I hear the more unsprung weight on a vehicle the better. Im going with H1 wheels with .250 rock rings, these are heavier than a pregnant sow. Seems to me the less rotating mass the better, at least for my heavy suburban, gotta be around 8-9 thousand pounds. They are sitting on a beefed up Dana 60, 40" pit bull rockers, so Im not to worried about breaking something, just that I probably only get between 8-10 mpg as it is, coasting down a hill that is. I guess if your worried about rolling it then more on the bottom will help keep it planted but thats the least of my worries with this long wheel base tank.

Nope, just the opposite; un-sprung weight is a necessary evil, but still evil.

I'd say it depends on the vehicle and it's intended use. Also, not all unsprung weight is rotating mass. Rotational mass it great for storing energy which can be good to help carry you over obstacles without stalling, but it's also a hell of a lot harder to stop the vehicle when you want to. It's a trade-off for the specific vehicle and it's intended use.

Harder to stop, you got that right, hoping my disc brake conversion on my rear 14 bolt will help.

I can get pretty stupid with mine, not only because of unsprung weight, but because the overall center ov gravity is retardedly low. With the new swap I should be able to balance it on it's sidewalls. For high speed running it would suck, but for a crawler, it rocks.

Doesn't really matter what you build, the higher % of your weight down low, the better off you are.

Ill be puytting 5.13's in it pretty soon so hopfully it will pep up a bit and help on gas mileage, shes bogging now with the 4.10's

if you wanna go fast, less unsprung weight is better. If you wanna do mostly crawling and be VERY stable, unsprung is good.

Couldnt go fast if I wanted to and do alot of rock crawling so I guess the unsprung weight is better in my case.

whithout using the word "search" could someone define "unsprung weight"?

I could be wrong but I believe sprung weight is carried by the suspension (ie; body) where unsprung weight is not (ie; tires).

weight that is not "sprung" above the springs. Axles, wheels, tires, leaves etc...

SPIDR has it on the dot;

"Doesn't really matter what you build, the higher % of your weight down low, the better off you are."

With a suburban no matter what you do to it (other then cut up the body which would be worth it if you're crawling) your COG is always gonna be high. The 40s and 1 tons are sure to help with the weight lower, but all in all you're still in a suburban that is lifted.

remember when you do the disc swap you loose almost 100 pounds. Low unsprung weight is good for a smoother ride because less overall weight has to violently move over the bumps. For crawling though, this is of no concern.

So if you have a street bashin 4by on 40's lower unprung weight is good for mileage and ride, but as far as crawling, high unsprung weight is probabaly the way to go.

On my truck, I try and keep a good amount of weight low, but also dont want excessive weight since i drive my shit to the trails.

as said, unsprung weight does not equal rotating mass/leverage. ou can have feather light wheels and still have lots of unsprung weight via axles, links and trussing. your wheels are a great way to add unsprung weight wether its from heavy wheels or adding bb's and water to floor your cog and raise you unsprung weight.
your sprung/unsprung weight has nothing to do with adding deep gears other than o/a weight vrs hp vrs leverage.

the heavier it is, the harder it is to accelerate it.

Sprung weight= half the weight of links/springs/shocks/traction devices + vehicle weight above those devices.

unsprung weight= half the weight of links/ springs/ shocks/ traction devices +axles/ tires/ wheels.

rotating weight= the weight of the crank/rods/pistons +driven parts like driveshafts, axleshafts, ring&pinion, brake rotors, hubs, drums, drive flanges, transmission parts, tires, wheels.

all are just simple terms. Torque is what gets you moving, Horsepower keeps you moving.

if you want to get moving fast, make it light, and build a high hp engine. if you have a shitbox heavy truck, build for torque, and hp will follow slowly.

hp= torque x rpm / 5252. thats a fact.

to accelerate 8000 lbs, you need lots of torque. to keep it moving, you need some horsepower, but not a huge amount.... but probably more than 150. to get that 8000 lb monster to get mileage, youre fighting a battle you cant win. either get a diesel or a geo.

unsprung weight= half the weight of links/ springs/ shocks/ traction devices +axles/ tires/ wheels.

only half if the links are dead on horizontal and equally weighted end to end :flipoff2:

only half if the links are dead on horizontal and equally weighted end to end :flipoff2:

no, tardboy.
the axle carries half the weight of the link, the frame carries the other half. angle is immaterial.

rotating weight= the weight of the crank/rods/pistons +driven parts like driveshafts, axleshafts, ring&pinion, brake rotors, hubs, drums, drive flanges, transmission parts, tires, wheels, spinner rims.



God Grumpy, get it right.

lmfao!

only half if the links are dead on horizontal and equally weighted end to end :flipoff2:

anyone that has ever been on the bottom side of carrying something heavy and large up stairs knows this guy is on to something

its still a bit of deception. the link is still on the vehicle. unless the angle were to exceed 45*, you would not notice.

some interesting reading... (http://home.earthlink.net/~whshope/)

God Grumpy, get it right.

Don't forget the exhaust whistle...... :laughing: