from wheeling last weekend i had wanted to make an observation about caster, but i forgot and so here it is :D

on road- uncorrected caster SUCKS. the steering is super twitchy and is generally hard to control. actually quite scary.

off road- uncorrected caster is AWESOME!!! the steering is reeeally light, and it makes turning in the rocks and ruts very easy. if the rig were 100% off road instead of 90% off road, i would leave the caster as is to keep the easy steering.

but its not, so eventually i plan on correcting it through either a 3 link or the setup that Scott from RockStomper uses on his toyota truck, that is a straight rod that attaches at the centerline of the axle on one side, and then a radius arm on the other side to control axlewrap. this is of course in conjunction with a track bar.

anyways those are just some of my notes :D

Keep in mind that one of the main fallacies of a SG 3-link is the ability to correct caster AND pinion angle. You can do one or the other, but not both...And the thing is that most people that step-up to a 3-link have enough lift to warrant a CV (double cardon) shaft...Which, coincidentally, requires whacking your stock caster.

I never really noticed the change on road (and I had my castor WAY positive)...But then again I was running with 35 x 12:50's and they seemed to stick (track) on line very well anyway....It would have turned like a slug with "correct" castor.

If you can live with a front Trutrac it makes up for all the sins of lost castor. The difference in driving two almost identical trucks one with a front TT one open is amazing.

The best part is that at $350 its just as cheap as any of the other "fixes" and does not mess with your driveshaft.

Ron

I dont think that the setup in the front of the rockstomper toy is something to copy. It would behave very similar to a hinged radius arm which IMO is a bad thing.

Sam

Originally posted by Strange Rover
I dont think that the setup in the front of the rockstomper toy is something to copy. It would behave very similar to a hinged radius arm which IMO is a bad thing.

Sam

Why do you think a hinged arm is bad? My buddy has ran one for 7 years with no problems period. Please tell me why. I guess I am missing something. Maybe with your light 130lb springs it was bad but why not put a working swaybar in there. The way I understand it is your roll center is coming off the panhard rod with or with out the hinged arm.

Donovan

I did notice the difference after lifting my tuck. I just chose to make some offset Radius arms. I am looking at making a 3-link for my bros 90, but I haven't quite figured out all the details. I believe that it is not possible to correct castor and pinion angles because adjusting one screws up the other. So I will keep my pinion angle and to hell with the castor.:flipoff2:

Brad (not tall Brad)

9V ,

Couple o' things:

If we are talking about the white Rangie, I have a few observations.

Wider offset rims increase track, which will grab the ruts or depressions in the road with more ferver.

The tires you have are not exactly the best "on road" handling tire. VERY good off, not so good on. They are known for their "squirm", a term in tire talk that means the tread block will move without the body of the tire. I also believe they may be a load range "C", which will enhance this do to a softer sidewall.

Try adjusting the tension on your steering box for less play if you are going to be on road more.

Experiment with tire psi, even a couple of pounds will make a difference. I would go a few more positive. I used to run 28 psi before my last lift, (now at 4 inches) now I run 32 on road. Less pressure will increase the wander feel.

This may have been common knowledge, so I am sorry if I wasted y'alls b/w. Just trying to help.

thanks red. i was running the tires at 28psi and would not want to go higher simply because of max pressure issues.

they are indeed a load range C.

i was not surprised by the on road affects of the fubar'd caster, only by the off road effects which caught me by surprise.

You could also go the Rovertym castor correction route.

Originally posted by GRNRVR
You could also go the Rovertym castor correction route.

true, but it is not high enough of a priority to spend that much cash on right now. if i were to go aftermarket something, it would most likely be a 3 link.

i wonder if john would build and sell another one :D

Originally posted by Donovan


Why do you think a hinged arm is bad? My buddy has ran one for 7 years with no problems period. Please tell me why. I guess I am missing something. Maybe with your light 130lb springs it was bad but why not put a working swaybar in there. The way I understand it is your roll center is coming off the panhard rod with or with out the hinged arm.

Donovan

I also ran a hinged arm for about 18 months and thought it was really good (had springs rates from 130lb to 220lb and this didnt really make any difference)

Crawling over horizontal stuff (big boulders etc) it worked good except if I crawled a right front onto something really big and then tried to reverse off it if would tip the rig over. This problem wasnt too bad though.

The worst thing about the hinged arm was driving down steep stuff with all the weight on the front wheels. The hinged arm setup leavering up on one side would cause the rig to lift a rear tyre, screw the rig around sideways and generally missbehave badly with all the front braking force lifting on one side only. I used to hate driving down steep stuff cause my rig would easily get out of shape. I thought it was a problem with my weight distribution or something (not enough rear weight). But once I got rid of the hinged arm everything is perfect. I can drive down stuff and the rig stays straight and doesent lift a rear wheel and doesent screw sideways. I can also notice the difference on throttling climbs also now that the arm has gone again much better more stable.

If something was thinking of a hinged arm I would say dont do it. Get some double shell bushes and drill them. This will be good for 12in travel shocks up front which is a lot and if you need more like 14in then three link is the go.

Sam

What about RT's corrected swivel balls? They should help your cause, no?

Originally posted by alia176
What about RT's corrected swivel balls? They should help your cause, no?


Redrill your own .9V you've got old series axel outer drive flanges ? The hole pattern and circle is the same on the drive flange as it is on the Rangie swivel .One pre made jig courtesy of a cash strapped Landrover factory .

Or is it more like extend the existing holes then fillet the holes so the whole thing can't rotate back to the old holes? So we're talking about using a milling machine.
:confused: