This has been bugging me for sometime

"zeontestpilot" (zeontestpilot) 09/02/2016 at 08:09 • Filed to: Question

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It seems like a lot of trucks have lift kits for ‘off-roading’. But I can’t help but wonder; wouldn’t a portal axle be a smarter choice? You’d have more ground clearance since the differential and axle would be higher. Or are portal axles the norm already, and bros just add a lift kit to look cool.

There’s also the possibility that adding a lift kit is cheaper overall then adding portal axles. Or perhaps adding more moving parts to the axle decreases it’s reliably overall? I have no idea. I just keep seeing lifted trucks, and keep thinking that portal axles would be a smarter and cleaner look than dropping the axle so far down that I could easily climb over it like a jungle gym.

Semi-related, could someone put portal axles on a car to give it a higher ground clearance? Or is there something I’m missing here in this logic?

Lastly, now you’re thinking with portals.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > zeontestpilot 09/02/2016 at 08:13

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It’s not a cost effective option, and it also adds weight and things to go wrong

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > zeontestpilot 09/02/2016 at 08:15

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At least down by me, most all bros do it for the looks. They are all pavement princesses so actually being capable isn’t necessary. In fact, quite a few of the trucks at my school’s parking lot were 2WD!

zeontestpilot > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 09/02/2016 at 08:15

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It's that heavy?

Alfalfa > zeontestpilot 09/02/2016 at 08:15

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From a funcionality standpoint (with which we’ve already lost the brodozers), a lift gives you more room for bigger wheels/tires, which in turn gives you more axle clearance.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 09/02/2016 at 08:16

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It’s also not always the kind of ground clearance you need. I see portal axles being useful for rock climbing, but I’m not sure they’ll be any more functional than a normal lift for things like mudding.

The Stig's former college room mate > zeontestpilot 09/02/2016 at 08:19

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Portal axles are cost-prohibitive, complicated, and require extensive fabrication to install. Lift kits are, for the most part, simple bolt-on installations.

zeontestpilot > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 09/02/2016 at 08:19

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You should ask them if they ever take it off-road, and when they inevitably respond with “no”, look them in the eye and ask ‘why?’. They might give some excuse like getting the car dirty, etc. then tell them “well that’s dumb. You spent all that money fior no reason? That’s pretty silly. I mean, if you’re trying to look cool, it’s not working out.” Then as you turn around and leave, say “just take it off roading ”.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > zeontestpilot 09/02/2016 at 08:20

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#1, it’s cheaper. #2, more stuff to go wrong. #3, you’d still have to lift to allow room for articulation now that the axle has been moved closer to the body.

zeontestpilot > Alfalfa 09/02/2016 at 08:20

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Yeah, but The center of gravy goes up too, doesn't it? So it's a pro versus con type of thing here.

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > zeontestpilot 09/02/2016 at 08:21

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Portal axles are prohibitively expensive. There is a company that makes blot on portal hubs for a few popular 4x4's however it’s $5000 per hub so $20000 for the set, not many people have that kind of scratch.

The other issue with Portals is that the differentials normally have very high ratios (as in around 7.56 when compared to my Land Rover’s 3.57) that would limit you to about 45 mph so most guys who do fit portals, trailer their rigs around.

Portals are an awesome idea in theory, but in practice they aren’t as versatile if you still want to be able to use your truck on a daily basis.

When it comes to lifting your truck what you’re trying to achieve is being able to fit larger tires to the vehicle which will raise your clearance. You just have to be smart about it because raising your clearance has the trade off of raising your center of gravity which in turn makes it easier to roll your vehicle. Guys with extreme lifts are just doing it for show, IMHO 2-3 inch lifts are the best route with 4-5 inch lifts you’re approaching the limit of the usefulness of your truck off road.

zeontestpilot > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 09/02/2016 at 08:24

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That's a very good point.

zeontestpilot > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. 09/02/2016 at 08:25

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I suppose that's why some tractors have portals then, they aren't meant for speed.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > zeontestpilot 09/02/2016 at 08:26

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Con vs con. Think about the articulation you lose with the portals and how much lift you need to get it back. Things like Unimogs aren’t low vehicles...

McMike > zeontestpilot 09/02/2016 at 08:26

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I got yer portal axles right here.

/not really

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > zeontestpilot 09/02/2016 at 08:31

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You have clearly never been to Florida. That’s likely to get you shot and they’ll get off because they’re standing their ground.

DipodomysDeserti > zeontestpilot 09/02/2016 at 08:34

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Portal axles are very expensive and have many more points of failure on account of each hub having a differential in it. They’re also a lot heavier. The only “normal” truck I can think of that comes with portal axles is the G500 4x4 2, which costs close to $300k.

DipodomysDeserti > zeontestpilot 09/02/2016 at 08:35

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Yes. Each hub has a differential in it.

zeontestpilot > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 09/02/2016 at 08:42

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I lived there for 5 years in the Fort Myers area; the northern Florida. But the people there have a bigger bark then their bite. They mostly complain about stupid things, love the confederate flag, etc.

It’s usually the radical southern folk you have to worry about, which I happen to know a few. I don't really fear them.

zeontestpilot > DipodomysDeserti 09/02/2016 at 08:44

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I remember on Dirt Every Day, they talked about the portal axles putting more power to the wheels than the engine was outputting. So that makes sense.

zeontestpilot > McMike 09/02/2016 at 08:46

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DO A BURNOUT!!!!!

OPPOsaurus WRX > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 09/02/2016 at 08:46

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i’;ll star that for the term pavement princess. I’ll have to start using that now.

Sup brah, nice pavement princess brah

McMike > zeontestpilot 09/02/2016 at 08:47

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Portal axles are less efficient than normal axles. There’s a little more drive train loss because of the geared hubs.

They are also more expensive than a simple lift kit, which is all you really need to cruise to the gym and back.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > zeontestpilot 09/02/2016 at 08:50

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I grew up in Fort Myers and have the opposite view and the crime statistics would agree. It’s sketchy as shit.

zeontestpilot > The Stig's former college room mate 09/02/2016 at 08:55

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That was another thing I thought of. You’d just need new leaf springs (?) and that piston looking spring ( no idea what they are called) for a lift kit, right?

zeontestpilot > McMike 09/02/2016 at 08:58

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Brb, getting lift kit for my Grand Prix so I can finally head to gym.

McMike > zeontestpilot 09/02/2016 at 09:03

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BRO

zeontestpilot > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 09/02/2016 at 09:04

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Really? Huh. I was by the now FL SouthWestern State College. I think it was Edison State College before?

TheRealBicycleBuck > zeontestpilot 09/02/2016 at 09:04

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In Louisiana, a high CG and poor articulation are less of a concern. The lifted trucks here are made to go through deep mud and water.

http://www.fourwheeler.com/events/1409-20…

and 100 more > zeontestpilot 09/02/2016 at 09:11

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The diagram above is misleading.

The axle line will remain the same height relative to the body of the vehicle, but the wheel center will, in effect, be moved down in relation, since the wheels are no longer aligned with the axles.

So it’s basically a method of lifting the vehicle without touching the suspension - it all remains at stock geometry.

Either way, your CoG is still raised. In this case, even moreso, because you’re lifting those heavy axles up higher too.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > zeontestpilot 09/02/2016 at 09:16

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Yep and before that Edison Community College. I grew up pretty much on the other side of the bridge in Cape Coral. They do a half-decent job of hiding it, but get off of the main roads other than McGregor about a mile north of that and you’re in surprisingly sketchy hood. The murder and violent crime rate for the area is like four times the national average. It was always bad, but it seems to have really hit the fan when the oxycontin craze went into full swing and a bunch of states instituted statewide databases for narcotic prescriptions. All of the people who were doctor shopping elsewhere came down at that point and by 2009 literally half of all of the narcotics being prescribed in the country were being prescribed in Florida. Add to that that Florida was kind of ground zero for the recession and you’ve got yourself a crime riddled disaster being masked by sunset photos.

