Makes way more sense for IFS trucks because it's the only way to lift IFS and run bigger tires without losing suspension travel or having to go long travel with baja fenders and all that
$20k for portals on a wrangler or solid axle vehicle? I don’t doubt it’s worth that kind of money based on the amount of engineering, quality materials, and labor to build high quality parts, but I don’t get the allure for solid axle rigs. $20k later and you still have a stock axle(30 or 44 front in a wrangler), stock brakes, and stock suspension. You basically get a lift and more ground clearance for $20k. I could buy brand new full float D60s and drive shafts for $15k, long arm lift, tires, wheels for another $7-8k. So for $22-23k I could have a build Jeep on 40s or larger with proper steering, appropriately sized brakes, and beefier axles to handle the heavy loads most offroad rigs see. Oh, and I can buy replacement D60 parts anywhere. Where do you get your replacement gears or seals for your custom portals? Call me crazy, but portals don’t make a whole lot of sense for the serious straight-axle build. I’m sure they have their place, but not on a jeep or solid axle vehicle where you have so many other, better options, IMO. Cool product nonetheless. Hopefully price will come down as more competition hits the market.
@joshuahines4249 a larger diameter rotor and if Kevlar or Carbon-ceramic pads are used. The braking performance is noticeably improved. While portals can be used for wild wheeling, benefits are to gotten from mild wheeling too!
@@jameseroh6544 I think you missed my point. I could “upgrade my rotors” on the stock axle to achieve that. They had to replace the rotor since this is also replacing the outer knuckle. They are still using the stock brake system. Not really sure what pads have to do with anything.
@joshuahines4249 - But increasing the diameter of the rotor does improve braking. And helps to balance out the increased braking demand from 37" or other larger tires. My 2023 Jeep Wrangler Sport Altitude JLU has 18" rims from the factory. The brakes are pretty good. The stock tire sizes go from 31"-34" on 17",18", & 20" rims with the same rotor. But what is helpful, is to know which rims still fit after the upgrade. There is an option to switch to the 8 bolt hubs, or keep the 5 bolt hubs. Jeeps have been a vehicle that gets modified to some degree or another. While my ' 96 Jeep Grand Cherokee Larado kinda looks stock. It is not stock at all. Lite Brite has modified their JLU into like a $300k vehicle. With a curb weight higher than the door sticker gvw! Our two Ram diesel pickups are also modified which includes better brake pads. So, for the portals to have larger brake rotor diameters, that is an upgrade. And some people may want to go with Wilwood, Brembo, or some other greater upgrade. The larger diameter rotor is still an upgrade with a slightly larger amount of leverage for the increased diameter. And a slightly increased heat disapation.
Another added plus is the gear reduction of the portals take a large load off the Drive Line, so there's usually no need to beef it up. Set of 1 ton crate axles run 15-20k all in, then add a decent suspension lift and you're in the same boat expense wise. The only thing I'd upgrade after doing portals and larger tire is the steering.
Personally I feel that reduced stress on the rest of the drivetrain is a bit embellished. A buddy with a 2door Bronco and 37’s with 1.22:1 portals recently shelled his diff and a CV. Another buddy with a Tacoma on 38’s and 1.35:1 portals grenaded his CV. One could question how fatigued the components already were prior to the portals and driver throttle application when the breakage occurred, but the intermediate shaft on the Bronco is a weak point that currently has no upgrayedds. (Billet housing from texas guy doesn’t count) Certainly the case still stands that there is stress reduction, but it doesn’t bulletproof your drivetrain as some might portray it.
One thing they do not talk about is the scrub radius and its effect on the steering components. When you push out the wheel/tire out that far you are reducing the mechanical advantage and also adding more stress on the steering components. Larger tires do not help. I would love to see how this works on Broncos and their notorious tie rod failures..
74weld has talked about that a couple times in their youtube discussions. Essentially they’re saying consumers should try and find a wheel with a super deep offset to try and pull the tire back over the pivot point. Try anyway
I was waiting for him to bring up the scrub radius. So, Bronco owner on portals with 40’s here. It absolutely does hinder your steering. Our tie rods are fine but they’re heim joints in double shear as we don’t need to worry so much about breaking our full billet steering rack. But the motor is still under powered to handle all that weight AND additional scrub radius. Binding up is a frequent occurrence when aired down, even with the steering at full power, so we will be experimenting with 12-14 psi on the steers going forward.
@@Shakshuka69yeah, but with something like a long travel kit your steering power might not be as affected given the same wheel and tire. With portals it absolutely will be due to the scrub radius and additional weight of the portal. Pros and cons to everything. Not dogging on the portals simply providing real information.
You’re forgetting a couple of things in your cost. 1. Cost for portals= 20k+ tax. 2. New tires = 1-2k. 3. If you aren’t capable of installing these you will need to pay someone.. fortunately I would be able to but I bet most folks would not. That labor would be expensive I bet. So its not just 20k. At least 2-6k more at a minimum. I can’t wait until these get affordable. I am sure it will happen eventually. Hopefully I won’t be too old by then! Great video though!
Don't forget cost to get new wheels($1-2K) with those new tires, and new steering rack($5.4K for Bronco) to handle the added heavy weight on each corner of the vehicle. Extra 25 pnds/corner!!? (corrected).
Extra (unsprung) 2:26 weight, extra friction, extra rotating mass, extra width (not always desirable), extra maintenance, changes wheel options substantially, changes to steering feel/geometry, scrub radius changes, more leverage against stock steering components, more leverage against axles/suspension components/ball joints/a-arms(new hub is farther away from stock components, thus leverage), potential axle wrap issues (acceleration / braking forces has been relocated significantly lower than originally engineered, increasing acceleration/braking leverage much like cheap lift blocks do on leaf springs in rear, cost. I think most of the cons to portals are completely ignored. Not a huge fan in most instances.
Portals are a perfect example of something that seems cool, but has a specific use you'll never use. 99% of people will enjoy the downsides of looking "cool"exclusively
Your cons are fake news. I've been on portals and 40s for a year now, wheeling all over Cali and Utah and have had no issues at all. Still on stock steering
Not to mention none of the stock geometry (not just steering) front and rear has been kept since all of it is based on the distance to the contract patch.
Not ignored. We have done specific RUclips videos addressing these “issues”. The only people that experience issues that you are talking about are web wheelers who don’t actually have experience with our products.
You said it. $20,000! Plus $3-5,000 in rims/tires. And if you don’t have factory lockers there is another $3-5,000. When all is said and done it is twice as expensive as a more traditional build. Don’t get me wrong, the concept and gearing advantages are awesome, and 74Weld has some badass rigs, but this just does not seem cost effective to me.
Weird because if you are doing say Dynatrac axles and a long arm kit you are about twice the price of portals. I hear people say this all the time and maybe they are talking about going to a junkyard, having their buddy install gears, doing all the labor themselves. I get that. I’ve done that. That is NOT what most people do. Compare us against a proper suspension and axle swap and we are much cheaper. When it comes to IFS most kits only address the front so again it’s not really a fair comparison. We will be doing an apples to apples comparison video soon.
@@marcosierra1822 Couldn’t agree more! Who said anything about Dynatrac? We have UD60’s, Fusion, Teraflex, Currie, etc etc. you can find a set of 60 axles for far less than $20k. Ask me how I know? For $25-30k I’ve got beefier everything, including a long travel suspension, wheels, and tires. At $20k for portals I have essentially a lift. Still need wheels and tires at a minimum. Not really sure how they are coming up with “twice the price” LMAO!
@@74weld again, I am not knocking your product. I think it is cool as hell. I also was of the thought process of comparing it to reagearing say a stock set of Jeep axles, or a Bronco. I didnt factor in a full swap. If you add a quality suspension with some King or Fox shocks to your system it is a whole different conversation.
@@marcosierra1822 I get that. It’s just a totally different comparison. Most people honestly don’t know what to compare it to and when they do they miss the main features of what exactly we are selling. We are literally the opposite of a lift kit and our primary product is ground clearance. Clearly I offended @joshuahines4249 which isn’t my intention…I get people want comparisons, but if you look at features you are just going to be left scratching your head with nothing to compare it to
I priced getting dana 80 fusion axles on my 2017 f350...$35k (estimate) probably more than that. The problem is i have the factory axles running 42" tires and I've gone through 5 differentials and 3 sets of wheel bearings in less than 5 years so far, which has cost me almost $40k anyway >D
@@tuckerhiggins4336 That'd look funny with 20" wheels and an 8" lift >D I can't go below 20" because my custom brake rotors are 15" with huge 6 piston calipers. 38" is probably the smallest I could manage but they'd still look like low-pros.
@derJackistweg Nope. I had no issues with 40's, but when I put 42's on, I had noticeably worse handling, braking, mpg, and I had to spend 3k on a custom track bar to eliminate the death wobble at 40mph. Im also pretty sure the extra rotational mass & unsprung weight are why Ive had to replace all those parts in my other comment plus my tcase and transmission as well. Granted I got continental mpt 81 tires that are heavy af military tires from a unimog, so that might have more to do with it than the size. I have 42" nittos that are about 40 lb lighter per tire now.
@@toddwillard8927 No, if you watched the video, I clearly explain that suspension does not need to be modified whatsoever to gain the lift the portals provide.
Hello Sir, I have a question. There is believe that if you really into hard off-road like lots of mud and rocks solid axel is much better because .... it is solid. Now I think if only new cars consider we have only Jeep. My question is if portals change the situation if I really want heavy duty off-road car with at least 37 inch tires. Do they give IFS some extra heavy duty point or I should still look for solid axel and maybe together with portals.
From a safety perspective... what is the failure scenario for a portal axle? In the event of a broken axle, a normal suspension setup would still free-wheel. A broken axle could be removed and you could still travel in 2WD. If you break a portal, is it possible to remove one of the gears and have the stub axle still in place and free-wheeling? What is the portal gears themseles decide to sieze while traveling at freeway speed? Very cool for a dedicated off-road vehicle, but OEM levels of safety?
You think people are driving around with 40’s everyday on OEM gears, steering, or axle shafts? Quality isn’t the issue here. The mechanism might be challenging to drive on when broken. But that’s not really a reason to NOT do it.
@@desertchief5769 "From a safety perspective..." were my first words. Never mentioned quality and I have no doubts in the quality of the product. It's the application for daily driven use that I think is questionable. Everything fails. Especially when used offroad as they're intended. It's the addition of a straight cut gear set where there was a free-wheeling hub. If one of these portals fails at speed, the wheel will lock up. ONE CORNER. What do you think the consequences of that are at highway speeds?
My son bought a new G squared. He had to wait I think 6 months for it because of an axle recall. He finally did get the truck but after about 4 months Mercedes demanded it back due to axle issues.. He was fully compensated. But my question is if Mercedes has trouble getting their portals right are they a durable product?
The cost of portals should come down as more companies start producing them. There's nothing inherent to then that should make them cost more than other (often more complex) gearboxes. It's just been low demand and low supply keeping them a niche product until recently.
If you think about the cost , it shouldn’t be that much. Gear ⚙️ set , aluminum housing , seals , and an OE type unit bearing. I assume it’s so expensive because they haven’t optimized their manufacture process. That price could easily drop to 30% of what it is if they learn how to manufacture these more efficiently somehow.
Great content. I plan to pull the trigger on a set from 74Weld this month. I get people complain about price, but I got several build quotes for my Bronco and the portals were within 2K of doing a lift, rear axle, and other mods to clear a 38. One product does all that and it’s the only thing that will ever give you ground clearance. After seeing them work in person on the trail I was sold
I got news for ya. I got 20 grand in my suspension on my Tacoma right now. No portals, long travel king/fox/total chaos, etc… portals would be less work and maintenance. I love the look of my suspension, but portals just sound easier on the weekends. That’s just me.
Long arm kit would actually help geometry, add travel, add strength, etc. Just bolting portals on only really saves you from getting the diffs regeared. Everything else is complicated or compromised.
@@hotshtsr20eh. You’re also getting new billet uprights, one ton bearing packs, full float conversion on the rear axle, 300M axle shafts, and four more inches of clearance under the axles. We just did a trail where Jeeps on 42’s were getting diffs caught. They went to watch our diff (on 40’s) aaaaand it wasn’t even close. But yes, there are pros and cons to everything
@@Sierra_Bronco Yeah, the spindle is definitely beef. The axles and everything upstream has an easier time. But the ball joints, controls arms, pivots, axle, and everything else connected to the suspension wasn’t designed for that kind of leverage. Since the axle centerline is below the lower ball joint instead of between them, you put a twisting load on the suspension it was never designed for. The lower ball joint actually acts as a fulcrum to lever against the upper. Will they wear out and fail right away? Probably not. Is it subpar and more likely to fail? Absolutely.
@@hotshtsr20I mentioned this in another reply. Personally, I don’t think it’s just bolt it on and go exactly for the leverage you mention. A lot of welding and beefing should be done if you plan on wheeling it.
Nobody is talking about the 30-50k mile rebuild needed? Also, that if you hate your stock suspension/travel that does not change either? Plus the load being like running giant wheel spacers?
You should be able to get portals plus steering rack for 20k. Steering rack, portals, nicer shocks, positive offset wheels, new tires, and if u add a nicer lift kit you are looking at 40k without lift kit 35k.
Con's = Unsprung weight, each portal in very heavy, your stock vehicle was not engineered to take that load. You should upgrade the spindle, lower and upper arms and breaks. Also 5" width increase can be a lot on the trail and city street's. The tire rim need a 50 to 60mm Positive offset, this reduces your selection of rims. Some vehicles still need body mods. Look into Werewolf Portals.
I wanted to keep my stock suspension and put pizza cutters, C4 high fender kit, BMC, and various other items. I think that would cost equal or more than the 74Weld portal kit, so I’m gonna save up.
Is it me? I can't find anyone put portals on Defender L663. I check 74weld and usually only on Toyota/Jeep etc 😢. For you guys that have lifted to 37inch, Coil springs, Long Arms etc $20k is justifiable since you can do this on stock vehicles with not much mods
If you just bolt these onto your factory suspension I bet there will be a plethora of other issues that are not talked about. For one the wheels are moved out dramatically, so for clear steering there will be body mods required. And the worst in my opinion is the added torque load to the suspension components just from sitting, not to mention the significantly increased torque loads on impacts when offroading. The bolts and joints are simply not designed for this in the slightest, as the factory wheel position is kinda neutral so there is not nearly as much shear force on them as when you install portals.
If you put (say) 37" tires on a vehicle with portals, so approximately restore the end-to-end drive ratio, how much gas mileage do you lose in the real world? I re-geared my diesel pickup truck (4.56) and run 37s on it. I get 17-19 mpg highway with a 6.5" lift and huge Road Armor bumpers plus a roof rack. What do the portal-axle manufacturers and owners claim about gas-mileage changes?
They would likely say “anyone willing to put 37-40’s tire on their rig, not to mention dropping at least $26k on lifting their axles, probably doesn’t care about losing some fuel economy.” But! To help answer your question-we went from 18-19 on stock Bronco 35’s to 13-15 on 40’s with portals.
Paid about half that for a second hand long travel kit, 4.88 full regear, front locker, new shocks and rear long travel. If these were around 10k I would possibly consider them but for 20k thats a big pass. I can't even imagine the maintenance costs on these long term, how many thousands of dollars will it cost to replace gears and bearings down the road? will you be able to find a shop that knows how to work on these out on a trip? unlikely.
What in not understanding - portals for most SXS are $3,500. These are $20,000. Shouldn't take long for those manufacturers to build them for $5k for a set. That's where it should go once we have competitive prices.
@@fatfatr Yes - so do the SxS portals. They are complete packages of all of the same components as the 74Weld, just scaled for the SxS size. Biggest obvious difference is the SXS versions have IRS so there's no rear axle shafts or outer axle bearing to replace, they have a non-steering knuckle for IRS or are integrated into the housing. The only fully integrated assembly I know of is the Hummer portal boxes that are a single piece. I don't think there is enough demand to justify one piece housing/spindle combination for these aftermarket units.
$20,000 over a period of time is one thing $20,000 upfront is a fucking kick in the nuts dude I know that’s not your products but fuck that just took 9:30 me out of the market for getting those screw portals. I’ll just spend my $3200 at a time That’s way too much money way too much money
I can think of a few reasons 1. Flat CV angle 2. Maintain piston location in the shock so it’s not topping out over a speed bump. 3. Better bulkhead to ground clearance 4. Lift arms up so they don’t hit. 5. Reduce torque on the weak link (CV’s and differential) 6. It rehears the diff which is very expensive to do 7. Doesn’t force you to run a heavy spring just to get height Is it ok if I stop or do you need more reasons? And for all these reasons every new trophy truck and most new ultra4’s are being built with portals for the IFS.
You lost me on the cost breakdown. After spending $20k on portals, you will need new control arms, upgraded steering components, new tires, and most people will end up getting a bunch of other accessories that will require upgrading the shocks and springs anyway. The only cost benefit is you won’t need to pay for regearing and possibly no BMC/CMC required to fit bigger tires. All said and done you’re paying $17k more than you would have otherwise for a full build.
I think you are 30K minimum all in: Portals + Tax, Steering rack, Wheels, Tires, Install/labor cost. Then if you choose to, add in New UCA/and LCA's, shocks., Big Brake Kit...
Everything has a use case and for the vast majority of people these portals will never be worth their price not because they aren't well built or don't do what they say they will. But because the end user doesn't d anything with their vehicle that they couldn't do with a variety of other less expensive solutions, or let's be honest, with their completely stock ride. As always it's your money so do as you wish but if you don't truly need them portals are a waste of that money.
Extra whining gear noise, limited freeway speed and expensive. Cool and useful in off road, but I know professional off road that avoids portal axes just because it increases headaches and possible problems The unimog axles are "affordable" and only rookies are installing them.
Someone should tell all the professional Trophy Truck teams that have been dominating SCORE with portals that they need to slow down and cut it out with the rookie stuff.
@@RonJacobsen1973 , both are correct, since I miss to mention that I was referring not to Yours competitions but the Off Road competitions in Europe. That missing info is relevant to be mentioned. The most effective and solid solution are the Nissan Patrol axles, easy and super solid.
There are verrrrrrrrry few occasions where we can hear them. Conditions have to be perfect and even then if you go a few mph faster the tires become louder. (It’s at about 40 mph on freshly asphalted road) We cruise at 85 mph and in Mexico it hits 100 mph without issue. It’s only 1.22:1 reduction in the portals. Where other rigs on 42’s are getting hung up, ours on 40’s aired down to 6 psi still has plenty of clearance. Certainly there are many factors to consider with any modification. Just gotta decide what’s right for you
@@Sierra_Bronco a friend of mine install Tibus portal axes. Great stance, excellent off road, I still have some doubts on the road. Even more relevant in bulky and big truck that you have in the US.
@@cr88I was planning a ride with another Bronco on Tibus portals this last weekend. Wanted to compare the differences between his and ours on 74Weld portals. Unfortunately he was unable to make it, so I can’t provide any feedback. Also have a buddy with Werewolf portals on a Tacoma but haven’t wheeled with him yet. But fit and finish on the 74Weld boxes are significantly nicer.
@@derJackistweg Every trophy truck that has won anything in baja over the past several years. Half of the competitive field in Ultra 4. Also all the regular people with some of the commercial bolt-on options daily driving on the freeway.
@@derJackistweg Way to move the goal post. If a big car manufacturer has to do something for it to be legitimate then electrification and fuel economy must be the pinnacle of off road performance.
I just can't justify the 20K price.
true, but also lifetime warranty
Yes you can
@@4runner_rooney359 I agree lol
@@4runner_rooney359 lol
It’s not for everyone, but if you’re rock crawling your 50k-70k truck I mean you should have plenty of money lol
Makes way more sense for IFS trucks because it's the only way to lift IFS and run bigger tires without losing suspension travel or having to go long travel with baja fenders and all that
$20k for portals on a wrangler or solid axle vehicle? I don’t doubt it’s worth that kind of money based on the amount of engineering, quality materials, and labor to build high quality parts, but I don’t get the allure for solid axle rigs. $20k later and you still have a stock axle(30 or 44 front in a wrangler), stock brakes, and stock suspension. You basically get a lift and more ground clearance for $20k. I could buy brand new full float D60s and drive shafts for $15k, long arm lift, tires, wheels for another $7-8k. So for $22-23k I could have a build Jeep on 40s or larger with proper steering, appropriately sized brakes, and beefier axles to handle the heavy loads most offroad rigs see. Oh, and I can buy replacement D60 parts anywhere. Where do you get your replacement gears or seals for your custom portals?
Call me crazy, but portals don’t make a whole lot of sense for the serious straight-axle build. I’m sure they have their place, but not on a jeep or solid axle vehicle where you have so many other, better options, IMO. Cool product nonetheless. Hopefully price will come down as more competition hits the market.
The kit includes larger brakes.
@@jameseroh6544 it’s just rotors. Still using stock caliper. Still stock performance
@joshuahines4249 a larger diameter rotor and if Kevlar or Carbon-ceramic pads are used. The braking performance is noticeably improved. While portals can be used for wild wheeling, benefits are to gotten from mild wheeling too!
@@jameseroh6544 I think you missed my point. I could “upgrade my rotors” on the stock axle to achieve that. They had to replace the rotor since this is also replacing the outer knuckle. They are still using the stock brake system. Not really sure what pads have to do with anything.
@joshuahines4249 - But increasing the diameter of the rotor does improve braking. And helps to balance out the increased braking demand from 37" or other larger tires. My 2023 Jeep Wrangler Sport Altitude JLU has 18" rims from the factory. The brakes are pretty good. The stock tire sizes go from 31"-34" on 17",18", & 20" rims with the same rotor. But what is helpful, is to know which rims still fit after the upgrade. There is an option to switch to the 8 bolt hubs, or keep the 5 bolt hubs.
Jeeps have been a vehicle that gets modified to some degree or another. While my ' 96 Jeep Grand Cherokee Larado kinda looks stock. It is not stock at all. Lite Brite has modified their JLU into like a $300k vehicle. With a curb weight higher than the door sticker gvw!
Our two Ram diesel pickups are also modified which includes better brake pads. So, for the portals to have larger brake rotor diameters, that is an upgrade. And some people may want to go with Wilwood, Brembo, or some other greater upgrade. The larger diameter rotor is still an upgrade with a slightly larger amount of leverage for the increased diameter. And a slightly increased heat disapation.
