pontoontodd Posted December 16, 2014 Author Share Posted December 16, 2014 video of a recent trip to the Badlands off road park: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchoricex Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Do you have a side view pic of your car with the Hankook 215/75/15 MT tires on them by any chance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontoontodd Posted December 28, 2014 Author Share Posted December 28, 2014 Do you have a side view pic of your car with the Hankook 215/75/15 MT tires on them by any chance? pre lift: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchoricex Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 (edited) you da real MVP! Thanks mate! How did you like those tires? Doesn't look like you're running them anymore? Edited January 3, 2015 by anchoricex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontoontodd Posted January 3, 2015 Author Share Posted January 3, 2015 you da real MVP! Thanks mate! How did you like those tires? Doesn't look like you're running them anymore? Still running the Hankooks on the Outback, they seem to work well. I think you actually want some wheelspin in a lot of offroad situations with stock gearing and power levels. An aggressive tire can actually keep you from getting up a hill or bog you down too much in a soft section. I think I'd try Cooper Discoverer ATs based on this article: http://expeditionportal.com/where-the-rubber-meets-the-road/ They probably look different because I went to the more common black steel wheels after the Forester steel wheels bent. Right now I'm running alloys which are about 15# lighter and seem to hold up fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontoontodd Posted January 5, 2015 Author Share Posted January 5, 2015 We finished mocking up the rear suspension over the weekend. Main goals were increased travel, more tire clearance, and getting rid of the struts. Also, we wanted this to be bolt on and use as many stock components as possible. This is all just roughly laid out for checking geometry and clearance. The brackets will all be boxed and gusseted. Side view of rear suspension at full bump, ride height, and full droop.Trailing arm frame bracket replaced, two trailing links reduce spindle rotation compared to one Y shaped trailing link.Probably make all of the rear links out of CNC bent 1.25 x .120 4130.Links bent inward to provide more than stock tire clearance. Rear view of rear suspension at ride height and full droop.Droop limited by inner CV bottoming out. More droop possible by increasing camber change but more camber change increases clearance issues at full bump. View of rear suspension looking outward at full bump.Upper link contacts frame in several spots, upper link contacts axle, axle nearly contacts frame.Tire barely clears shock body at full bump. Oversized tire with 1/4" wheel spacer. Should be able to have spring collar above tire if shock mounted "upside down."Tire rubs wheel well at full bump. Oversized tire with 1/4" wheel spacer. Might be able to hammer adequate clearance in body.Full bump and full droop with stock sized tire. 11.5" of travel. Some toe out at full bump. Almost done with the front, I'll post that up soon. Suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontoontodd Posted January 15, 2015 Author Share Posted January 15, 2015 (edited) After trying the five link setup and a single Y shaped trailing link, it seems it would be simplest to just make an inverted strut for the rear. The reduced camber change solves some clearance problems and it should be overall easier and cheaper to make than the other options we tried. Since the stock rear struts are so long it looks like we can still get 11" of travel. Mockup picture to test clearances/binding: CAD model using a 2" smooth body reservoir shock below. Upper spring perch not shown. Also we'll probably use a stud mount on top. Still planning on a-arms and coilover shocks in the front, pictures of that coming soon. Edited January 15, 2015 by pontoontodd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontoontodd Posted January 17, 2015 Author Share Posted January 17, 2015 (edited) Front lower arm mocked up about 1/2" farther outboard and 1 1/2" forward of stock balljoint. This helps tire clearance with the upper arm and wheel well and the axle can extend enough and still have some travel left. Also gives us about 10 degrees of caster. Going to make lower arms out of laser cut 1/8" plate, box construction. After a lot of trial and error we've arrived at this upper arm mockup. Everything will be fully boxed and gusseted, this was just to figure out wheel, tire, and spindle clearance. The outer part of the arm will be made out of 1/2" plate, most of the rest will be 1/8" plate. 12" travel with full steering with some rubbing at full bump and steer. Some hammering of the wheel wells should fix most of the rubbing. Bump travel limited by tire rubbing in wheel well and axle hitting our upper arm rod end. Droop travel limited by both ends of the tie rod binding. Plan on using 2" coilover reservoir shocks with 6" travel. Any suggestions? Edited January 17, 2015 by pontoontodd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontoontodd Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share Posted January 24, 2015 CAD model of front suspension. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontoontodd Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 lower arm construction: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newrider3 Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Can't wait to see how this turns out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newsoobdude Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 JEBUS!!! This is gonna be awsome! DEFINATELY gonna need the D/r. That or loose the 3rd pedal . 28" Tires with an EL headered EJ25 does not climb anything in low RPS. That is the ONE thing lacking in my Outback and I don't have the funds to get one shipped from Down Under and want to keep the AWD aspect so no EA82 5spd swap either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchoricex Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 do you have rubbing issues with fender liners with your hankooks? I threw the same set on my car with a lift and my fronts rub against the fender liners when I turn. Ripped the splash guards out and still having a miserable time ps those arms look insane. talented fabrication we have going on here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstaru Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 (edited) wow, finally some real tech. You should put those rear coilover mounts into double shear at the bottom. Still going to come into axle flex problems under power at full droop. looks good! cheers Edited February 4, 2015 by monstaru Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontoontodd Posted February 4, 2015 Author Share Posted February 4, 2015 do you have rubbing issues with fender liners with your hankooks? I threw the same set on my car with a lift and my fronts rub against the fender liners when I turn. Ripped the splash guards out and still having a miserable time ps those arms look insane. talented fabrication we have going on here! Yes, even with a 1.5" lift they rub the fenderwells near the footwell area bad. And that part of the body is pretty solid so it's tough to just hammer it back. You should also hammer flat the rib in front of the struts that the splash guard mounts to. One of the things we'll accomplish with this suspension is moving the front wheels forward and out enough to prevent them from rubbing in the rear of the wheelwell. Maybe still a little in the front of the wheelwell at full bump and steering. Thanks for the compliment. Might be able to drive it in a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontoontodd Posted February 4, 2015 Author Share Posted February 4, 2015 (edited) wow, finally some real tech. You should put those rear coilover mounts into double shear at the bottom. Still going to come into axle flex problems under power at full droop. looks good! cheers Thanks. We're doing inverted struts in the rear now and everything is in double shear. Most of these pix were just mockup, checking clearances, bump steer, etc. I am nervous about the CV life, but I guess we'll find out. Should sit about the same at ride height but obviously flexes more. Edited February 4, 2015 by pontoontodd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontoontodd Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 Nests from laser cut parts: Front end construction: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontoontodd Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 Rear inverted strut construction Had to ID grind the initial springs to fit over the strut body. The springs we're using now fit without grinding. Had to clearance the wheelwell for the strut body, shifted it away from the spindle for tire clearance, and it swings in at full droop, so first I notched the bottom of the "frame rail": hammered the crap out of it and welded it back together: Strut body with camber adjustment: Long travel (11" at the strut) vs stock (8"): Installed: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontoontodd Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 Full droop: This is current ride height. Front is sitting about 2" too high (trying to get both ends to sit in the middle of the travel and about where they were with the 1.5" lift and stock struts), but the rear is about right with these springs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontoontodd Posted February 12, 2015 Author Share Posted February 12, 2015 Drove the car a few times now and it's already much better than before. It can use some tuning, especially in the front, and there are a few minor issues to work out, but overall I'm happy with it. Probably be a few weeks before I can get good video up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadMax11 Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Great work! I'll be very interested to see how that front upper a-arm works out. Also did I mention how excited I am for a new video/set of offroad photos!After this set of modifications, what's next? Underbody protection (aluminum/uhmw)? Imported EJ dual range?Keep up the fab/tech! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontoontodd Posted February 12, 2015 Author Share Posted February 12, 2015 Great work! I'll be very interested to see how that front upper a-arm works out. Also did I mention how excited I am for a new video/set of offroad photos! After this set of modifications, what's next? Underbody protection (aluminum/uhmw)? Imported EJ dual range? Keep up the fab/tech! Glad you like it. The upper arms are a little questionable but there is a lot of 1/2" steel plate in them and they seem to be holding up well so far. The upper arm mounts need to be reinforced a bit though. It would have been much simpler to go with long travel struts in the front but I don't think we could have gotten 12" of wheel travel that way. I really want to get some good video of this in action but unfortunately it will be a few weeks. UHMW on the belly is a good idea. I don't really have much interest in crawling though, or many places where it's needed within 500 miles of here, so probably no dual range. I have lot of other ideas, but an M62 supercharger is pretty high on the list. I've seen a few clean installs with a TMIC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99lego Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Drove the car a few times now and it's already much better than before. It can use some tuning, especially in the front, and there are a few minor issues to work out, but overall I'm happy with it. Probably be a few weeks before I can get good video up. Holy ballz of a build! What trans/rear end combo are you currently running? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georg Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Maximum respect to you for raising such a project!! You are doing metalwork as Main job? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontoontodd Posted February 28, 2015 Author Share Posted February 28, 2015 Holy ballz of a build! What trans/rear end combo are you currently running? Five speed manual. I assume it has the original gearing. I know the rear ring and pinion is 4.11. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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