IFS vs solid front axel

03 RoadKing wrote:
If IFS didn't ride better there would still be straight axles under you car and truck.

As was pointed out above, it is very important with very light vehicles but as the vehicle gets heavier and heavier, the degree of difference gets to be less and less.

If IFS didn't ride better there would still be straight axles under you car and truck.

Gjac wrote:

BigRabbitMan wrote:
IFS has a lower unsprung weight which is generally a desired thing when seeking smoothness of ride. Also movement of one wheel transmits less movement to the other wheel. Does that offset the greater mechanical complexity? The answer to that becomes an individual thing.

It sounds like you have rebuilt your front end over time so it should be good for a long time now.

I was thinking at 93k mis I would start looking for my next and final MH . I just noticed yours was a 76, how many miles on yours?

My coach is IFS with a single, large transverse leaf spring in front. Each of the two ends of the spring handles one of the front wheels. The rear suspension is independent as well with trailing arm torsion bar suspension. That allows the rear wheels to be close to the rear engine as the driveline only needs to be about 10" long as the differential doesn't move.

The coach has about 160,000 miles on it. I have replaced two ball joints and three tierod ends. The coach weighs 14,500 pounds with 5,000 of that on the front axel. The steering gearbox is beginning to have a little play in it so I will have to deal with that at some point, but that has to wait until my engine/trany upgrade is completed and proven.

We just traded a solid axle DP (Freightliner) for one with IFS (Dynomax, Country Coach's own chassis). The IFS rides better but there are other differences that contribute. The Frieghtliner was a 36' coach and this CC is 42' with a tag axle. I did put 'stuff' on the Freightliner to improve ride and handling.

Bottom line, solid axle vs. IFS would not be a major deciding factor if I was considering a new purchase.

I do not know of a single OTR truck with IFS. Unsprung weight is very important in a race car that weighs 3,000 lbs, but is it with a 22.5 tire/rim that weighs 150+ lbs on a MH that weighs 30,000+ ???. The MH IFS chassis I looked at had 24 pivot points compared to 8 on a solid axle MH. I doubt anyone could tell the difference in ride/handling on the same MH... one with IFS and the same one without.

Mine is a p-30 that 23 years old. I just had my first front end work done last fall. The repair shop told me the u.pper control arms on the GM's went bad in the first 10K miles. They normally would last till about 60k then they really needed to be replaced. Mine has 43k on right now. As far as everything else in the front end it is rock solid. I grease the front end at the start of the season every year. One thing with greasing the ball joints, you need to take the weight off of the tires to be effective when greasing them.

BigRabbitMan wrote:
IFS has a lower unsprung weight which is generally a desired thing when seeking smoothness of ride. Also movement of one wheel transmits less movement to the other wheel. Does that offset the greater mechanical complexity? The answer to that becomes an individual thing.

It sounds like you have rebuilt your front end over time so it should be good for a long time now.

I was thinking at 93k mis I would start looking for my next and final MH . I just noticed yours was a 76, how many miles on yours?

IFS has a lower unsprung weight which is generally a desired thing when seeking smoothness of ride. Also movement of one wheel transmits less movement to the other wheel. Does that offset the greater mechanical complexity? The answer to that becomes an individual thing.

It sounds like you have rebuilt your front end over time so it should be good for a long time now.

If you are asking only about gas chassis, yes, Workhorse W and Ford F53 chassis both use the solid front axle. Only the Chevy/Workhorse P used the IFS on a gasoline chassis.

wolfe10 wrote:
Clearly, solid front axle suspensions have far fewer parts.

Not sure there is a blanket "one rides/handles better than the other".

Kind of like asking if 4 wheel MacPherson struts are a good suspension: I don't know-- did you drive a Ford Escort or BMW 7 series-- both with 4 wheel MacPherson strut suspension.

Said another way, type of front suspension is just one of many components that determine handling and ride.

I thought that Ford front ends and Chevy front ends would be pretty much the same across there respective gas models. Was hoping someone that has had both could comment as to the good and bad of both.