New Motobilt 4-Link Suspension

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To dig deeper, what would you do to achieve better VS and can it be achieved with a stock frame and tummy tucked skid?

What are you running, numbers wise in respect to VS on your TJ?

Anyone know the VS on the stock TJ/LJ?

Arm length also is a factor in VS.
 
To dig deeper, what would you do to achieve better VS and can it be achieved with a stock frame and tummy tucked skid?

What are you running, numbers wise in respect to VS on your TJ?

Anyone know the VS on the stock TJ/LJ?

Around 4.5”
 
To dig deeper, what would you do to achieve better VS and can it be achieved with a stock frame and tummy tucked skid?

What are you running, numbers wise in respect to VS on your TJ?

Anyone know the VS on the stock TJ/LJ?

The Savvy mid arm has more VS and less hang below the frame because it requires a body lift. The Savvy skid hangs down about 1.75" at it's lowest point.
 
Arm length also is a factor in VS.

Yep. I know you know this, I’m just going to reiterate for others. Vertical separation at the frame is how you manipulate where instant center is. The instant center is the theoretical point in which the control arms would intersect in space. Arm length places a role in the regards that moving the frame side mounts further forward to accommodate the longer arms also changes where the instant center is.
 
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Arm length also is a factor in VS.

Correct. On some setups, we could have a 40 foot long set of arms that converge onto the same mounting point where the instant center is found waaay in front of the Jeep on flat ground. No vertical separation necessary. 😉
 
How did the suspension work on Cayleb's rig work?

I spent a day on the trails following and getting out to watch a TJ with the older MB suspension and saw no bad traits. The first big obstacle I thought he had no chance, but he went right up. Two of the 11 jeeps made that obstacle. There were 2 other obstacles that only 3 made and he was one of the three.

The older kit weighs 126 pounds and I can't imagine what the double triangulated kit weighs.

Seems to work from what I've seen, but I 'm no expert. I know I'd have fun wheeling it.

That's interesting that you observed that and noticed the MB linked TJ crawled right up some obstacles that others could not make.

sprung weight vs unsprung weight, which matters more? You're going to get much more performance via suspension out of shedding unsprung weight.
 
@Apparition didn’t he break a link or something on this rig in that Moab video of him doing Pritchett?

I don’t remember him breaking anything there. He did do a rock crawling competition that did test his rig pretty well so there are vids of him testing it out.

I don’t think he’s really talked much about the numbers as far as suspension travel.
 
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Correct. On some setups, we could have a 40 foot long set of arms that converge onto the same mounting point where the instant center is found waaay in front of the Jeep on flat ground. No vertical separation necessary. 😉

Doesn’t that also mean that longer arms can achieve the same instant center with less frame side vertical separation than shorter arms?
 
I don’t remember him breaking anything there. He did do a rock crawling competition that did test his rig pretty well so there are vids of him testing it out.

I don’t think he’s really talked much about the numbers as far as suspension travel.

broke a lower link on chewy
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Doesn’t that also mean that longer arms can achieve the same instant center with less frame side vertical separation than shorter arms?

Yes that is true. I think the main design flaw here is how they got that vertical separation. They did it by lowering everything down into the shovel. So even if the suspension is good on a Moab climb it’s gonna suck in any rock garden type stuff.
 
The echo Jerry, some of the toughest trails out in Johnson Valley can be conquered with a stock wheelbase TJ, ~5 inches of bolt on lift, 35’s, and lockers.

So there may be something to the idea that your rig’s suspension numbers dont have to be perfect to enjoy some of the hardest trails out there when it comes to rock crawling.

That's a bit glossy as in it glosses over some of the nuance. I know some folks who took a TJ on 33's over Sunbonnet Pass. That is an extraordinary amount of work to be able to say you ran a trail out in JV in your rig. I have never gone out there to do that much work intentionally. That and I'm not sure if I'd really put all that stacking, winching, and tugging in the category of being able to say you "ran" the trail. Is that what we really mean?
 
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Yes that is true. I think the main design flaw here is how they got that vertical separation. They did it by lowering everything down into the shovel. So even if the suspension is good on a Moab climb it’s gonna suck in any rock garden type stuff.

This is where we get into the idea of a balanced build. We are getting similar or higher belly heights with comparatively smaller tires and presumably similar lift heights. As a result, we are also getting more desirable shock travel biases that improve stability.
 
It surprises me bc I always had the impression that Rob Park (Bender) really knew his shit when it came to design and fab work.

It may be a compromise between trying to sell a product that’s a swiss army knife and sell something that is geared towards the weekend pro rock crawler.

If I had to guess, anyone building a Jeep to crawl with the best of them, with all the perfect numbers is building something home brew and isn't shopping for bolt in/weld in parts.

Where this gets all fucked up is just how forgiving big tired rigs are on trails. You can fully fuck up every aspect of a 40" tire build geometry and clearance wise and still look like a hero on stuff that everyone struggles on with smaller tires. That is until you follow around a well built rig on 40's who stomps a mudhole in you. The average person can't tell the difference where it doesn't matter.
 
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