Thread: Dropped axel vs IFS

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So i have a dropped axel in my car with a mono leaf and i think the ride quality sucks. Im not very happy with it. Maybe its cause of the mono leaf. Is it worth putting in a IFS system instead? anyone ever do this. I know a guy that did it but he thought it just felt the same.

A properly set up straight axle setup will give a very acceptable ride, but the key is the word "properly." I have never used the mono spring, but have heard things about them not being all they are cracked up to be.

Post some pictures of your front end so we can see what you have. What is the problem specifically?


Don

Ill post some pics tomorrow. Im pretty sure its setup right. Doesnt seem like it flex's very well.

What components are in there? Dropped axle? What steering setup? Four bar or hairpins? What kind of shocks? Panhard bar?

Is a stiff ride the main complaint?


Don

Hairpins, was vega just did a rack&pinion change ( nice upgrade!), Pro Shocks, and a panhard bar. I guess stiff ride would be the complaint. Superbell dropped axle.

lol i spelled axle wrong on the title.

A straight axle will ride just fine if you have the right spring and shocks.

Axle = car part
Axel = figure skating jump

Well, even coilovers only have about 3" to 4" of travel in normal road driving.. A light car never will ride like a big honkin' 3500 pound sedan.... Not sure what you are looking for in ride comfort.... As Jack said, the right srping and shocks should smooth it out some...

It could also be subjective too. No early hot rod is going to ride like a brand new Caddy, regardless of how we hot rodders think they do, so maybe you are just expecting it to be something it can't ever be. But as Jack said, with something like a Posies Superslide spring and the proper rate shocks, it should ride very well.

Tires are also a big factor here, you might have to play with pressure front and back to get a good balance.

One thing that puts my ears up is the rack you intalled. How and where did you attach it? I am not a fan of racks on straight axles, but that is just me.

Don

I've used a Durant mono spring and have been very happy with it and the resulting ride. There is one problem in that you cannot fine tune them by subtracting spring leaves (You can always add if too soft). You do have to have a pretty good idea of the front end actual weight as carried by the axle to get the right one though. I would look at the Pro shocks valving before I condemned the spring though - might be to "tight" .

The new uni-steer rack is a neat setup, if it's installed correctly....

There could be a book written on front ends. I think I have used every combination out there, and believe me it can be the smallest thing that can screw things up. The angle of your cross member should match your caster adjustment. If it doesn't the spring is binding. I personally think mono leaf springs get a bad rap because of this. You can buy pivoting spring perches from the Deuce Factory if you find this is a problem. My 2 cents

Originally Posted by Dave Severson

The new uni-steer rack is a neat setup, if it's installed correctly....

Yeah, I agree that Unisteer looks good, but I was thinking he installed a traditional r and p steering, and was just curious how he mounted it.


Don

Originally Posted by Dave Severson

The new uni-steer rack is a neat setup, if it's installed correctly....

I have one of these on my truck, I had set it up for a Vega box initially so I just bolted it in, How can you install one of these wrong?

It the uni-steer setup. I just mounts on the vega mounting bracket. My mono leaf is a Durant as well. Ill try and get some pictures up today.

I've never used a Durant mono, do you have any idea what rate the spring may be? Best ride I ever had with a tube axle type car was with a Posie Super Slider... Tried one mono, drove the car 10 miles and took it off, the car pounded like a lumber wagon. That was many years ago, I would hope they have improved them some over the years...