The Off-Roader

The difference between an Open Differential and a Locked Differential

This week we take our quest further and look at how differentials operate and how they are different.

Bridgestone Club Challenge 2013 Round 5

Here is an episode of one of the event I participated in. Placing 3rd against some Jeeps was a real challenge.

Please leave us a comment, we love hearing your view on things :)

Some 4x4 Fun

 

Each week, a new 4x4 video will be uploaded for your enjoyment.

Welcome to our 1st installment of the Off-Road Segment. Each week we will touch on one aspect and explain how it all fits together.

We see them on the road and at time see them as mini monster trucks. Off-road vehicles comes is many type, forms and sizes. There are however some similarities from a technical standpoint. In this post we will focus more on axles since they are used and abused every day. Axles are regarded as one of the keys elements that makes off-roaders work as they take engine power and torque to make the wheels turn.

Axles comes in two forms, independent suspension axles and solid axles suspensions. These axles operate in very different way but still offer the driver the same outcome. Some off-roaders would swear by sold axles and other by independent axles. 

Independent Suspension Axles

Independent Suspension Axles basically connects the wheels to the axles via constant-velocity joints or more comely known as a CV joints. These shafts are more commonly found in vehicles where the engine drives the front wheels. These types of suspensions could be found in the front and rear axles. Most vehicles today that are All Wheel Drive (AWD) or 4 Wheel Drive would feature a independent suspension axle setup as this axle type offers its occupants a much smoother ride. 

Some off-road vehicles that uses an independent suspension would use this in the front, Independent Front Suspension (IFS) and use a leaf sprint suspension setup in the rear. These IFS setups would most likely use the McPherson strut due to its low manufacturing cost however sacrificing quality of the ride and handling characteristics. 

Solid Axles Suspensions

This type of axle’s setup is found in older models of off-road vehicles which provide those vehicles with the best off-road capabilities at the time. These setups featured either a spring (coil) or leaf spring for force dampening. These damping option differ in an off-road scenario where a coil spring would offer a much smoother ride where a leaf spring would offer better off-road performance at the cost of ride comport.

The new generation of off-roaders now feature a coil spring setup. This is now combined with newer technology traction control systems makes these very competitive. Over the next few weeks we will focus on transmission and traction controls and how it influences these vehicles in an off-road scenario.