ob1kobi

I'll be replacing the suspension in the rear of my 2 wheel drive truck soon. I have a guy that does custom fabrication and we are thinking of doing a 3 link setup instead of a 4 link. Just curious if anybody had any input for advantages / disadvantages of one vs the other.


Thanks, Ted

joefarmer

If you're racing in a DHRA sanctioned race, you may want to contact their technical director. The rules are hard to make out, but I don't believe 4-links or 3-links are allowed.

From what I understand, the 4-link suspensions are built more for drag strip launches and 3-links are better suited off road where they allow more articulation. Hopefully more members out there can give a better explaination.

brandon.

ob1kobi

Brandon,

4 links are allowed on 2 wd trucks. At least they were last racing season. Need to check on the 3 links though.

Thanks for the reply,
Ted

DRM

Not really - either can (and are) built for lots of off road travel, and/or little travel and hard launches.

It's all in the geometry and the link lengths - however you wanna build either one you can build it.


My off road 4Runner has a 3 link rear and has lots of wheel travel AND plants amazingly well.

CTD NUT

I run a 3 link front and a 4 link rear in my Jeep and after many different experimentations in link geometry over the years on different crawlers, I am happiest with the setup I have now........For drag racing, I would definately go with the 4 link over a 3 link, especially on a 2x4 CTD drag truck.........The level of adjustability for pinion angle, instant center and link angle in relation to chassis center-of-gravity just doesn't compare.........One of the problems I have noticed on very high torque drag vehicles is that the 3 links when the instant center is setup to lift the front as much as possible to load the rear axle, tend to slam the rear axle down too hard and then the tires bounce off the pavement too hard, losing traction on the bounce.......pull the center back and there is not enough traction.......this only seems to happen in very high torque applications.........The 4 link allows for a higher degree of tuning........you can go from squatting the rear to sending it to the moon and all the while maintaining perfect center of gravity and pinion angle........you cannot do this with a 3 link.........lighter high hp cars can get away with a 3 link but even then, if class rules allow, they go 4 link too, for the adjustability.

ob1kobi

Thanks for the info guys.

Ted

joefarmer

I'm happily corrected on the 3-link vs 4-link issue. I must have been reading the 4x4 rules when I was thinking of that. Speaking of rules... do you know if the rules allow for a something like a 35 spline Moser 9" with 4-link for a 2wd truck? I've been meaning to get over to the www.dhraonline.com forums, but figured I'd ask here first.

brandon.

BigBadDodge

I threw my own 4 link together, built it for sled pulling, pics on my site (link in sig)

BBD

ob1kobi

BBD,

I had followed your build on one of the other sites but this was the first I have been to your site. Not a bad site either. Where did you get the upgraded drive shaft?

Thanks,
Ted

halerazor

BBC(SCOTT) i never knew you were a member of this site, your the reason i got my sweet toothe grille inserts . hopefully one of these days i'll be leaving you in a cloud of smoke

BigBadDodge

Hi Ted: I had the main portion of the rear upgraded while I was out East for TIM back in 2003 at a place called Greensburg Machine, if you call them they can give you the needed part numbers for the 1480 series u joints and yokes. GREENSBURG I then added the front flanged joint this past summer when I put in the 271 T-Case, the front has been upgraded to the 1410's as well.

halerazor: that must have been a long time ago, perhaps when I was stationed in Boston. Yeah I joined here a while back but haven't been to active just to busy with work, the truck, and other sites.

Regards,

BBD

ob1kobi

Thanks for the info Scott, I will look them up when I am ready to beef the 70 up.

Does anybody make the axel plates for the 70 axel's? The rest isn't to hard to make, but the plates look like that might take some time, time that we don't have. Just wondering if there is any place that I could just buy them

Thanks,
Ted