SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1332112
SUSPENSION SAVERS Simple Components That Prevent Your High-Dollar Suspension From Becoming Junk By Dan Sanchez SCORE fans know that greater wheel-travel is the key to high-speed off-road performance. This is why many of us go to great lengths, and spend lots of money, to modify our vehicle’s suspensions with some of the industry’s best components. Although long-travel suspensions, shocks, and heavy-duty axles are expensive, they are worth it when it comes to traveling over rough terrain at speed. During a SCORE race, breaking suspension components is almost expected, but for the average enthusiast who saved their money for a set of King Shocks, Baja Kits A-arms, or a Currie rear axle housing for their truck, breaking or bending one of these components can be devastating. This is one of the reasons for adding a variety of simple, but effective, devices that are designed to save your suspension. Many of these “suspension savers” are common on race vehicles, but should also be considered on any serious off-road suspension system, especially for those enthusiasts who build-up their vehicle’s components over time. BOTTOMING OUT Lots of off-road vehicles get damaged when they bottom-out at high speeds or when landing after launching into the air. Lots of parts can get bent or broken but can be prevented with the addition of a hydraulic bump stop. Racing style bump stops engage at the last few inches of the suspension’s travel and cushion heavy impacts to prevent damage and absorb harsh impacts at full suspension compression. Similar to racing shocks, pressurized bump stops come in a variety of diameters and lengths depending on the application and feature an internal piston with oil and pressurized Nitrogen. Hydraulic Bump Stops There are various ways hydraulic bump stops can be mounted to your vehicle from a simple cylinder canister that can be welded onto your chassis, or with a specific shock-type top mount and bracketry to accommodate various tube chassis applications. Others also have adjustable outer sleeves, similar to coil springs, offering micro-adjustments to perfectly match you’re your shock’s maximum level of compression and avoid damaging the internal pistons. For most front long-travel suspension systems, a custom mounting solution or specific vehicle bracketry is typically required. Some hydraulic bump stops are available as a complete kit for vehicles like the Ford Raptor, which includes a stiffening cross member and bracketry that bolts to the rear suspension on these vehicles. According to Patrick O’Donohue at Baja HQ, systems like this for the Ford Raptor, as an example, still need to be properly adjusted and proper mounting points on the axle should be added. On rear suspension systems, O’Donnohue also looks to limit the upward travel of the axle to prevent the driveshaft from slipping out of the transmission yoke or binding. He also wants to set up the suspension to keep the driveshaft angles within the proper operating range during full compression and extension of the suspension system. Anti-Sway Bar Quick-Disconnects Although SCORE race vehicles and pre-runners don’t use a front anti-sway bar, some of us with dual-purpose vehicles still want to retain them to control body roll during street driving. In some various model vehicles like Toyota Tacomas, Dodge Rams, Jeeps, Ford F-150’s, and UTVs with factory anti-sway bars, the system can limit or hinder the amount of suspension travel during off-roading. Furthermore, if a vehicle bottoms-out with the factory anti-sway bar end links attached, they can bend and possibly damage other suspension components in the process. Much of this could be avoided with the addition of quick-disconnect end-links. These are easy to install and are available for vehicles where this is a concern. These types of end-links allow the vehicle owner to temporarily disconnect them from operating the anti-sway bar, allowing for greater wheel travel under full extension, and to avoid bending them or any other components under full compression. When you’re off-roading adventures are done for the weekend, they can be reconnected to minimize body-roll for the drive home on the highway. FULL SUSPENSION EXTENSION Long-travel suspension systems can also receive some serious damage when they are under full extension, such as when the vehicle is launched into the air. Suspension and drivetrain components like ball joints and CV joints can reach their limit of travel, and shock absorber pistons can become damaged from being topped-out inside the shock. At the rear of the vehicle, driveshafts can slip out of the transmission yoke or bind under full extension situations. To prevent this, racers often use limiting straps that prevent front and rear suspensions from getting to that point on race vehicles, trucks, and UTVs. Limiting straps come in a variety of lengths to accommodate a wide variety of applications. While most are made from nylon webbing, some stretch happens and needs to be compensated during the installation process. “Some limiting straps are the same nylon webbing that’s used in seat-belt material or ratchet strap material,” says Ben O’Connor at Mastercraft Safety. “We use a proprietary material and multiple layers to minimize stretch as much as possible.” According to O’Connor, some straps have two, three, or four layers of webbing that, depending on the application and weight of the suspension, will determine which length to use. “A SCORE Trophy Truck suspension with a heavy 40-inch tire will require a four-layer strap, while a lighter race vehicle like a Class 12 car or UTV have less weight and can use a three-layer strap.” Length is also important in adding a limiting strap to any vehicle. O’Donohue at Baja HQ says they use all kinds of mounting methods that are dependent on the vehicle and that can determine what length of strap is needed. The whole idea for proper mounting and strap length is to allow the front or rear suspension to fully extend, then mount the strap so that it limits full extension to a safe point, well before any damage can occur. “There are many types of mounting methods but using one that incorporates an adjustable Clevis is a good way to fine-tune the length,” says O’Connor. “Most suspension builders and installers don’t know the final point of full extension so having some adjustability is an advantage.” FLEX IT BUT DON’T BEND IT Adding some of these suspension savers to your planned upgrades will keep you from damaging any components while off-roading, but won’t guarantee you won’t break anything if you like to drive hard and launch your vehicle high. There are still limits to any suspension system, but having the right suspension savers will allow you to fine-tune your off-road suspension to give you the most enjoyment and capability you can have with your vehicle. In addition to some peace of mind, these types of suspension savers will pay for themselves as you fly high over a berm, land softly, and be able to drive home to tell the tale. SOURCES: Mastercraftsafety www.mastercraftsafety.com King Shocks www.kingshocks.com Baja HQ www.bajahq.com