H3 SAS down under....

[4speedfunk]

After several months of chatting back & forth, and shipping a Dana 44 halfway around the planet...

I finally got a first look at the Australian SAS build currently underway. The axle is a Dana 44 with THORparts hubs & caliper mounts, an ARB air-locker, and 5.13 gearing. The axle was ordered with RH drive and no suspension bracketry. Instead of the typical THORparts 3-link, this H3 uses a radius arm setup with coil-overs. Apparently Australia has some pretty stringent restrictions on ride-height, wheel protrusion, and safety. A build like this must be road-tested and signed-off on by a government official before it can be licensed. Dash lights and tampering with electronics are watched very closely. The suspension must be a "manufactured" piece, and these radius arms meet that requirement (unlike a custom 3-link).







I'll post up more info as it becomes available.

 

[4speedfunk]

More pics (notice the RH drive steering box)....

 

[woodwardsh3]

Very cool!!!

 

[06 H3]

Wow! That's the lowest SAS I've seen! I notice the tie Rod under the knuckle and the drag link under the steering arm

 

[4speedfunk]

Yeah. He's got a good inch of uptravel. -lol
Say what you will but that's about the same as a stock one!


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[justin94tt]

If I ever went SAS, I would prefer to keep the at about 23.5. Don't really like the fact that his up travel is limited that much though.

 

[4speedfunk]

I agree justin94tt. I have been tweaking and tuning my SAS for several years, and what I have found is that the tires dictate the ride height...not the suspension. But 23.5" will never happen with a SAS (not without notching the frame rails). I run mine at 27" and that allows 37" tires to turn lock-to-lock with no rubbing (no body lift). I could maybe drop down to 26" if ran 35" tires.

Although I use 10" travel shocks, I think the real usable travel is in the 8"-9" range. Even at that...the uptravel is only 1.5" to the bump...then another 2" or so of squish before the axle is firmly halted. So, I conservatively call it 3" up and 5" down. I prefer stiff coil springs and stiff, slow-reacting shocks. This makes it handle flat, and ride nice at speed (where I do most of my driving). Even though the shocks are stiff...at slow speeds they will still allow full droop. I have the shocks sitting around the 30/70 range at rest. That is...only 30 percent of the shaft is showing, and another 70 percent is still up in the shock tube. The result is that I operate almost entirely on a small 2" section of the shocks (and suspension). Then when I go off road...the suspension will really droop and the shocks will extend fully and yield the travel that is truly startling for such well-mannered truck. This is not apparent when I'm at the mall. But it is astounding how much "reserve" suspension gets turned loose when I creep it over obstacles.

Gimmie about two hours and I can swap out the coil springs and lower the shock towers to convert it to "Squeaky mode". Set up like this, it will flex to hell and back. It will also want to flip over in the corners, and its very spooky driving at highway speeds. Everything is a trade-off...shock-valving and spring rates are key to getting the truck to behave the way you want it to. The suspension itself is a no-brainer. It has gobs of capacity to do whatever you want.

 

[06 H3]

Shock tuning shock tuning shock tuning!!! My last revalve had made a NIGHT AND DAY DIFFERENCE. much more controlled rides great on the freeway and high speed and still flexes like mad.

 

[4speedfunk]

More pics...waiting for bump stops and p.s. hoses...

It appears the new Dana is sitting approx. 1.5" forward of stock. Tires are 35" and as you see from the last photo...there is ample room to stuff them. This probably the lowest riding SAS H3 around, and I am curious to see the final bump/coilover setup. No sway bar yet...not sure if that will be in the mix.

 

[GreatDaneHummer]

Great looking coil over setup!

 

[06 H3]

Love it!! Everything is on the lowest setting allowing it to be low. What's he doing for the rear? lol

 

[autumn walker]

Looks great, very clean!

 

[justin94tt]

Excuse my ignorance, I'm not knowledgeable about these setups at all. So what makes this able to stay so low? The shock tower looks like it allows the shock and spring to be mounted higher, is that the difference?

 

[4speedfunk]

I think he will end up with very stiff coils to control the up-travel. He will only have an inch or two before the axle tubes hit the frame rails. That's the real determining factor when setting-up the suspension this low. He is using hydraulic bump stops, so will give him quite a bit of tune-ability. Because he shifted the axle forward and he's only running 35"s...tire rub is not a factor.

For comparison, here's a shot of my SASH3 at the Indy Jamboree a couple years ago. I'm rolling at 27" ride height with 37" tires. I have a 1.5" block between the bottom of the frame rails and the urethane bumps. Then I probably got an inch of clearance to the bumps, and another two inches of compression at the bump. So I basically lowered the entire bump system so the truck can run 37"s without rubbing. Its stock wheelbase....

