Is this a bad design idea? or will it work fine....

I would say that cantilever idea will work better in your situation using hydros, which what you're doing right?, than it will with airbags.

Originally posted by DroptSdime



I would say that cantilever idea will work better in your situation using hydros, which what you're doing right?, than it will with airbags.

yes the lift will be adjusted by the hydros, only the spring rate will be controlled by the airbags.

im not downing any work on jeffs zuzu either i am just curious how it can function smoothly i would like to see it live aired up then deflated

Originally posted by gravity5



That will not work....the center bar will move and could possibly hit the airbag....and I do believe taht the suspension pictured now has a solid center pivot, I believe I read that on another thread on here.

In that pic it looks like it moves but it should work the 4 link will hold that bar from going any farther back than it allready has. so it should never hit unless something were to bend or break

Definitely works. A link set up such as a triangulatged 4 link or parallel bars with pan hard will keep the axle stable in all aspects and the fact that the tube is not fixed makes the cantilever move without breaking. you will see this in many 6 link set ups and other TRUE CANTILEVER (not mechanical advantage) set ups

what binding issues are you encountering? i would personally make the mount solid to the frame and use a heim or bushing on the end of the cylinder so that it can pivot.

i can see binding if you solid mount the cylinder to the frame and solid mount the bar, b/c the cylinder cannot deflect like a bag can.

hope you can make something of that jumbled mess i called thoughts...haha

i retract my previous statement. looks like it wold work....

The way I see it....On most canti. designs the the middle pivot point is solidly mounted and the axle mount uses a "dogbone" to allow for the arc of the axle travel. Either the middle pivot or the axle pivot has to have a "dogbone"(pivot on both sides) or the whole thing will bind up. Draw out the travel (arc) of the axle and include it into your drawing at the top. You will see what I'm talking about. There has to be some relief somewhere.

What needs to happen is the cantilever arm needs to be controled by something. Typically the center mount would be stationary. That would necessitate the use of a "floating" link bar (ie. a bar with heims on each end) to connect to the rear end housing. If you attach the end of the cantilever to the rear end with a stationary mount, the center mount would need to be allowed to float. Calculating out a system that follows the rearend arc while trying to keep everything in check can get interesting. Cut up some cardboard and make some "paper dolls" to see what kind of issues you might run into. The time spent will save you hours in the long run.

ha i was waiting for max to post


pretty much ^ what he said