IFS Stir Up.

your not saying the hummer is a good 4by are you lol

Jeff,
I think Hummer also has rear independant suspension. However, they still lift wheels off the ground earlier than rigid axled vehicles.
I agree they are very capable off road trucks; probably better than the ususal jap stuff most of us drive.
Cheers mate

Hi Jeff,

You have hit the nail on the head when saying "...the correct design of an IFS system...". IFS in itself is not a problem, its the final design on the individual vehicle. The Hummer has nearly 1m wishbones that mean the CV joint angle change is minimal, even with large wheel travel.

IMHO an IFS system has the potential to be a far better system than a live axle. But by the time it ends up on the average mass produced vehicle, it has been compromised to such a degree that typically the old live axle works better off-road in extreme conditions.

Cheers

Captain

Jeff Did you give him back his toy or are You still playing with it ?LOL

Hi Jeff M & all

Look closely at 2 legendary trucks: Unimog & Hummer. They both have reduction gearbox in the hub hence an offset input drive shaft setup. This enable much better diff ground clearance. On the Unimog, live axle setup whereas the Hummer is IFS but still CV is well up away from harm's way.
Toyo's IFS all have the CV at wheel centre height, which is totally exposed to the element. Hence OK for tip toeing through the country but not ideal for serious bush bashing...No comparison really...

No IFS for me thank you. :)

The hummer has indipendant suspention all round . Also you will notice that the axle runs into the top part of the drum with internal gears in each wheel . Also it is desighned so every corner on the vehicle is interchangable EG. left to right / front to back. This was done so spares can be sorced off wrecks in the field . The also run secondry assisted brakes which stop working if you blow a powersteering hose ... So much for Yanki technologi

Its how the driver drives the vehicle not how the vehicle drives the driver.

The Humvee/Hummer has independant suspension on all four corners.
Yes the A arms are interchangeable to the diagonally opposite corner (LF to RR and RF to LR). The A arms are also quite long, shocks are inside the coils and there are no bump stops. The halfshafts enter the top of the drop hub so raising the protection level as the CV boots are well up out of the way.
Brakes are inboard on the diff output flanges and they are hydro boosted by the power steering circuit. They do still work without assistance just the same as a normal vacuum boost, you just have to push harder.
As the brakes are before the drop hubs they are effectively twice the diameter due to the 1.92:1 ratio change in the hubs, they can also get very hot so run silicone fluid in the hydraulics.
It does occasionally lift a wheel off road but this is as much a factor of the long 130" wheelbase and wide track as it is the independant suspension. It has little effect on forward progress though due to Ziekel-Torsen centres in both diffs.
FWIW the registered (weighbridge for rego) weight of my Humvee is 2.7t, with 1/2 tank of fuel, all fluids etc, probably less than a lot of fully kitted Tojo's and Patrols. It is also one of the heaviest military variants with armour and a turret (which is still fitted). The main body is aluminium with the doors and bonnet made of kevlar reinforced composite.
Peter