Latest on the Bronco

I just need the local dealership to get one so I can sit my wife in it and have her agree to trade the Xterra.

Ford did damn good with this.

Dave M (Forum Supporter) said:

Not to sound hyperbolic, but did Ford get literally everything right?

-Real 4wd capability on every trim

-M/T available on most every trim

-Stripper trim you can build into a beast

-Factory "Rubicon" trim that comes pre-beasted

-Factory "Raptor" trim

-Mall-crawler trim to sell to the divorced dads

-Hardcore off-road package available on every trim

 

Plus it looks great.  Looking forward to seeing about 100000000 in my area with mandatory Maryland-crab window stickers.

It's IFS, so... No they didn't get everything right.

Yep. Nice.

barefootskater said:

Datsun310Guy said:

iceracer said:

Don't forget the Bronco II.

Don't forget the Mustang II.

Remember the Alamo?

 

Wish I could forget the bronco II. 

Remember the Maine!

bigdaddylee82 said:

Dave M (Forum Supporter) said:

Not to sound hyperbolic, but did Ford get literally everything right?

-Real 4wd capability on every trim

-M/T available on most every trim

-Stripper trim you can build into a beast

-Factory "Rubicon" trim that comes pre-beasted

-Factory "Raptor" trim

-Mall-crawler trim to sell to the divorced dads

-Hardcore off-road package available on every trim

 

Plus it looks great.  Looking forward to seeing about 100000000 in my area with mandatory Maryland-crab window stickers.

It's IFS, so... No they didn't get everything right.

So it doesnt have the jeep death wobble at highway speeds?  Sounds perfect to me :p

bigdaddylee82 said:

 

It's IFS, so... No they didn't get everything right.

Meh.  Its not 1980.  IFS isn't horrible for offroading anymore.  Only reason that Jeep has kept it is for the same reason Harley Davidson resisted fuel injection for so many years.

In reply to Mr_Asa :

But it is, and also ha!

This made me chuckle...

all of those Toyotas seem to do okay in the marketplace despite the horrible affliction of IFS. 

Unless you live in Moab, it's a theoretical argument anyhow. And if you live in Moab, you're not buying new SUVs :)

plus I think the only non trucks that are sold with solid front axles in the US are the G wagon and the Wrangler/Gladiator

In reply to bigdaddylee82 :

I understand how things like a solid axle or portal axles or giant lifts, etc can help you do cool things, but I'll withhold judgement until we see how it performs. Isn't the new Defender IFS too?

You people (yeah I said it) crack me up.

If a hot new sport car came out claiming track prowess but had pizza cutter tires, or mac strut suspension, or enough ground clearance to drive over a bowling ball, or slush box only no flappy paddles, or any number of "flaws," you'd all be bemoaning its short comings.

The new Bronco is sharp, I like it, Ford will sell gobs of them.  SWMBO likes it, I could even see us owning one.

Sure it's got offroadability, having lockers at both ends, will get you a lot of places.

No, you don't need a solid front axle to "offroad," hell you don't even need 4x4, or a truck/SUV, I had a heck of a good time with a '90 Grand Prix and ATV trails when I was young and dumb.

However, IFS is fundamentally, foundationally, unequivocally, inferior to a solid axle for just about everything "offroad," but go-fast desert racing.

IFS rides a lot better, and there's more than a grain of truth to Flynlow's death wobble comment, I've lived it, truth hurts.

In reply to bigdaddylee82 :

I want to use Ultra4 racing to argue with you, but that's a combo of go-fast and crawling. I guess IFS is enough better in the fast spots to make up for the articulation shortcomings.

Wanna bet on how soon the first SAS kit comes to market? 

In reply to thatsnowinnebago (Forum Supporter) :

Even Ultra4 has way more solid axle rigs than IFS.

There's a fella over on irate4x4 (where everyone landed after the pirate4x4 mass exodus) claiming his is getting SASed right away.

In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :

Nice one!

This sounds really interesting 

Basically, anywhere you see a bolt with "Bronco" forged into it is something you can remove and modify.

https://www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/ford-bronco-design-screw-bolt-paul-wraith/

I like it.

I'm going to check one out when the dealership gets them in.

Maybe buy a discounted lease return a few years later.

In reply to bigdaddylee82 :

Ha, I guess zero is the best bet then. 

In reply to bigdaddylee82 :

Yep.  Re: C8 discussions and no MT option. 

Ian F (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to bigdaddylee82 :

Yep.  Re: C8 discussions and no MT option. 

Yes yes and the C8 is still awesome and I'd buy one in a second if I could. We're a bunch of bench racers here! 

bigdaddylee82 said:

In reply to thatsnowinnebago (Forum Supporter) :

Even Ultra4 has way more solid axle rigs than IFS.

There's a fella over on irate4x4 (where everyone landed after the pirate4x4 mass exodus) claiming his is getting SASed right away.

what happened with pirate?

In response to this absolutely idiotic article by Vice (they act like its the return of the Excursion with a 5mpg big block under the hood, instead of a tiny crossover with 4-cylinder engines)....

I saw this gem of a comment from a guy I know that had me absolutely dying

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Agreed. For the normal 4-6 rated trails that even the majority of the off-roaders do, it's not really a problem. The 7-10 trails only get new rigs if it's a corporation trying to sell parts or a demo ride anyway. UTV's and custom buggies are the most common for that. 

 I've never had a problem with the Xterra in 4-6 rating range. Just ran a 5 over last weekend. It was just fine. The rock sliders were more important than the IFS vs. Stick axle. 

I saw an article that made me laugh a little bit because I think it's totally true. They were saying the Sport will probably see more dirt than the full-sized. I totally see it. They actually did a good job with the Sport in making it a usable outdoorsy activity vehicle. The things like making sure 2 27.5" MTB's can fit inside. The rear LED light and some other things make it really a good vehicle for the active crowd. I can see a few of those lining the streets of Denver here soon hopefully in place of the VXs.

bigdaddylee82 said:

In reply to thatsnowinnebago (Forum Supporter) :

Even Ultra4 has way more solid axle rigs than IFS.

There's a fella over on irate4x4 (where everyone landed after the pirate4x4 mass exodus) claiming his is getting SASed right away.

Ultra4 has solid axle rigs because 1) that's what a lot of people know, 2) they're easier and 3) problems in the rocks with slow you down more than you can make up speed in the desert.  But IFS rigs won KOH for three years before another solid axle rig took the 2020 race. So it's not quite so cut and dried. And seriously, while every off-roader thinks they're doing KOH - they're not. Only the real fringe is going to find this a problem, a much larger group will appreciate the improved wheel control.

It's like a sports car with struts instead of a double wishbone. It's not as pure and we complain about it, but there are good reasons to use struts and there are lots of examples of very good sports cars that run them at one or both ends. 

Also on the low tow rating, Its also because the top is removable/it has a soft top. they rate those lower than similar drivetrains in other vehicles