such is better interpreted and not found hurtful so much on pirate... Maybe I get on better there cause a great number of those people have met me in person and a jerk simply doesn't exist to them.
Straight up, honest to god apology(and I love me a venti frapachino). Especially to you @Rpm&o. I've followed your stuff since you were doing it in a 4door taco.
Remember, however, there are far more posts ridiculing 3 links in this forum than all of my rude/crass
opposition to those theories.
Sometimes it's like were (80 suspension tinkerers)the gay and lesbian community of IH8mudEDIT: And before anyone gets butt hurt (no pun intended) by that, some of my dearest closed friends/relatives are of a different sexual orientation than myself. So don't load your guns, please
Regardless, your point is taken and respected.
Thanks. I don't mind your sarcasm or your humor. But some of what you say is downright poo slinging. That I can do without. I used to talk a lot of s*** with my friends. Hell man growing up that was how we rolled, almost 24/7. I can talk s*** with the best of them but I grew out of it and nowadays, do not even enjoy flicking friends s*** around the campfire. It doesn't do a thing for me even if that makes me anal retentive and in need of a chill pill. Making people laugh is one thing, being a douche is another.
Back to the 3-link. High pinion make it an issue to run the panhard behind the axle? Only guys interested in the 3-link are guys who don't DD their truck or do long distances on pavement? I ask because the few nicely set up 3-links on 80's I have seen, when I ask how they do on pavement I always get the same reply. Which is, don't care, did it for off-road, ect ect.
Well, I care. While I may not need to run my 80 over 4ft rocks I sure wouldn't mind a better flexing front end, needs and wants though. Since I might drive (highly likely actually) my truck 5,000 miles south to Panama road manners are more important to me than how much it flexes at 2mph. Parts and ease of getting those is also a concern, not like I couldn't carry a few rod end rebuild kits though. Seems like Jose doesn't care so much about road manners due to how he uses his truck. Kinda of the same as all the other 3-link threads I have been through. Sure would like to see one that addresses road manners and issues. Not really feeling the need enough myself for lot's of articulation and don't care to be the guinea pig on that one! Ok stiffer coils, keep changing spring rates until it is how you like it. Sounds great but what are fairly stiff springs going to do to it offroad? Negate any of the benifits of the 3-link in the first place? So hows about it Booger, you DD your 80 right? How is it on the pavement? Would you want to drive it for 10hrs a day for 10 days straight on sketchy narrow paved roads? I am certainly interested in and after the best of all worlds but if it is even halfway sucky on the pavement I don't want it in my 80. Rather have limited flex. I get the 80 in stock configuration is all out of whack on the calculator but I judge it by how it goes down the road. Mine is not there yet but it is getting there. C&T with caster set to 4* certainly cured 50% or more of the issues I had with how the truck drove and handled. If you look at the other 3-link thread the Aussie dude posted a video of his truck with 5" lift, flipped radius arms braking and maneuvering at decent speed. That's good for me and what I need, if I can get it to flex nicely and perform the same on pavement as in that video, hell ya I am all for it. Just not convinced yet a 3-link will do that.
I got a 3-link in my 83 Patrol. Can't even say much about it down the road though as it has 40" rubber, full hydro, soft c/o's ect ect ect. It is just like driving a backhoe on the pavement except it has a lot more body roll. I have seen and experienced 3-links with issues of bucking and unloading. A lot of effort to go through a 3-link only to have these kinds of issues to further work out. Also limited in what you can do on an 80 so it is not like a buggy where you can get the separation as big as you want, ect ect ect.
I am thinking of a new front housing, RS and 9.5". However, I am still not sold on a 3-link and might just put the radius arm junk back in. Reason being, it works good enough for 90+% of the wheeling I do. And down the HWY with caster right and good springs/shocks plus dialed in steering it is just fine, better than fine actually. Great rock crawling within 100 -150 miles of me. Those trails though smash up my rock crawler, no way I will ever take my 80 in there even if it flexes a lot. Now the occasional 3-4ft ledge or obstacle, ya that is stuff I will encounter in my 80 so ya 3-link sounds great but only if it handles as good as the suspension does now on the pavement, if not better.
Cheers
^^^^It has been brought up many times in other 3 link threads that they do handle better than a stock 80 front suspension. I hear you that its hard to believe without driving in one. I to drive far for events and would jump on the wagon quicker if I was 100% positive it handled better. That and if it didnt cost so much. I would likely build one myself if I do end up doing it.
Would be really cool to see some video's of one of these beasts driving around on the street.
Would be really cool to see some video's of one of these beasts driving around on the street.
