Atomic Axles

[Fordguy77]

Seem pretty cool. Would be bad ass under that buggy i wanna build. But need to find out more about them. And they have a really expensive price tag.
Atomic Axles (http://www.atomicaxles.com/index.php)

[Haku]

Those are neat and innovative, but I think there are better options for a high clearance axles for that much money. They are essentially a Dana 60 center section with a double u-joint to get drive to the wheels and a bunch of plating to support it. They look cool, but seem unnecessarily complicated and heavy. They are made by Overkill Engineering, which I think fits rather well for these.

My money would go to Portal-Tek though. You get just as much clearance in the center, but it extends all the way out to the ends of the axle, plus I trust gears to hold up over a bunch of unjoints. Check it out....

http://www.portal-tek.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=146_6&products_id=316

http://www.portal-tek.com/cpg1418/albums/userpics/10001/shop_pics_035small.jpg

Pretty crazy on the cost of those though. With either of those, you could buy my rig twice for the same price as a single axle. Because of that, I'd go for a Ford 9" axle with Dana 60 outers, which you could do for around $1000 an axle give or take a couple hundred. Sure, you would have uber clearance, but then how many competition rock rigs do you see with portal axles? They definitely get brownie points for the effort though.

JH

[Brody]

What Josh said...

One of the things that you need to ask is "When have I ever seen a rig anywhere...magazine, video, competition, trail...that was running Overkill Engineering axles?" Great design, but the kind of stuff that no one I know of has the money for...and I have never seen their stuff on anything other than their website. I read CRAWL, ORE, DIRT SPORTS, basically every magazine that has to do with hard core wheeling and have for years. Overkill axles have never been reviewed by anyone that I know of....and they have been around for quite a few years...like between 5 and 10 years...

[Fordguy77]

I was looking into portals last night. and that is good to know that there hasn't been much markteting done in them. just saw them in 4wheel and off-road and looked cool

[Haku]

They do tend to be the kind of axle that is cool to see in a Magazine, but not really worth it to do in real life. The Portal-Tek guys do make a badass axle though. The Super 14 thats on the website sounds like it might be the new industry standard, taking over from the Currie and Spidertrax Ford 9" axles. For what its worth, the Spider 9 was under like 8 out of the top 10 rigs on the W.E. Rock series last season. They are a badass axle. Fully fabricated, and if you use their steering knuckles, you get 60 degrees of steering. It'll cost ya though, and its another company where you can spend $10k on a single axle.

Bang for the buck, I think Ruffstuff Specialties has by far the best deal going right now. You can get a fully welded, trussed, axle that has the link mounts and steering C's on it already for $1200. They look to be a great option for guys looking at the Diamond Axles or similar, and isn't looking to compete heavily in their buggy, but just wants to go have fun on some hardcore trails. They will sell you just the housing with no trusses and steering stuff for like $480, which is nearly $200 less then the competitors I think. Check em out.

http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/images/complete%20housing%20rearview.jpg http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/normal_complete%20housing%20w%20brackets%201.jpg http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/normal_9%20inch%20f2.jpg

www.ruffstuffspecialties.com (http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com)

JH

[Fordguy77]

Thanks josh for all the info. pretty much every link you have sent me so far is now book marked in my buggy and other misc folders!!

[Haku]

hahaa.......can you tell I'm pretty into this and spend a lot of time looking?

One more place that is badass and will teach you a ton about fabrication techniques and equipment, is http://www.offroadfabnet.com/forums/ . Most of the guys on there are master fabricator types, plus a few mid level and amatuers. They make me feel like I'm in playschool again, but if you need to know something about welding, machining, or any other kind of fabrication, then they have the answers. They are also much more mellow then Pirate tends to be too, so thats nice.

JH

[Fordguy77]

hahaa.......can you tell I'm pretty into this and spend a lot of time looking?
Haha just a little bit. But hey just think of how much time you are saving me. I feel like i am back in preschool everyday at work almost. For some reason the trade i am in there is this large age void. Most the guys i work with are either 30-42 or 58-63. That last age group is so smart and great at fabricating it makes me few like i should go sit in the corner for being a dunce. I am glad to here its a little more mellow over there, makes thins easier to fallow hopefully.

[Jamie]

What Josh said...

One of the things that you need to ask is "When have I ever seen a rig anywhere...magazine, video, competition, trail...that was running Overkill Engineering axles?" Great design, but the kind of stuff that no one I know of has the money for...and I have never seen their stuff on anything other than their website. I read CRAWL, ORE, DIRT SPORTS, basically every magazine that has to do with hard core wheeling and have for years. Overkill axles have never been reviewed by anyone that I know of....and they have been around for quite a few years...like between 5 and 10 years...

I agree with Brody. I have never actually seen one of these axles on a rig. don't get me wrong I want them, or Portals.

I would love to put my YJ on set of Unimog portals but I cannot find them for sale any where.???

Anyone know of a place I can purchase a set of Portals for a reasonable price? Ie.... 1000.00 per axle? I assume for that price that they need to be refurbished.
The other option is a 14 bolt front and rear but then you spend a ton shortening them and then there's the custom length axle shafts.

Or you just go with full width axles but dam them you're just begging for tickets from the poo poo.

[Haku]

I haven't seen any portal axles recently, but when you do, they tend to be in the $2-3k range, especially for a steering axle. I'd check the unimog parts sites if you truly want a set. Those are very desirable, and have their issues. Damn cool once you figure it all out though.

As for 1 ton axles, as far as I know, the 14 bolt is a rear only axle. Of all the 1 ton builds, I've never seen a 14 bolt in the front, but could be wrong though. The Dana 60 front with 14 rear is a very popular combo though. As for legality, I think that differs from state to state. Not sure how hard core they are about it in Colorado. I know in a lot of states they make you at least have mud flaps that cover the full width of the truck, but I have yet to see anyone that has done that here. I think it would ruin a lot of the point of having 1 ton axles narrowing them. The main reason I want to go with them is so that I can have that wider stance without having to destroy my scrub radius (further away the tire center is from the steering axis center the more the scrub radius). A high Scrub Radius is what causes the rig to move back and forth when you turn the wheel, since the wheel sticks out so much. Its also increase steering resistance when you are trying to turn into an obstacle. Having the wheel straight over the steering knuckle reduces that a bunch. Having that wide 1 ton under it really helps to still have that wide stance, but keep the scrub radius down. Having the beefy axles makes big tires a possibility too, which is nice. For Toyota's, and probably Jeeps too, having that wide stance also allows you to lower the vehicle down a bit since you don't have to fit the tires under the vehicle. I've seen plenty of vehicles that are like this that drive on the roads, and haven't seen any actually get pulled over. Might get a ticket for it if you get pulled over for something else, but I haven't talked to anyone who has actually been pulled over for having tires too far from the sides of the body or anything. Ok, I'm rambling and probably saying things everyone knows already, or has figured out, so I'll leave it there.

JH

[Brody]

Here is a link to one of the number of places that sell Unimog portal axles:

http://www.coldwarremarketing.com/

This site is kinda fun because of all the other stuff that the sell....Makes you wonder what goes out the back door, doesn't it?