2021 Ford Bronco

ShinerBock wrote:

alexleblanc wrote:

ShinerBock wrote:
I was excited about it until I learned it was IFS which is not ideal for the kind of off roading I do. I will stick with my JK.

The Hummer H3 was another IFS with front lockers and it was even worse than the FJ.

Folks seem to love the Toyota 4Runner, FJ and Tacomas just fine, not reason this can't be a performer offroad. Its less of a compromise to live with than a Solid front axle rig.

Not all of those had front lockers. The only one of those that had a front locker with IFS was the FJ and they were known for busting axle shafts which even the FJ guys will tell you (LINK).

In the kind of rock crawling off roading I do, you see broken IFS front end parts all over the trails especially ones with front lockers. These parts(which are much smaller and weaker than SFA) will wear a lot quicker and are not as reliable off road as the solid axles. The problem gets worse when you start adding larger and heavier tires. I can't tell you how many times our group has had to go around an obstacle because an IFS with lockers grenaded trying to go up.

Then there is the fact of less traction on technical obstacles. IFS's will generally have one tire off the ground to where a solid axle will have both on the ground aiding traction. This is also one of the reason why they grenade. Since only one wheel has traction, the driver has to apply more throttle and starts to hop because the components are in a bind. This hopping and acceleration is not good for axle shafts since only one tire has all the weight and traction on the front end. IFS's without lockers do not tend to grenade as often, but cannot go up the really technical obstacles that lockers can.


Not saying it can't do it, it is just not ideal and is better suited for fast off roading where IFS shines over solid axles.

For our off road and daily driver needs a IFS could be the ticket, but will need to test drive to confirm. I would like a soft long travel suspension which it appears how the Bronco is setup.

We came close to pulling the trigger on a Jeep Wrangler but with a few things we didn't like about it, and knowing the Bronco was coming we decided to hold off. Based on what I've seen we made the right decision.