 

[4speedfunk]

Latest photos from down under. Is there a welder in the house? (hell yes).....









The fabricator is currently having Passlock issues (key stuck in the ignition), due to a dead battery. Rear suspension is a SOA and he is lengthening the rear driveshaft. The Tatton front shaft also needed lengthened due to the stretched wheelbase (front axle moved forward 2"). Coil-over spring rates are 350/250. They are 2.5" tubes with reservoirs...not sure on the length (probably 10"). 2" Hydro bumps (sweet). At this height, he says it has 2" of free travel to the bumps, and another 2" of bump compression.

He seems to think a Toyota FJ-80 front sway bar will fit and he will be adding that. I may look into a LH-drive FJ-80 bar for my H3, as the sway bar has been the one thing I cannot seem to figure out on my rig.

P.S. Notice the tubular crossmember under the oil pan? Niceeeeeee!

 

[06 H3]

Good lord!!!!! Amazing!!!

 

[justin94tt]

That's the lowest SOA i have seen in the rear.

 

[4speedfunk]

Yeah...beautiful work here. I am in constant talks with the fabricator and the owner (both heavily involved in the build). Really great guys...competent and experienced. Got some more info:
The steering box is off a Toyota FJ80, and it is commonly available in the LH drive (US model) version. So that's good to know in case any of us wants to try the SAS with a stretched wheelbase. This box has a forward swinging pitman arm which frees up more room to scoot the axle forward (compared the Nissan Xterra box I've been using). Additionally the Fab guy turned me on to the FJ80 front sway bar...which looks like it has a good chance of fitting the SAS H3. I'm currently looking deeper into that, for my own rig.
Lastly, THERE IS NO SOA ON THIS BUILD...he said once he got the front done and back on the ground...it wasn't needed. So a stock-ish appearing SAS H3 is possible, and it looks very nice.

 

[06 H3]

Amazing!!!!

 

[4speedfunk]

Latest update from down under...

The radius arm SAS rig is up and running. Owner and builder are pretty happy with the results. Although not as flexy as a 3-link, it gets the job done. Shock & spring valving is good enough that they have decided to run without a front sway bar. The truck handles, and brakes very well but, still has enough travel to tackle most off-road obstacles they would encounter. Best of all...the front axle won't snap if you look at it wrong, and it now has gearing to work with larger tires. The 2" stretch on the front axle allows it to sit this low. This is possible in large part to using a Toyota steering box with a forward facing pitman arm. These pics are with 35" tires, and 37" are coming in the near future. The larger tires will probably require a height adjustment, so the SOA might be needed, along with a front coil-over adjustment. Here are some poser shots...





As predicted, this rig is all droop, and no up-travel. It has 5.13s, a 4:1 low, and retains all the factory traction aids. This "creeper package" more than makes up for the limited flex. Although these pics might seem extreme to the typical Hummer guy, this is a very mild build in the Jeep world. I have no idea what the KING reservoir is that is hanging down on the tie-rod in the last photo.

The truck is currently coming back apart for a V8 swap. The owner ran a turbo on the 5-cyl. for awhile but, it smoked the #5 piston. Given the rarity and cost of rebuilding a 5-cylinder in Australia, the V8 upgrade was a no brainer. His swap will be different from state-side swaps because the 5.3 LS is a rare critter down under. So he will be swapping in an LS2 6.0L from a Holden (GM truck). Tranny has been rebuilt with the V8 input shaft and Corvette servos. He plans to run a manual torque converter lock-up (on a switch), along with an aftermarket converter. Stay tuned for more on this build.

 

[whiteie3]

I just gonna ask what's the info on the roof rack

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[Hunner]

Thought this was an interesting comparison, to almost stock from about the same angle.

I have my 35's on with my mild suspension mods going up a similar concrete barrier wall. This was a far as I could go with the tires stuffed in the front and the rear on the other side stuffed max. lol

 

[4speedfunk]

35"s really fit the H3 well. Any more tire than that, and you have to start lifting (or cutting)...and that's when things get compromised. The really nice thing about a low-sitting SAS is that it looks and feels much like a stock H3...except you don't have to baby the throttle when off-roading. I deal with H3 SAS conversions every day, and I wish more people went in this milder direction. My next one will be sitting this low. Stiff springs & small tires...minimal flex.

 

[4speedfunk]

Got an update from the Aussie build. The turbocharged 5-cylinder didn't pan out. I guess it immediately scattered the bottom end. So the owner went for a V8 swap (which is a huge deal in Australia). The suspension works great and he seems to be very satisfied with that portion of the project. Obviously due to the motor issues, he has minimal miles on it. Here's a pic of the swap progress...

 

[4speedfunk]

Weird seeing the master cylinder and the PCM/TCM on opposite sides of the engine bay!