Oops... I did it again (Broke another CV Shaft)

[RIDE]

Well I do not put in the amount of mileage that sierra is doing.... Mine have held up quite well. I have not had his problems but then I stuck with a 5 link. I did change to a crawler series with johnny joints at each end of all 5 bars though. It does provide more articulation but not quite that of the 4 link. I run the trails, but not as hard. I am slow and meandering. I got one of the first ten sets so I did not get any of the brake shim issues guys got when they made the bearing change. I have had no problems at all.... zero... but I have only about 5500 miles on them because I typically run the bronco only on the weekends when I am hitting the trails. I have had 2 runs where I put over 100 miles on them each way (to and from) on the highway... 75 to 80 mph... solid, no issues. I will keep an eye on my knuckle ball joints since I am putting considerably more leverage and therefore stress on them... Other than that I am really happy....

I have 21 inches of clearance up front and about 19 at the bottom of the rear diff... and I have put trail markings on the skid plates, diff skid and rock sliders... so it is not like I am not using it...

Appreciate the info and find it a good thought exercise. I’d have to think the 74Weld guys have likely done some of that math if for no other reason than as a marketing move to justify the cost to buy em over unending mods to get the equivalent result, but I’ve not explored it. I will admit though, there is something cool about the thought of simply adding 4” clearance to OEM engineering without changing factory ride, drive shaft angles that’s pretty cool. I know it’s been a learning experience for you guys running em, but glad someone is so we can decide if they’re right for us before throwing down that kinda cash.

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[SierraBronco]

True... I will have had mine right at a year here in a few weeks with very little down time. Only down time is when I I ripping the dash off or something like that for some new mod... Stereo is next as soon as Morel can get the parts on shore. I will rip it all apart again for sound deadening and amp connections and placement.... Finally had enough of this B&O so called system. Thought I could live with it but ... No... I am too spoiled. I run full 13.2 electrostatics at home, even my uppers.

Sound deadening is super tempting, but dang the weight adds up quick if you’re thorough enough. Would really like to hide the exhaust note a bit more. Armadillo top helped with wind noise which was the biggest complaint though, so we’re probably good for a minute on sound improvements. Looking forward to hearing yours after you’re done.

 

[SierraBronco]

Appreciate the info and find it a good thought exercise. I’d have to think the 74Weld guys have likely done some of that math if for no other reason than as a marketing move to justify the cost to buy em over unending mods to get the equivalent result, but I’ve not explored it. I will admit though, there is something cool about the thought of simply adding 4” clearance to OEM engineering without changing factory ride, drive shaft angles that’s pretty cool. I know it’s been a learning experience for you guys running em, but glad someone is so we can decide if they’re right for us before throwing down that kinda cash.

Conveniently I just replied to someone else asking about portals. My thoughts-

You’re going to hear all the benefits, so here are other items to consider:

Scrub radius will be drastically increased. The bronco steering rack already struggles, portals make it worse.

Complexity is being added to each wheel. You now have three or four gears that are always spinning anytime you are moving. Each box needs to be serviced every 3000-5000 miles and not all manufacturers have designed this service to be possible with the wheels on. And if a gear breaks on the trail are you going to be able to pull it?

While the increase in clearance is fantastic, your COG is also increased. In our case we’re battling that by running the preload very low, but that makes it very easy to bottom out. Will need custom suspension mods to get the best of both worlds between rocks and high speed.

The claims are made that you simply bolt them on and you’re good to go. While they do bolt on, you will definitely need to adjust your suspension to account for the how the width and unsprung mass affect your suspension. You also have a significant increase in leverage being placed on your suspension mounting points in addition to the extra weight, so it would be wise to strengthen and brace the mounts as well as delete the balljoints holding the knuckle on. Then you run into the problem of whether something like the Foutz LCA is compatible with the portals. Foutz is still waiting to hear back from our portal manufacturer and it has been months.

The gear reduction is awesome, but in 4L you will notice that now the vehicle is trying to push through the brakes. We are now looking into bigger brake options with more pistons if possible to help with this.

The reduction in stress on drivetrain components is blown way out of proportion by the portal manufacturers. Maybe with a 2:1 it makes a big difference but the portals being made for the normal consumer are 1.22:1 or 1.35:1 and plenty of people are still breaking axles.