Another added plus is the gear reduction of the portals take a large load off the Drive Line, so there's usually no need to beef it up.
Set of 1 ton crate axles run 15-20k all in, then add a decent suspension lift and you're in the same boat expense wise.
The only thing I'd upgrade after doing portals and larger tire is the steering.
Personally I feel that reduced stress on the rest of the drivetrain is a bit embellished. A buddy with a 2door Bronco and 37’s with 1.22:1 portals recently shelled his diff and a CV. Another buddy with a Tacoma on 38’s and 1.35:1 portals grenaded his CV. One could question how fatigued the components already were prior to the portals and driver throttle application when the breakage occurred, but the intermediate shaft on the Bronco is a weak point that currently has no upgrayedds. (Billet housing from texas guy doesn’t count) Certainly the case still stands that there is stress reduction, but it doesn’t bulletproof your drivetrain as some might portray it.
One thing they do not talk about is the scrub radius and its effect on the steering components. When you push out the wheel/tire out that far you are reducing the mechanical advantage and also adding more stress on the steering components. Larger tires do not help. I would love to see how this works on Broncos and their notorious tie rod failures..
I've been running 74weld Portals on my 2020 Tacoma for a year now with stock steering. Zero issues
74weld has talked about that a couple times in their youtube discussions. Essentially they’re saying consumers should try and find a wheel with a super deep offset to try and pull the tire back over the pivot point. Try anyway
Kind of inevitable with any kind of lift/tire size increase on IFS because you have to push the wheels out to avoid contacting the upper control arms
I was waiting for him to bring up the scrub radius. So, Bronco owner on portals with 40’s here. It absolutely does hinder your steering. Our tie rods are fine but they’re heim joints in double shear as we don’t need to worry so much about breaking our full billet steering rack. But the motor is still under powered to handle all that weight AND additional scrub radius. Binding up is a frequent occurrence when aired down, even with the steering at full power, so we will be experimenting with 12-14 psi on the steers going forward.
@@Shakshuka69yeah, but with something like a long travel kit your steering power might not be as affected given the same wheel and tire. With portals it absolutely will be due to the scrub radius and additional weight of the portal. Pros and cons to everything. Not dogging on the portals simply providing real information.
You’re forgetting a couple of things in your cost. 1. Cost for portals= 20k+ tax. 2. New tires = 1-2k. 3. If you aren’t capable of installing these you will need to pay someone.. fortunately I would be able to but I bet most folks would not. That labor would be expensive I bet. So its not just 20k. At least 2-6k more at a minimum. I can’t wait until these get affordable. I am sure it will happen eventually. Hopefully I won’t be too old by then! Great video though!
Don't forget cost to get new wheels($1-2K) with those new tires, and new steering rack($5.4K for Bronco) to handle the added heavy weight on each corner of the vehicle. Extra 25 pnds/corner!!? (corrected).
@@psalm11823we add 25lbs over the factory
Worth it to be cool
Extra (unsprung) 2:26 weight, extra friction, extra rotating mass, extra width (not always desirable), extra maintenance, changes wheel options substantially, changes to steering feel/geometry, scrub radius changes, more leverage against stock steering components, more leverage against axles/suspension components/ball joints/a-arms(new hub is farther away from stock components, thus leverage), potential axle wrap issues (acceleration / braking forces has been relocated significantly lower than originally engineered, increasing acceleration/braking leverage much like cheap lift blocks do on leaf springs in rear, cost. I think most of the cons to portals are completely ignored. Not a huge fan in most instances.
Portals are a perfect example of something that seems cool, but has a specific use you'll never use. 99% of people will enjoy the downsides of looking "cool"exclusively
Your cons are fake news. I've been on portals and 40s for a year now, wheeling all over Cali and Utah and have had no issues at all. Still on stock steering
Not to mention none of the stock geometry (not just steering) front and rear has been kept since all of it is based on the distance to the contract patch.
Not ignored. We have done specific RUclips videos addressing these “issues”. The only people that experience issues that you are talking about are web wheelers who don’t actually have experience with our products.
@@FordRangerClassicsmaybe you won’t use them, but our customers sure do.
You said it. $20,000! Plus $3-5,000 in rims/tires. And if you don’t have factory lockers there is another $3-5,000. When all is said and done it is twice as expensive as a more traditional build. Don’t get me wrong, the concept and gearing advantages are awesome, and 74Weld has some badass rigs, but this just does not seem cost effective to me.
Weird because if you are doing say Dynatrac axles and a long arm kit you are about twice the price of portals. I hear people say this all the time and maybe they are talking about going to a junkyard, having their buddy install gears, doing all the labor themselves. I get that. I’ve done that. That is NOT what most people do. Compare us against a proper suspension and axle swap and we are much cheaper.
When it comes to IFS most kits only address the front so again it’s not really a fair comparison. We will be doing an apples to apples comparison video soon.
@@74weld The way you try to argue your product makes me never want to purchase. Go troll somewhere else. Next.
@@marcosierra1822 Couldn’t agree more! Who said anything about Dynatrac? We have UD60’s, Fusion, Teraflex, Currie, etc etc. you can find a set of 60 axles for far less than $20k. Ask me how I know? For $25-30k I’ve got beefier everything, including a long travel suspension, wheels, and tires. At $20k for portals I have essentially a lift. Still need wheels and tires at a minimum. Not really sure how they are coming up with “twice the price” LMAO!
@@74weld again, I am not knocking your product. I think it is cool as hell. I also was of the thought process of comparing it to reagearing say a stock set of Jeep axles, or a Bronco. I didnt factor in a full swap. If you add a quality suspension with some King or Fox shocks to your system it is a whole different conversation.
