How does axle side bracket offset affect 3 or 4 link suspension characteristics?

carrotman

carrotman

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I'm curious how the offset of an axle side link bracket affects the characteristics of a 3 or 4 link setup, specifically the position fore or aft of the centerline of the axle.

To be specific, I'm trying to see if a front axle stretch of a few extra inches is possible without replacing my existing control arms on a Savvy mid arm 3 link, simply by welding on axle side brackets that are larger or have more of an offset between the bolt hole and the axle centerline. I would think brackets that put the joint 6-7ish inches behind the axle centerline rather than the factory 3-4ish inches wouldn't be that big of a deal. The better way to do this would probably be to mount the frame side mounts forward, but lets consider that not an option for now.

This is not a question about the technicalities of a front stretch on a TJ, I know there are a ton of obstacles and it generally isn't worth doing, just trying to answer this particular question. I guess the axle puts more leverage on the bracket the further out it is, or the axle has less anti-wrap? Both seem like non-issues unless you are doing some crazy 18" long link bracket.
 
I pushed the front axle on my Savvy 3 link forward as far as the drag link allowed me to by moving the frame side track bar mount forward. I only got less than 2" from whatever my starting point was by lengthening the arms. Though, I ought to replace them with the rear lower LJ arms.

And there are a lot of other little things that need to be done, like reshaping the track bar, adding bend to the drag link, making the bump stops line up again...
 
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@carrotman is this you

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I'm starting to think this is a silly thing to try and might just cut out my already welded in front frame brackets to get the arms forward. Those welds are really long though....


Does anyone have instructions on where to position Savvy's mid arm brackets on the front axle? If memory serves, their instructions give you measurements off of existing factory mounts, but my new axle doesn't have any of those so need measurements from the center of the axle or something instead.
 
carrotman said:
I'm starting to think this is a silly thing to try and might just cut out my already welded in front frame brackets to get the arms forward. Those welds are really long though....


Does anyone have instructions on where to position Savvy's mid arm brackets on the front axle? If memory serves, their instructions give you measurements off of existing factory mounts, but my new axle doesn't have any of those so need measurements from the center of the axle or something instead.
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The install instructions are in the resources section. My memory without crawling under mine is that the frame brackets can't go further forward without hitting the tub.

Cutting and moving the control arm brackets to move the axle forward is a tremendous waste of effort considering every other irritating thing you still need to do to make the stretch work well. It's much easier to extend the arms and get longer ones if needed.
 
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having never done it I might just be talking out my ass here but it seems like a lot of effort just to avoid getting some longer link bodies. If you have the resources to do the brackets I would think you could weld some threaded ends onto some tubing and make some whatever length you need.
 
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freedom_in_4low said:
having never done it I might just be talking out my ass here but it seems like a lot of effort just to avoid getting some longer link bodies. If you have the resources to do the brackets I would think you could weld some threaded ends onto some tubing and make some whatever length you need.
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Barnes 4x4...cheapest DA's you can make. they got bungs and tube and not priced like it was gold plated. splurge for JJ's and you're golden.

wide open design does custom length aluminum links. sexy things they are, but a good bit more $ than steel tube. my thought was once i'm done messin with everything and it's "done" replace the links a few at a time.
 
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Im getting aluminum links made for my 4 link I’m doing in the rear, and it was significantly cheaper to find a local shop that machines their own links than it was to order online. I was quoted about $300 for the 4 links from a local shop and $450 from wideopendesign. A 3 link would be even less than that.
 
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