Oddmodman Posted June 21, 2013 Posted June 21, 2013 Anybody ever notice how all the weight on a Comanche is on the driver's side? How the driver, the fuel tank, the drop axle, the front DS, and the Tcase are all on the driver's side? This is all theoretical, but for performance, and ease on our trucks, you could have the gas tank and the exhaust trade places (including moving the tank filler to the other side of the bed), which would distribute weight better, and if you have enough of a lift to omit the over-axle-bend, would enable you to have an exhaust system that was quite straight except for the exhaust drop-bend. Then I believe you'd have room to have either passenger OR driver's side drop axle and corresponding Tcase. Have I gone overboard? Does this make sense to anyone else? (Keep in mind I haven't taken any measurements, this is all theoretical).
87sparTruck Posted June 21, 2013 Posted June 21, 2013 Seeing how no one has changed the design of these or the cherokees, I would say that it's either a minor issue or nobody wanted to put the effort in to flip flopping the whole under carriage around.
AMCJeepMJ Posted June 21, 2013 Posted June 21, 2013 Get a plump girl friend. I think he's looking for left and right weight distribution, not front and back.
jimoshel Posted June 21, 2013 Posted June 21, 2013 Don't know where your GF rides but mine sits beside me. Right hand side.
ajohnson928 Posted June 21, 2013 Posted June 21, 2013 I think it would be a tremendous amount of work with very little noticeable improvement to performance. That being said, I agree, there is more weight on the DS than PS.
Oddmodman Posted June 21, 2013 Author Posted June 21, 2013 I figured that as well, I was just curious about opinions.
mvusse Posted June 21, 2013 Posted June 21, 2013 There's two more you forgot about: the engine is centered, but both the intake and exhaust manifolds are driver side as well.
dasbulliwagen Posted June 21, 2013 Posted June 21, 2013 It doesnt help either that the track bar adds tension to the driver side as well. I noticed this when installing a new one in my truck.
Oddmodman Posted June 22, 2013 Author Posted June 22, 2013 There we go, some good input. Thanks. If I ever get around to doing a diesel swap and tearing the entire truck down...again, I think I might just look into doing this. I hate the idea of hundreds of extra lbs on one side of a truck. Plus there's the fact that the driver's side cab unibody area weakens the fastest out of any other area on the truck.
onlyinajeep726 Posted June 22, 2013 Posted June 22, 2013 I've noticed this on my Cherokee... When looking at it from the front or the back, the whole thing leans/sags towards the driver side. Never really thought about all of those things together contributing, but you've made a good point. Also, on the XJ's, the spare tire is on the driver side, adding even more weight.
mvusse Posted June 22, 2013 Posted June 22, 2013 But at least in a Cherokee, the gas tank is centered.
onlyinajeep726 Posted June 22, 2013 Posted June 22, 2013 But at least in a Cherokee, the gas tank is centered. XJ also has a rear sway bar. Also good points lol. However, I no longer have a rear sway bar. That one's on me.
mvusse Posted June 22, 2013 Posted June 22, 2013 In my 94 I did away with the rear sway bar. As long as it is my daughter's only daily driver, my 96 is keeping it.
Dirteatr717 Posted June 22, 2013 Posted June 22, 2013 All the weight is put on the driver side so when you step on the skinny pedal the torque lean doesn't kill the pass side leaf pack so easily.
89eliminator Posted June 22, 2013 Posted June 22, 2013 All the weight is put on the driver side so when you step on the skinny pedal the torque lean doesn't kill the pass side leaf pack so easily. i agree. ever notice when you rev the engine, the truck leans to the passenger side?
Oddmodman Posted June 22, 2013 Author Posted June 22, 2013 Interesting. I have not actually. I did not think of that. Unfortunately I have not driven my truck with a 4.0l yet. I'm currently mid-transition from 2.5 to 4.0.
88whitemanche Posted June 22, 2013 Posted June 22, 2013 It does that on my 2.5..even with brown dog motor mounts
GirsMJ86 Posted June 22, 2013 Posted June 22, 2013 I always just figured that was because of torque. My J10 did the same thing with the 304, I seem to recall my K10s doing it as well and they both had 350s. I've not driven it yet but my 2.8 does it as well when I've toyed with it in my driveway.
Geonovast Posted June 22, 2013 Posted June 22, 2013 It is because of torque. He's saying that they put all the weight on the side that doesn't drop when you rev the engine to help it to not drop down too much and kill the suspension. If our motors spun counter clockwise, they would have put all the weight on the passenger side.
johnj92131 Posted June 22, 2013 Posted June 22, 2013 It is because of torque. He's saying that they put all the weight on the side that doesn't drop when you rev the engine to help it to not drop down too much and kill the suspension. If our motors spun counter clockwise, they would have put all the weight on the passenger side. Simply a result of Newton's First Law of Motion: "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."
johnj92131 Posted June 22, 2013 Posted June 22, 2013 Anybody ever notice how all the weight on a Comanche is on the driver's side? How the driver, the fuel tank, the drop axle, the front DS, and the Tcase are all on the driver's side? This is all theoretical, but for performance, and ease on our trucks, you could have the gas tank and the exhaust trade places (including moving the tank filler to the other side of the bed), which would distribute weight better, and if you have enough of a lift to omit the over-axle-bend, would enable you to have an exhaust system that was quite straight except for the exhaust drop-bend. Then I believe you'd have room to have either passenger OR driver's side drop axle and corresponding Tcase. Have I gone overboard? Does this make sense to anyone else? (Keep in mind I haven't taken any measurements, this is all theoretical). Short answer: Yes, you have gone overboard! Longer answer, convert to right hand drive Comanche. That moves my 240 lbs @$$ to the other side and "balances the truck" The real truth is, either way, the truck was built within acceptable engineering standards. Example, to illustrate the point. My truck is a 91 long bed with the factory Big Ton package. It is rated to carry a load of 2240 pounds (including my fat @$$). I have carried a cargo of 3350 lbs plus my back side with not a problem. But I did not have to go far, did not have to make a quick stop or anything else. Cargo was 60 55 pound blockes on a pallet. Gas tank was also full with 23.5 gallons of gas. Total was 1350 lbs over Gross Vehicle weight factory rating. Full disclosure - I had new 225/75 tires and two non factory overload springson each side, plus the 22 year old factory Big Ton package. This was withing the last year. Final thought: Factory engineers were very conservative building the truck. Look at how crazy modified some owners have made their trucks and they still run and survive. Now, remember, NOBODY can protect/engineer against STUPID FOOLS. And there are a lot of us stupid fools in the world. There even some DAMN stupid fools in the world. The engineers who designed and built the Comanche were not fools in any way. They knew EXACTLY what they were doing, then tested it in every possible way.
Oddmodman Posted June 22, 2013 Author Posted June 22, 2013 Well alright, but torx bolts were a dumb idea, and they certainly didn't rust proof very well. Everybody's entitled to their own opinion I suppose :)
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