Giant motorsports ddl kit install

[RangerRob]

Nathan, I really dig this thread and your truck is badass. I'm seriously considering this kit for my truck.
Do you know why Geoff went with Radflo shocks for the shocks on the axle? It seems as though he was offering Kings with this kit early on but switched to Radflo at some point. Just wondering if there was a reason.
The below pics are of a DDL being installed on a F250.




Nice work Man. I really like what you've done with your truck.

-Rob

 

[ntm]

Yikes... that's concerning. I know you had the air shocks charged up pretty high, do you recall your final psi?
I was considering ramping up the pressure a bit, but am wondering if that can contribute to a failure.

380 psi.
Also hydraulically limited the travel by overfilling.
It was fine in testing last fall, but testing was done in an area that is primarily sand trails with big berms, g outs, and whoops. Braking into the g outs and corners can be best described as violent. It really digs in the sand. That certainly contributed to the failure.
Only thing I could see to help is mini limit straps on them, but a third link is going to help more.
I intend to keep the axle shocks on there as a sway bar and to help damp stresses on the third link.

 

[Darthyota]

the king axle shocks look like a much better setup then those radflos

 

[ntm]

the king axle shocks look like a much better setup then those radflos

Nicer packaging yes, but internally you're still looking at the same size piston/shaft/nut, so I doubt they'd be stronger.
I think he likely switched to get the appropriate damping profile, the Pistons in the radflo's are made specifically for the ddl kit. He mentioned that before they got the damping profile dialled, that there had been failures similar to what I experienced.
Bottom line, I would not install this kit without a third link again. These trucks are capable of completely compressing the axle shocks on accel, and tearing them apart on decel. Much more weight and power than the kit was originally designed for.
The axle shocks do still have purpose as a sway bar and to help damp loads on the third link.
Luckily, it's not a big deal to add a third link. Artec makes a low profile truss kit for a sterling 10.25, which is dimensionally close to the 9.75. A couple brackets, heim kits and a stick of tubing and you're off to the races.

 

[Darthyota]

i wonder if my buddy still has an arctec truss kicking around that might be for the 10.25

 

[ntm]

i wonder if my buddy still has an arctec truss kicking around that might be for the 10.25

They make two, one is a full width, and will interfere with up travel due to contact with the frame rails. I ordered the smaller modular one that isn't as wide as the inside of the frame rails.

I'm going the wrong way here !

 

[boarder1995]

Just a thought on this... Could you fix one end of the axle with a link versus the King shock and leave the other end open? That would control pinion angle based on one side of the truck, and still allow for independent articulation. Obviously you can't fix both sides, as that'd bind the system up from independent movement.

A third link in the center is a more balanced approach as pinion angle is not totally affected by a single side, but a combination of the two. But in this case, as long as pinion angle isn't put at any extreme angle based on full travel of this setup, is won't necessarily matter if pinion is only driven by one side's trailing arm (correct term?). Most of the time both arms work fairly close to each other in movement. Would be a simpler approach without a bunch more linking and attachment points to the center of the axle housing.

That single side trailing arm may have to be beefed up to handle the total loads from braking rotational forced in axle to link, but again, fairly straight forward calculation to determine what's required. Currently the axle pinion angle torque load is transferred through the King little shocks to both trailing arms, at least until you busted one of the Kings.

I don't know which way the driveshaft spins, but that could also be factored in to determine which side is best to rigid link for pinion control.

 

[Darthyota]

Just a thought on this... Could you fix one end of the axle with a link versus the King shock and leave the other end open? That would control pinion angle based on one side of the truck, and still allow for independent articulation. Obviously you can't fix both sides, as that'd bind the system up from independent movement.

A third link in the center is a more balanced approach as pinion angle is not totally affected by a single side, but a combination of the two. But in this case, as long as pinion angle isn't put at any extreme angle based on full travel of this setup, is won't necessarily matter if pinion is only driven by one side's trailing arm (correct term?). Most of the time both arms work fairly close to each other in movement. Would be a simpler approach without a bunch more linking and attachment points to the center of the axle housing.

That single side trailing arm may have to be beefed up to handle the total loads from braking rotational forced in axle to link, but again, fairly straight forward calculation to determine what's required. Currently the axle pinion angle torque load is transferred through the King little shocks to both trailing arms, at least until you busted one of the Kings.

I don't know which way the driveshaft spins, but that could also be factored in to determine which side is best to rigid link for pinion control.

easier to just do the third link like he's doing. add a truss then mount the third link to the frame and the truss. easy peasy

 

[ntm]

Just a thought on this... Could you fix one end of the axle with a link versus the King shock and leave the other end open? That would control pinion angle based on one side of the truck, and still allow for independent articulation. Obviously you can't fix both sides, as that'd bind the system up from independent movement.

A third link in the center is a more balanced approach as pinion angle is not totally affected by a single side, but a combination of the two. But in this case, as long as pinion angle isn't put at any extreme angle based on full travel of this setup, is won't necessarily matter if pinion is only driven by one side's trailing arm (correct term?). Most of the time both arms work fairly close to each other in movement. Would be a simpler approach without a bunch more linking and attachment points to the center of the axle housing.

That single side trailing arm may have to be beefed up to handle the total loads from braking rotational forced in axle to link, but again, fairly straight forward calculation to determine what's required. Currently the axle pinion angle torque load is transferred through the King little shocks to both trailing arms, at least until you busted one of the Kings.

I don't know which way the driveshaft spins, but that could also be factored in to determine which side is best to rigid link for pinion control.

That'd be the same as an old school two link setup. It would be too much pinion angle change and driveshaft plunge, given the total travel. They work on low travel setups, a few trucks had them from factory many years ago.

 

[ntm]

Got the brace on to provide an upper link mount. I should have the upper link done in a few days.