New 3-door Prado Landcruiser

[tom4bren]

BUWAHAHAHA! The iJeep; that's freakin funny, Bart! Keep in mind, most people don't need a specialized vehicle to know, prove, or announce they are different. Being different for being different's sake does not motivate those who truly are different. And I can't forget the obligatory ..|..

'course you are a plethora of contradiction ... aint'cha son. A jeeper & a VXr - a regular Jekyl & Hyde.

[ZEUS]

'course you are a plethora of contradiction ... aint'cha son. A jeeper & a VXr - a regular Jekyl & Hyde.

Come on man, you're selling me short... I'm a VXer, Jeeper, beater wheeler, whiny sniper, and nanner snapper! You got my number on the walking contradiction tho...

Anyway, this LC doesn't do much for me, nor does the new 4-Runner. Toyota should have used their heads when making the "retro"-FJ and produced this instead in 4-door and 2-door variants:

[Triathlete]

I like that one Zeus...although a big improvement would be a solid front axle. I hate the fact that all these companies slap IFS on their "off road" vehicles so that they will handle better on road!

[ZEUS]

I like that one Zeus...although a big improvement would be a solid front axle. I hate the fact that all these companies slap IFS on their "off road" vehicles so that they will handle better on road!

I totally agree. I said before that companies (ok so back then, I said Jeep and Hummer...) should offer all models with IFS but the off road package should always be a solid axle. It shouldn't be so difficult to suit both niches if they plan for it, right? Too much liability nowadays I guess.

[Triathlete]

And another sweet IFS vehicle I think it is IRS also.

[nfpgasmask]

Well, isn't there a way to make IFS stronger? I mean, yeah, a solid front end is going to be better for serious rock crawling, but don't we have the technology these days to make an offroad vehicle with IFS & IRS that is as stout as a solid axle?

Bart

[ZEUS]

Well, isn't there a way to make IFS stronger? I mean, yeah, a solid front end is going to be better for serious rock crawling, but don't we have the technology these days to make an offroad vehicle with IFS & IRS that is as stout as a solid axle?

Bart

Well, the issues are lack of travel, loss of ground clearance during travel, as well as the strength and maintenance issues. When a solid axle rig flexes out, the tire on the high side forces the tire on the low side into the ground. On an IS rig the tire on the high side does nothing for the opposing side and instead the rig lifts away from the low side tire making it less stable and also causes a decrease in traciton. Lockers on an indy suspendy offer greater gains in traction versus a "beam" style because of that. The result of the locker is the same but the gains are different. During compression on an IFS rig the center of the vehicle drops, reducing ground clearance whereas on a solid axle the ground clearance remains the same or increases depending on degrees of twist.

Gotta go, hope that drivel made sense...