Coming soon: New IronBender 4-link kit - Installed Pics on page 4!!

IronBenderII · Apr 26, 2007

Hi guys. Wanted to post a picture of our new 4-link kit that will be available soon. We've got a team of 5 people setup to test including a vert tough tough truck, a trail rig, a street/cross country trailer towing/trail rig w/ a 408 stroker (not mine), a couple rigs down @ Wild Horses and my partner Joe's Bronco.

Install pics coming soon. Not shown are the upper links, upper shock mounts, optional sway bar or optional air bumps.

Jack

Broncrick · Apr 26, 2007

You love getting me to spend my money dont you? ;D

ROKDWLR · Apr 26, 2007

Nice Jack. My recent shackle flip is as yet untested so I'm hoping it will keep me from buying this kit soon. ;D But do you have a ballpark price?

IronBenderII · Apr 26, 2007

Hey Rick, Guiness for life? ha ha.

We don't have a ballpark price yet. We're working on different manufacturing techniques right now. The arms shown have 17 feet of weld per! My left arms is sunburned after all that welding!

Anyway, we're working on pricing, but nothing close to concrete yet.

Jack

Sabas · Apr 26, 2007

Jack
Nice work. I'm sure you'll sell alot. Your quality is top notch.
Sabas

Dusty · Apr 26, 2007

Awesome work Jack. Will the uppers be DOM or will they also be fabricated? Can't wait to see installed pix.

Dusty

okorangebrnco · Apr 26, 2007

Now I am excited! where do I sign?

kntr · Apr 26, 2007

We (SIMPSON and I) are the tuff truck that will be running Jacks 4 link. We will be running King 3way bypass front shocks and Bilstein bumpstops. In the rear will be Jacks 4 link with King coilovers and King bumpstops. It will see a lot of abuse. Here are some BEFORE pics.

This is the type of abuse it will get.

SC74 · Apr 26, 2007

Looks like a great product. What type of price is this kit going to have on it?

It looks like several venders are all starting to make linked suspensions at the same time - Duff, Poly Perf., Ruff Stuff (still not available), Iron Bender. I look forward to hearing the pros and cons to each.

Congrats on the new product. It's a great idea to have a variety of vehicles testing it - I just wish I could be one of them! When do you expect it to be finalized and on the market?

IronBenderII · Apr 26, 2007

Dusty, uppers are 1.5" .25" DOM w/ 3/4-7/8" rod ends (forgot to include those in the pic).

I saw the pics from Kanter/Simpson's race truck like the one above (jumping) and knew those were the guys I wanted to test my stuff!

Glad you guys like it, we've been working on this for a long time and have a ton of work into it. We'll have our testers hit them hard and make sure we have a great product that can take whatever is thrown at it. If Simpson/Kanter can't break it, I think we'll be in good shape.

Jack

Simpson · Apr 26, 2007

jump

That jump has 37 feet of air between ramps and at least 13 feet of drop to the pit. This years doubles will be bigger yet. I'm already getting volunteers lined up to take photos of the suspension in action during a jump ....from underneath. The helmet cam will be running at all races this year (right Kanter) and maybe some suspension cam videos too. stay tuned.....

gddyap · Apr 26, 2007

Did you consider using off-the-shelf steel tubing like rectangular section in your design? That would make it cheaper. Otherwise, check with a sheetmetal shop about having those lowers formed. In general, for things like frames, formed and welded sheetmetal is cheaper than welded steel tubing. Depending on thickness they could even punch the two large slots and holes on the sides. If not, they can laser cut them. Forming from sheet will reduce the 17ft of welding per arm by replacing joints with bends. Craig G or Lars could draw the arm up in SolidWorks or if you want it done in Pro/E I can do it. I also know of a good sheetmetal shop in the SFBayArea. They can even paint in-house, either wet or powder.

904Bronco · Apr 26, 2007

Cool...;D

IronBenderII · Apr 26, 2007

We had the second prototype formed but the material is too thick and it doesn't bend very sharp (I didn't like the way it looked). The production models won't have as much welding on them, I've already adjusted the design.

We already had Lars draw it up in solidworks and put a load on it. He fixed both ends and put a 3k lb. load on the middle of the arm. It only moved .001" if I remember correctly, which is way w/in the memory range of this material. We could have gone lighter but I kept looking at Simpson/Kanters pics and wanted the insurance policy.

We did consider an off-the shelf material for the lowers but dismissed the idea. We wanted something nicer, something stronger.

Jack

Madgyver · Apr 26, 2007

I'm waiting

68ford · Apr 26, 2007

what are the travel numbers? im sure the drive shaft is limiting factor for droop, you guys notch the frame with installation for more compression travel? and what is recomended height so that all the link angles are correct for anti squat, roll axis and lean steer blah blah blah?
looks good, looks like it set up to run coilover and bypass, can you run 3in diameter shocks or is the opening in the trailing arm to narrow?

IronBenderII · Apr 26, 2007

I know man, I've got a couple of shifters to get out and then I need to get my Bronco running for Moab. When I get back I'll get moving on the rest of the prototypes... Madgyver has the trail rig that is testing...

IronBenderII · Apr 26, 2007

Travel, like you said, is limited by the rear driveline. I think out of a high angle driveline you can probably get 18" of travel. Maybe more. Depends on how much lift.

No lift to 5.5" of lift is the market we're looking for. Much more than 5.5" of lift and you'll be out of adjustment and the geometry will start to get ugly. 3.5" of lift will be perfect.

It is setup for a coilover and secondary shock (bypass or not). 3" coilovers are HUGE!! We just got some race series for Chuck's, Dan's and Jerry's race trucks. Basically an EB coil w/ a shock down the middle. Very impressive. There would be frame clearance issues for those for sure (during articulation).

Jack

chris · Apr 27, 2007

I think you need an East Coast tester!;D

Mark · Apr 27, 2007

Simpson said:
That jump has 37 feet of air between ramps and at least 13 feet of drop to the pit. This years doubles will be bigger yet. I'm already getting volunteers lined up to take photos of the suspension in action during a jump ....from underneath. The helmet cam will be running at all races this year (right Kanter) and maybe some suspension cam videos too. stay tuned.....

That's just awesome!
Once proven, I think a 4 link rear kit is in my future.

Coming soon: New IronBender 4-link kit - Installed Pics on page 4!!

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