Go You Aussie Jeepin' Fabbers hey!

[Jeff]

I thought you were going to go for a KJ style grill/bonnet.

[TJPete]

A bloke contacted me this evening with questions on suspension models.

There are several options and many schools of thought. My opinions are,
and I stress, these are my opinions only, are stated here in very general
terms ...

The conventional 3 link is the easiest to implement, "generally"
gives the most articulation, but is "generally" the least stable because as
the car reaches further into an off-camber attitude, the conventional 3
link "tries to help" the car keep going in the direction of the off-camber
attitude. Torsion, anti-sway bars can help but do reduce articulation to a
degree.

The un-conventional, inverted 3 link is more challenging to design,
more difficult to integrate but has the benefits of both the 5 and 3 link
geometries with less tendancy to help the car keep going in the direction
of the off-camber attitude when it is banked over.

The 5 link is the most stable but has challenges with "bind-up" if
max articulation is your target. Personally, a variation on the 5 link with
adjustable Watts links and torsion bars is my favourite at this time.

Both 3 & 5 link concepts have issues with bump steer, but this can be
eliminated in the rear with a "Watts" link instead of a panhard and
hydraulic steering or even rack & pinion steering helps also.
(But R&P doesn't lend itself to the bomb-proofness we want in a rock
crawler.)

If you implement the Watts link in a manner that allows it to be adjusted,
you can also vary "roll centre" and in theory bring it below the axle and
even below the ground.

However, I believe bump steer is a small price to pay for increased
stability. The use of winches to "suck" the frame down onto the bump-
stops has now become a popular work around to improve the behaviour
of a rock crawler in extreme off-camber situations.

There are other variations as well such as 4 link and even 2 link concepts
with motorcycle style swing arms, but these are outside the scope of this
miniature comment.



When it comes to the task of fabricating an A-arm, pictures are worth a
thousand words. So, below are some images of some of the stages in
fabricating an A-arm I made today.







These are my opinions and I would really be interested to hear the
thoughts of others.

[Anonymous]

Really like the way you explain things and the piks really help and make interesting. Keep it coming on dude.

[TJPete]

Originally Posted by Jeff

I thought you were going to go for a KJ style grill/bonnet.

They look great don't they! Those KJ hood curves and narrowed grill;
but at this stage I don't have plans for that look.

But I do reckon they look great.

[Timmy]

what is the A frame for pete, front or back or both?

[TJPete]

Originally Posted by Timmy

what is the A frame for pete, front or back or both?

It is a rear A-Frame.

[Jimmyb]

Made that arm setup, truely unique, and the workmanship, you have so much more patience than me fella.

Will you run this setup without a drag link Pete?