Mattbob > zeontestpilot 09/02/2016 at 09:16

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a lot of times the lift is for extra articulation, not ground clearance. Also, the reasons everyone else is saying. Dat flex bro.

fhrblig > zeontestpilot 09/02/2016 at 09:17

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Center of gravy?

zeontestpilot > McMike 09/02/2016 at 09:18

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I’ve debated about putting a lightbar on top of mine like that, but better looking.

zeontestpilot > and 100 more 09/02/2016 at 09:20

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Ha, well I kidnapped the image from Wikipedia.

zeontestpilot > TheRealBicycleBuck 09/02/2016 at 09:22

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But that's functional, so I do have respect for that.

and 100 more > zeontestpilot 09/02/2016 at 09:23

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Oh, I didn’t think it was yours. I was just more concerned that it was misleading.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > zeontestpilot 09/02/2016 at 09:31

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It can be very heavy.

jimz > DipodomysDeserti 09/02/2016 at 09:36

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that’s not a differential, it’s just a reduction gearset.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > zeontestpilot 09/02/2016 at 09:46

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The cost and fabrication is about 99.999999% of this.

For example to lift our commander up 2 inches all we had to do was put in a couple spacers above our shocks/struts on all 4 corners then re-attach everything. If it weren’t all rusted together it would have been an hour project and the kit was on sale for about 125 bucks.

zeontestpilot > fhrblig 09/02/2016 at 09:49

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It's how you get the best tasting gravy, you have to dive into the center.

zeontestpilot > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 09/02/2016 at 09:52

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Totally forgot about the spacers thing, lol.

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > zeontestpilot 09/02/2016 at 09:52

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Funny you mention that.

I had a talk with one kid who has a stupidly massive F250 super duty. It’s on some big RockStar wheels and he uses it to roll coll all over.

I asked if he ever goes off road. He told me that he lives down a gravel road...

When I told him my lowered volvo could drive it he gave me a dirty look and walked away

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 09/02/2016 at 09:54

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You clearly don’t appreciate how big his dick must be.

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 09/02/2016 at 09:56

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That was always my other line.

I drove a stock, automatic Civic sedan and a Volvo station wagon. I had nothing to compensate for.

Hate to say it though. But those trucks did work to get the sluttiest, dirtiest mud crickets...

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 09/02/2016 at 10:02

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That’s how #FloridaMan is made. Don’t make #FloridaMan.

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > zeontestpilot 09/02/2016 at 10:27

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Or everyday road use.

zeontestpilot > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 09/02/2016 at 10:40

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I’d be tempted to ask “so did your parents buy that for you?”

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > zeontestpilot 09/02/2016 at 11:03

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A few years back when Jeep showed their cab forward concept it was built with portal axles. The axles were something like $12,000 for the rear and $13,000 for the front axle. It’s a lot cheaper to throw a $1200 lift kit on a brodozer for going to the gym, GNC and the local Costco for your Monster/Red Bull fix.

You could do the portal axles, and it would be awesome, but it would be orders of magnitude more expensive. Plus like others have said it would probably still need some amount of body lift and suspension modification anyway.

7:07 > fhrblig 09/02/2016 at 12:19

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The Stig's former college room mate > zeontestpilot 09/02/2016 at 12:55

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http://www.quadratec.com/products/52451…

Here’s a portal kit. goes for $7000. On top of this, you’ll need to cut down your axle tubes, weld the C-frames onto the axle and have custom length axle shafts made. Unless you don’t mind the axles sticking out from the body about a foot on either side.

To put it in perspective, to do a 4.5" lift on a vehicle that would have a Dana 60 and 14 bolt stock (mid 80's Chevy), the lift would run about a grand, and if you wanted the gear ratio of the portals, add 600 bucks for two ring and pinion kits.

CaptDale - is secretly British > zeontestpilot 09/02/2016 at 18:20

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The lift kit it to fit larger tires and thus gain more ground clearance.

Now this Jeep can fit 35" tall tires and raise up every thing underneath, but the lift was needed for the tires to clear the vehicle. Portal axles are very uncommon due to cost. That would be the major reason the OEMs do not use them, and suspension lifts are sooooo much cheaper than making your own portal axles work with stock drivetrain and such.