Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim Skelton
My only concern is whether the crossmember needs to be reinforced. |
i actually initally thought really hard about doin just that, i decided that by spreading the load out accross the rear-lower bend, it "should" hold up. the top link translates a huge load, pulling on launches, pushing during braking. but a lot of extremly well engineered 3 links use noting more than 1x2x.120, or 1.75x.120 for mounting the front of the link...so the 3/16 plate spreading the load across the factory crossmember should be "ok"... its one of the areas that will be checked regularly for signs of weakness..... if it breaks/bends/tweaks... it will be re done "overkill"
notice the factory sway bar has also been relocated to the bottom of the housing, #1 for watts link clearance, #2 the endlinks were all outa wack with it dropped.
i firmly believe that removing the stamped rear "x-frame" and replacing with tube crossmembers is actually more rigid....plus as stated, with plans for a fuel cell, it had to go anyway.
as for making this into a kit, i need to see what kind of deal my waterjet guy can make. i can make some design changes and build in some adjustability....so it will be tunable to every truck. i will check into it, but dont expect it to be economical.... and a "production" unit would not have a watts link. even though its a better way to go, its really complicated to produce.... standard panhard bar would work just fine for 90% of the people out there.