@@marcosierra1822 I get that. It’s just a totally different comparison. Most people honestly don’t know what to compare it to and when they do they miss the main features of what exactly we are selling. We are literally the opposite of a lift kit and our primary product is ground clearance. Clearly I offended @joshuahines4249 which isn’t my intention…I get people want comparisons, but if you look at features you are just going to be left scratching your head with nothing to compare it to
I priced getting dana 80 fusion axles on my 2017 f350...$35k (estimate) probably more than that. The problem is i have the factory axles running 42" tires and I've gone through 5 differentials and 3 sets of wheel bearings in less than 5 years so far, which has cost me almost $40k anyway >D
Go back to 35s lol
@@tuckerhiggins4336 That'd look funny with 20" wheels and an 8" lift >D I can't go below 20" because my custom brake rotors are 15" with huge 6 piston calipers. 38" is probably the smallest I could manage but they'd still look like low-pros.
So have 42s been a smart idea?
@derJackistweg Nope. I had no issues with 40's, but when I put 42's on, I had noticeably worse handling, braking, mpg, and I had to spend 3k on a custom track bar to eliminate the death wobble at 40mph. Im also pretty sure the extra rotational mass & unsprung weight are why Ive had to replace all those parts in my other comment plus my tcase and transmission as well. Granted I got continental mpt 81 tires that are heavy af military tires from a unimog, so that might have more to do with it than the size. I have 42" nittos that are about 40 lb lighter per tire now.
What about the added weight at each wheel for portals? Shouldn’t that be a negative?
Like wearing cement shoes. :)
It’s 25lbs extra in the front. If that’s a big concern, keep stock tires because those add more weight than the portal
@@74weld
You’re changing the tires, no matter what so the portals are gonna be 25 pounds more. Come on man.
If the portals are giving you 4 inches of lift, wouldn’t you have to change your shocks and springs no matter what??
@@toddwillard8927 No, if you watched the video, I clearly explain that suspension does not need to be modified whatsoever to gain the lift the portals provide.
How does the portal axels affect payload capacity? Inquiring over landers want to know 😅
The lengths people will go for wider tires when pizza cutters are better in every way.
You have shared me a slice of knowledge!
Hello Sir, I have a question. There is believe that if you really into hard off-road like lots of mud and rocks solid axel is much better because .... it is solid. Now I think if only new cars consider we have only Jeep. My question is if portals change the situation if I really want heavy duty off-road car with at least 37 inch tires. Do they give IFS some extra heavy duty point or I should still look for solid axel and maybe together with portals.
Very informative, thank you very much!
From a safety perspective... what is the failure scenario for a portal axle? In the event of a broken axle, a normal suspension setup would still free-wheel. A broken axle could be removed and you could still travel in 2WD. If you break a portal, is it possible to remove one of the gears and have the stub axle still in place and free-wheeling? What is the portal gears themseles decide to sieze while traveling at freeway speed? Very cool for a dedicated off-road vehicle, but OEM levels of safety?
You think people are driving around with 40’s everyday on OEM gears, steering, or axle shafts? Quality isn’t the issue here. The mechanism might be challenging to drive on when broken. But that’s not really a reason to NOT do it.
@@desertchief5769 "From a safety perspective..." were my first words. Never mentioned quality and I have no doubts in the quality of the product. It's the application for daily driven use that I think is questionable. Everything fails. Especially when used offroad as they're intended.
It's the addition of a straight cut gear set where there was a free-wheeling hub. If one of these portals fails at speed, the wheel will lock up. ONE CORNER. What do you think the consequences of that are at highway speeds?
@@btc8633I don't see the gears in the portals being the weak point. If an axle breaks, that portal will just freewheel like a normal hub would.
The 7 weld kit also converts the rear axle to disk brakes.
My son bought a new G squared. He had to wait I think 6 months for it because of an axle recall. He finally did get the truck but after about 4 months Mercedes demanded it back due to axle issues.. He was fully compensated. But my question is if Mercedes has trouble getting their portals right are they a durable product?
It's funny to see all these cool upgrades for Jeep JL Wranglers, but people are just way crazy on setting the prices.
Hoping y'all give Mansour some funding to build something different with some 74welds. Got a feeling it would be a beast & unique.
The cost of portals should come down as more companies start producing them. There's nothing inherent to then that should make them cost more than other (often more complex) gearboxes. It's just been low demand and low supply keeping them a niche product until recently.
Correction: Lifts do not help IFS clear tires
If you think about the cost , it shouldn’t be that much. Gear ⚙️ set , aluminum housing , seals , and an OE type unit bearing. I assume it’s so expensive because they haven’t optimized their manufacture process. That price could easily drop to 30% of what it is if they learn how to manufacture these more efficiently somehow.
So when you say portal axle I’m guessing you are talking about the portal box correct?
Anything available for GMC trucks?
Super cool on my RC crawler. Not worth the price of a second car that it would cost in real life.
Great content. I plan to pull the trigger on a set from 74Weld this month. I get people complain about price, but I got several build quotes for my Bronco and the portals were within 2K of doing a lift, rear axle, and other mods to clear a 38. One product does all that and it’s the only thing that will ever give you ground clearance. After seeing them work in person on the trail I was sold
You have youtube to show case your truck?
You can’t do a lift and the additionally required mods for $20k? That seems nuts.
@@TeensierPythonYeah 🤔... I'm guessing that includes regearing, at that cost comparison.
I lifted my Bronco with 37s no where near close to 18k
What about ride comfort and handling. Is the unsprung weight ratio a problem?
On IFS you will bottom out more easily if on coilovers designed for the stock setup. We haven’t adjusted our stack yet but plan on doing so.
I got news for ya. I got 20 grand in my suspension on my Tacoma right now. No portals, long travel king/fox/total chaos, etc… portals would be less work and maintenance. I love the look of my suspension, but portals just sound easier on the weekends. That’s just me.
How strong is the 74weld fabricated front spindle vs toyota oem + total chaos gusset? Jumpable?
I didn’t hear specifics on the gear ratio
I’d be intrigued on your thoughts of portals vs a full long arm on coilovers.
Long arm kit would actually help geometry, add travel, add strength, etc.
Just bolting portals on only really saves you from getting the diffs regeared. Everything else is complicated or compromised.
Great video idea!!
@@hotshtsr20eh. You’re also getting new billet uprights, one ton bearing packs, full float conversion on the rear axle, 300M axle shafts, and four more inches of clearance under the axles. We just did a trail where Jeeps on 42’s were getting diffs caught. They went to watch our diff (on 40’s) aaaaand it wasn’t even close. But yes, there are pros and cons to everything
@@Sierra_Bronco Yeah, the spindle is definitely beef. The axles and everything upstream has an easier time.
But the ball joints, controls arms, pivots, axle, and everything else connected to the suspension wasn’t designed for that kind of leverage.
Since the axle centerline is below the lower ball joint instead of between them, you put a twisting load on the suspension it was never designed for. The lower ball joint actually acts as a fulcrum to lever against the upper.
Will they wear out and fail right away? Probably not. Is it subpar and more likely to fail? Absolutely.
@@hotshtsr20I mentioned this in another reply. Personally, I don’t think it’s just bolt it on and go exactly for the leverage you mention. A lot of welding and beefing should be done if you plan on wheeling it.
The 1960'S VW Bus has them
Nobody is talking about the 30-50k mile rebuild needed? Also, that if you hate your stock suspension/travel that does not change either? Plus the load being like running giant wheel spacers?
You should be able to get portals plus steering rack for 20k. Steering rack, portals, nicer shocks, positive offset wheels, new tires, and if u add a nicer lift kit you are looking at 40k without lift kit 35k.
Great video
Con's = Unsprung weight, each portal in very heavy, your stock vehicle was not engineered to take that load. You should upgrade the spindle, lower and upper arms and breaks. Also 5" width increase can be a lot on the trail and city street's. The tire rim need a 50 to 60mm Positive offset, this reduces your selection of rims. Some vehicles still need body mods. Look into Werewolf Portals.
I wanted to keep my stock suspension and put pizza cutters, C4 high fender kit, BMC, and various other items. I think that would cost equal or more than the 74Weld portal kit, so I’m gonna save up.
20k all at once is a big hit! Usually when you do it the other way it’s smaller amounts over a period of time!
They come with a 33 not a 32. Just saying
$14K for my Jeep JK. Not for me but more power to you if you do. Seems like a great idea.
Is it me? I can't find anyone put portals on Defender L663. I check 74weld and usually only on Toyota/Jeep etc 😢. For you guys that have lifted to 37inch, Coil springs, Long Arms etc $20k is justifiable since you can do this on stock vehicles with not much mods
If you just bolt these onto your factory suspension I bet there will be a plethora of other issues that are not talked about. For one the wheels are moved out dramatically, so for clear steering there will be body mods required. And the worst in my opinion is the added torque load to the suspension components just from sitting, not to mention the significantly increased torque loads on impacts when offroading. The bolts and joints are simply not designed for this in the slightest, as the factory wheel position is kinda neutral so there is not nearly as much shear force on them as when you install portals.
I really need portals 😉
If you put (say) 37" tires on a vehicle with portals, so approximately restore the end-to-end drive ratio, how much gas mileage do you lose in the real world? I re-geared my diesel pickup truck (4.56) and run 37s on it. I get 17-19 mpg highway with a 6.5" lift and huge Road Armor bumpers plus a roof rack. What do the portal-axle manufacturers and owners claim about gas-mileage changes?
They would likely say “anyone willing to put 37-40’s tire on their rig, not to mention dropping at least $26k on lifting their axles, probably doesn’t care about losing some fuel economy.”
But! To help answer your question-we went from 18-19 on stock Bronco 35’s to 13-15 on 40’s with portals.
Imagine trying to justify to your wife on why you need $20,000 lift kit😂😂
Need this made for Chevy ifs and rear axles
This seems ideal for 2nd Gen Colorado ZR2’s
And the only way to get it to throw more rocks ;)
Paid about half that for a second hand long travel kit, 4.88 full regear, front locker, new shocks and rear long travel. If these were around 10k I would possibly consider them but for 20k thats a big pass. I can't even imagine the maintenance costs on these long term, how many thousands of dollars will it cost to replace gears and bearings down the road? will you be able to find a shop that knows how to work on these out on a trip? unlikely.
Fantastic video
20k for my jeep no thanks, i went hemi swap and d60 instead for that amount.
Cost seems to be the only con
74Weld portals are the best mod you can make on a Toyota.
Unimogs have had portals from the beginning!
What in not understanding - portals for most SXS are $3,500. These are $20,000. Shouldn't take long for those manufacturers to build them for $5k for a set. That's where it should go once we have competitive prices.
74weld isn't just the portal box, they come with a billet knuckle
@@fatfatr Yes - so do the SxS portals. They are complete packages of all of the same components as the 74Weld, just scaled for the SxS size. Biggest obvious difference is the SXS versions have IRS so there's no rear axle shafts or outer axle bearing to replace, they have a non-steering knuckle for IRS or are integrated into the housing.
The only fully integrated assembly I know of is the Hummer portal boxes that are a single piece. I don't think there is enough demand to justify one piece housing/spindle combination for these aftermarket units.
This ain’t no Rough Country leveling kit.
Why not just get a Unimog?
Why not get a buggy?
@@Sierra_Bronco Yeah, like the Moon Buggy. Late astronaut James Irwin told me that he left his on the moon.
$20,000 over a period of time is one thing $20,000 upfront is a fucking kick in the nuts dude I know that’s not your products but fuck that just took 9:30 me out of the market for getting those screw portals. I’ll just spend my $3200 at a time That’s way too much money way too much money
They could have made these for easy less. Unfortunately it's so expensive for the normal person to get one of there products
I'm thinking og getting a HMMWV funny this video comes up 🤣 ok back to watching
Well the portals are great if you had the strength of a straight axle. Why pay for them to put them on a independent front suspension.
I can think of a few reasons
1. Flat CV angle
2. Maintain piston location in the shock so it’s not topping out over a speed bump.
3. Better bulkhead to ground clearance
4. Lift arms up so they don’t hit.
5. Reduce torque on the weak link (CV’s and differential)
6. It rehears the diff which is very expensive to do
7. Doesn’t force you to run a heavy spring just to get height
Is it ok if I stop or do you need more reasons? And for all these reasons every new trophy truck and most new ultra4’s are being built with portals for the IFS.
@@74weldare you running stock steering rack with the portals? If so, how is it handling?
@@DuenasAdventures depends on the vehicle. The only steering rack we make is for a bronco. It uses factory internals in a billet aluminum housing
@@74weld for your Tacoma?
You lost me on the cost breakdown. After spending $20k on portals, you will need new control arms, upgraded steering components, new tires, and most people will end up getting a bunch of other accessories that will require upgrading the shocks and springs anyway. The only cost benefit is you won’t need to pay for regearing and possibly no BMC/CMC required to fit bigger tires. All said and done you’re paying $17k more than you would have otherwise for a full build.
I think you are 30K minimum all in: Portals + Tax, Steering rack, Wheels, Tires, Install/labor cost. Then if you choose to, add in New UCA/and LCA's, shocks., Big Brake Kit...
@@psalm11823 the 74 weld kit comes with a big brake kit, but yeah pretty much
Production quality needs to go up - that wrangler image was 🤢
20k is not killer for me. Just like you I’ve spent more on a build then that
No words lost about fuel consumption 😒
The answer is simple, no.
Bigger tires will stress all your links, bushings, shocks, tie rods. So regardless of portal or not you will need to upgrade all anyway.
I want to….
Super cool. Not cool enough to weather the divorce that would follow spending 20k on my truck, but cool for sure.
Lmao @74weld getting salty over people’s opinions. Why are you trying so hard to justify your product?
What’s wrong with defending your product against common misconceptions? Remember when people thought the internet was a fad?
So much butt hurt over the price LMAO. Shout out to everyone who watched this and decided to make a public announcement that they are poor 🤣
Everything has a use case and for the vast majority of people these portals will never be worth their price not because they aren't well built or don't do what they say they will. But because the end user doesn't d anything with their vehicle that they couldn't do with a variety of other less expensive solutions, or let's be honest, with their completely stock ride. As always it's your money so do as you wish but if you don't truly need them portals are a waste of that money.
Extra whining gear noise, limited freeway speed and expensive.
Cool and useful in off road, but I know professional off road that avoids portal axes just because it increases headaches and possible problems
The unimog axles are "affordable" and only rookies are installing them.
Someone should tell all the professional Trophy Truck teams that have been dominating SCORE with portals that they need to slow down and cut it out with the rookie stuff.
@@RonJacobsen1973 , both are correct, since I miss to mention that I was referring not to Yours competitions but the Off Road competitions in Europe. That missing info is relevant to be mentioned.
The most effective and solid solution are the Nissan Patrol axles, easy and super solid.
There are verrrrrrrrry few occasions where we can hear them. Conditions have to be perfect and even then if you go a few mph faster the tires become louder. (It’s at about 40 mph on freshly asphalted road)
We cruise at 85 mph and in Mexico it hits 100 mph without issue. It’s only 1.22:1 reduction in the portals.
Where other rigs on 42’s are getting hung up, ours on 40’s aired down to 6 psi still has plenty of clearance. Certainly there are many factors to consider with any modification. Just gotta decide what’s right for you
@@Sierra_Bronco a friend of mine install Tibus portal axes.
Great stance, excellent off road, I still have some doubts on the road.
Even more relevant in bulky and big truck that you have in the US.
@@cr88I was planning a ride with another Bronco on Tibus portals this last weekend. Wanted to compare the differences between his and ours on 74Weld portals. Unfortunately he was unable to make it, so I can’t provide any feedback. Also have a buddy with Werewolf portals on a Tacoma but haven’t wheeled with him yet. But fit and finish on the 74Weld boxes are significantly nicer.
Literally false statement on thw very first sentence....lifts DONT make tires fit.(unless you only drive on perfectly flat ground 100% of the time)
🤑
No. Its not worth it. Its never ever worth it
Unsprung mass!
No Vehicle with portals to date has even been made to go faster than 80 km/h. For a reason.
You are not only wrong, you are super wrong
@@RonJacobsen1973 If I was wrong you would have mentioned the Portal vehicles that go 120km/h. But you did not.
@@derJackistweg Every trophy truck that has won anything in baja over the past several years. Half of the competitive field in Ultra 4. Also all the regular people with some of the commercial bolt-on options daily driving on the freeway.
@@RonJacobsen1973 I ment commercially available Cars or trucks.
Not prototypes or racecars.
@@derJackistweg Way to move the goal post. If a big car manufacturer has to do something for it to be legitimate then electrification and fuel economy must be the pinnacle of off road performance.