So what is yall's opion on this...

Ddays

Hooked
What sucks is that the location of the lithium is in a very remote part of Nevada. A place where most people including greenies think, "who gives a shit about that place". But for people like me, it's special BECAUSE nobody and nothing is out there. When people are willing to start fucking up their backyard in the name of the planet, I'll be more receptive to hear what they have to say.

Can't put new trails anywhere but we can sure put mining access roads that 200 ton dump trucks drive over and dig huge fucking pits in the middle of nowhere. (y)
 

Jeeper99

Member
I saw an episode of Jay's Garage a night or two ago. He was with Elon Musk at his launch facility in Texas. Jay asked him (planted question?) about regulations/permits/etc. Musk had a great response. He said it was a real concern and that in the past, we had wars that basically wiped all the limiting regulations off the books and reset things. But we haven't had, and didn't want, wars, and therefore regulations limiting industry have continued to stack up. He said we have to be wary that these regulations will eventually limit the advancement of mankind. Always the "big picture" perspective from him.
 

GP NOIR

Hooked
Certainly it is possible to develop capable IFS. Most Baja racers use IFS. Most side-by-sides use IFS. But instead of getting something truly capable, we get something like the Land Rover Defender. Popular production 4WD IFS vehicles designed for road use (where IFS is clearly better) do not have the suspension travel necessary to compete off-road with the solid axels on the Wrangler.

From what I saw, the Wranglers still had 4 tires on the ground while the Bronco had only 3.
Flex isn't the limiting factor to an independent suspension, weight transfer is. In fact, a solid axle rig with less flex can be more stable on uneven terrain than a rig with an independent suspension.

When a solid axle articulates (one side stuffed, the other drooped) weight is transferred from side to side as well as fore and aft, particularly when the rig is crossed up. This helps to keep the chassis level. When a tire droops into a hole, weight is transferred to the side that's stuffed.

When one side of an independent suspension falls into a hole, it doesn't droop and the other side doesn't stuff. Maybe a little but the tire falling into the hole transfers little to no weight to the other side. The suspension doesn't articulate well when a tire loses contact with the ground. The result is the chassis falls into the hole instead of the suspension. The weight of the vehicle transfers to that corner more and more as the angle increases until it reaches its tipping point.

Under the same circumstances, a solid axle suspensions transfers the vehicle away from that corner. Of course, it can only transfer so much before it also reaches its tipping point and has a wider margin of error as the tipping point is approached.

Note: There are other factors used to explain what's going on other than CG, such as static CG, dynamic CG, roll center etc., but I'm not smart enough to try to include them.

This doesn't mean I think only a solid axle suspension is worthy for off-roading. Both suspension types have their strengths and limitations.
 

NV375

Active Member
I have been a fan of EVs, solar and other alternative energy possibilities for decades. Now when I see what the special interests and politicians are doing I get sad. Everytime I make it back to Nevada and see the ever expanding solar fields I just scratch my head. I am a bigger fan of point of use solar system not pumping it into the outdated inefficient power grid from giant scars in the desert.

Striving for better is good. Putting everyone's eggs in the same basket controlled by crooked politicians is asking for trouble.
 
Top Bottom