- Thread starter
- #114
If I had to be blunt about it, if you need to be sold on a 3 link or need to be convinced why it's better than the a lifted radius arm 80, then I don't think a 3 link is for you. Which is perfectly fine. The way many guys use their 80 means they'll never need a 3 link. And the rest would benefit from a 3 link, they just don't know it. As you guys know this isn't a DD for me; it's garaged most of the time. Even then the on-road and off-road handling and performance leaves much to be desired. I've heard enough feedback from guys with linked 80s to be confident it can only be an improvement. And given that Brian put in the R&D to make a kit specifically tailored for these trucks, I think it will be that much better.
A lot of people may not like Booger because of his crude sense of humor (I think it's hilarious for the record), but when he talks I listen and so should everyone else. Just take a look at some of his past builds. He's not just talking out of his ass...most of the time
A lot of people may not like Booger because of his crude sense of humor (I think it's hilarious for the record), but when he talks I listen and so should everyone else. Just take a look at some of his past builds. He's not just talking out of his ass...most of the time
nukegoat
Should have bought a Jeep
I'm going to get hell for this from everyone, but they just simply drive differently. Better is subjective and depends on what you're evaluating. This is just mechanical engineering (kinematics, in fact) and it's not like land cruisers have some magical unicorn dust that makes them different.
How different?
My initial argument: Well, a 3-link is unbound (so are parallel 4-links, and semi-parallel 4-links with compliant bushings are less bound) so they will not impart any *roll stiffness* to the handling characteristics. The radius arms of the stock 80, on the other hand, turn the axle into a giant anti-roll bar. Anti-roll (aka sway bars) add lots of roll stiffness and give people the impression of "tight" handling and better cornering, etc. Unless you compensate for the lack of roll stiffness with a very stiff sway bar in the front, the body roll will be unavoidable as compared with radius arms.
Here's Booger's rebuttal: Yeah yeah, all that flim flam about roll stiffness notwithstanding, raising the roll center (through raising the track bar at the axle side) will decrease the characteristics of the body roll & sway. And the reduction in roll steer by having a neutral roll axis (by correctly re-designing the links themselves) will more than offset the increased body roll
Here's my response: yes, but you still lack roll stiffness that radius arms provided so it'll still feel "different."
So, we agree that it's better. I think it's better. Most people who link the front of their 80 think it's better (may be confirmation bias?) but if you're expecting it to handle like an evo around corners, you may be disappointed.
Anyway, I agree with Booger that deviating from Toyota suspension design seems to make people get all weirded out around here even though people have been deviating from Toyota suspension design in far more radical ways by haphazardly lifting their rigs, so if anything, I'm sure the suspension designers at Toyota would approve of what we tinkerers are doing before they'd approve of an uncorrected lift.
3-links are old news, I want to see the first person to put an 80 body on a hovercraft lower and make it street friendly so I can go through the Starbucks drive through.
- Thread starter
- #117
Here's a video of the first 80 with the 4WU kit (Bobby's current rig). Doesn't help much, but at least you can see how it moves. According to the owner, he was mashing on the gas fairly heavily
- Thread starter
- #118
Today I tackled the part I was dreading the most, shock towers. Well driver's side at least because that's the one that has the least amount of room. Steering shaft is gonna be in the way, so out came the grinder. Cut a notch so I could fit some 2.5" 1/4" wall square tubing and welded it all around.
The shock tabs up top don't come welded so I finished those up.
I like the shape of the Barnes tower vs the RuffStuff tower because this one is flat with square corners. The RS tower has a curved back which makes a bit trickier to notch (as Booger did).
And here's where it will sit. Nothing was tacked in at this point, just resting against the frame.
Ended up taking about an inch off the bottom of the tower in order to clear the brake master cylinder and match the contour of the frame rails.
View from the engine bay. Sits right under the master cylinder.
About an inch clearance from the cylinder. Now that I have this one in place I can tackle the passenger side which should be much easier.
The shock tabs up top don't come welded so I finished those up.
I like the shape of the Barnes tower vs the RuffStuff tower because this one is flat with square corners. The RS tower has a curved back which makes a bit trickier to notch (as Booger did).
And here's where it will sit. Nothing was tacked in at this point, just resting against the frame.
Ended up taking about an inch off the bottom of the tower in order to clear the brake master cylinder and match the contour of the frame rails.
View from the engine bay. Sits right under the master cylinder.
About an inch clearance from the cylinder. Now that I have this one in place I can tackle the passenger side which should be much easier.
Oh yeah, I've seen that video. Its good. A dash cam video would be better IMO. I'm not the one trying to sell this kit so what do I know. All I know is it badass and I want one someday. I know I could use the s*** out of it. What had me really thinking about it was ppl saying how it handled better than a lifted 80 and obviously the benefits offroad are amazing. The oem radius arms have the front all bound up.
Looks great Jose! Bet your getting super stoked