 

[5GENIDN]

I'M SORRY, WHAT'D YOU SAY? lol

Not looking for loud, just clean reproduction. The motors in the B&Os are really poor. they often get muddled when trying to reproduce multiple frequencies simultaneously, the sign of a weak motor structure. The speakers are so poor that you can not even tell if the DAC is worth a damn.

 

[RIDE]

Conveniently I just replied to someone else asking about portals. My thoughts-

You’re going to hear all the benefits, so here are other items to consider:

Scrub radius will be drastically increased. The bronco steering rack already struggles, portals make it worse.

Complexity is being added to each wheel. You now have three or four gears that are always spinning anytime you are moving. Each box needs to be serviced every 3000-5000 miles and not all manufacturers have designed this service to be possible with the wheels on. And if a gear breaks on the trail are you going to be able to pull it?

While the increase in clearance is fantastic, your COG is also increased. In our case we’re battling that by running the preload very low, but that makes it very easy to bottom out. Will need custom suspension mods to get the best of both worlds between rocks and high speed.

The claims are made that you simply bolt them on and you’re good to go. While they do bolt on, you will definitely need to adjust your suspension to account for the how the width and unsprung mass affect your suspension. You also have a significant increase in leverage being placed on your suspension mounting points in addition to the extra weight, so it would be wise to strengthen and brace the mounts as well as delete the balljoints holding the knuckle on. Then you run into the problem of whether something like the Foutz LCA is compatible with the portals. Foutz is still waiting to hear back from our portal manufacturer and it has been months.

The gear reduction is awesome, but in 4L you will notice that now the vehicle is trying to push through the brakes. We are now looking into bigger brake options with more pistons if possible to help with this.

The reduction in stress on drivetrain components is blown way out of proportion by the portal manufacturers. Maybe with a 2:1 it makes a big difference but the portals being made for the normal consumer are 1.22:1 or 1.35:1 and plenty of people are still breaking axles.

See. This is why I’m good (at least least for now) to live vicariously through you guys. . That, and being totally honest, my deep-dive research into them came to a screeching halt on page 1 once I noticed the price tag. Haha.

 

[userdude]

Not looking for loud, just clean reproduction. The motors in the B&Os are really poor. they often get muddled when trying to reproduce multiple frequencies simultaneously, the sign of a weak motor structure. The speakers are so poor that you can not even tell if the DAC is worth a damn.

Maybe better... lol (Not quite deaf yet.)

 

[SierraBronco]

Not looking for loud, just clean reproduction. The motors in the B&Os are really poor. they often get muddled when trying to reproduce multiple frequencies simultaneously, the sign of a weak motor structure. The speakers are so poor that you can not even tell if the DAC is worth a damn.

I remember getting my first Raptor in 2018. All excited thinking the B&O was going to be awesome. Turned it up and…garbage. Even the 2022 rappy still can’t compete with 2015 Ram factory sound. Piece of shits DACs on Ford indeed.

 

[5GENIDN]

Sound deadening is super tempting, but dang the weight adds up quick if you’re thorough enough. Would really like to hide the exhaust note a bit more. Armadillo top helped with wind noise which was the biggest complaint though, so we’re probably good for a minute on sound improvements. Looking forward to hearing yours after you’re done.

It should be pretty damn good. The Morels are really impressive. I understand exactly why they are using a double magnet but not sure why they are combining a ferric magnet stacked on a Neodymium. Morel is telling me that the combination actually works better than neodymium only but the person I was talking with was not really able to explain why in a way that made sense to me. But the case is they are using an under hung coil so that the electric signal is always inside the magnetic field. Should make for and exception response rate. And all the other Morels I have had over the years have been top notch.... I am mating these to the M0bridge amp and DSP... Been a little hesitant to go to a digital amp since I have always run analog but talked with Frazier at M0bridge and very impressed with what he was able to share.

 

[userdude]

This poor thread.

 

[5GENIDN]

This poor thread.

I am sorry, It is often me.... My brain just goes on tangents and I forget what room I am in...

 

[RIDE]

I am sorry, It is often me.... My brain just goes on tangents and I forget what room I am in...

I’ll take some ownership here also. Sorry OP as I know you were trying to steer discussion back away from Portals. In my defense, I went in with good intentions though…. right along with all the other things I’ve used to pave my road to hell…

 

[Snacktime]

I would rather have a bracket lift than portals. Similar gains in departure angles and slider clearance. You get a lot of bang for your buck.

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