Stock for stock the S10 Blazer beat teh Jeep in a off-road comparision. Peterson compared the S10-Blazer the first year it came out against other 4x4s, and it won. It was the only year iPeterson had the S10-Blazer in the contest.
http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/featuredvehicles/131_0802_2008_4x4_of_the_year_results/index.html http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/features/131_0704_1977_2007_timeline_4wheel_off_road_magazine/1981_1985.html http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/featuredvehicles/131_0707_1983_1993_chevy_s10_blazer/index.html Jeeps are popular becuase of thier military history, and thus there following at first by former military guys. Jeeps are not the perfect off-road vehicle. There short wheelbase creates all sorts of problems, it makes them unstable while climbing and in off camber situations. One common upgrade for serious Jeeps on tires over 35" is stretching the wheelbase to 100". Do you know the wheelbase of a 2 dr S10-Blazer? 100.5" Stock its better then a Jeep.
Both the S10-Blazer and Jeep use similar t-cases. Over the years the t-case has changed, however the NP207, and NP231 were common to both vehicles.
Look at the tranny. The 700R4 is a far better tranny then the Heeps, it has a lower first gear and a higher overdrive. Better off the line/crawling and better on the highway. Plus better gas mileage. Yes, your S10pBlazer gets batter gas mileage then the Heep. A common upgrade to teh Jeep is dropping in a 4.3 and 700R4 tranny. Then hook them up to a NP231 t-case, guess what, your Blazer comes with them stock. no "upgrade" needed.
Is a solid axle better? Define better?
H1 have IFS and IRS, tehy are pretty capable right out of hte box. The lunar lander was/is 4wheel independent supsension. If the solid axle was that much better, why didn't it make the trip to the moon, and that was back in the '60's?
Which suspension system is used on the race trucks? Solid axle of IFS?
IFS with a live rear axle. Yep, IFS is winning the off-road races. Sure they are custom built units and cost a ton, however the same money could be dumped into a solis axle, however the IFS systm has proven its superiority in the racing circuit. The trouble is the aftermarket hasn't built and sold an ungrade for IFS YET! Plus the manufactures are using aluminum IFS housings, which fial when a locker and big tires are installed.
Petersons latest mag did an article on snow wheeling in Canada. Guess what the hot set up is up in the cold country in the snow. IFS!
As of right now the only race circuits still using solid axle is rock crawling and mud racing. Hard to find 2.5 ton IFS axles to fit under a truck. The 2.5 ton military axle is found under teh Monster trucks, and military trucks are everywhere. Google OSHGOSH trucks, tehy are building Off-Road earth moving equipment with IFS. It can be built to survive extreme conditions.
http://www.oshkoshdefense.com/defense/products~lvsr~home.cfm To answer the question as to why Jeeps are so popular?
Simple, they have attained cult status. They are no more capable right out of hte box then any other 4x4 right out of the box.
To anser the question as to which is better?
The S10-Blazer is better right out of hte box. It already has all the parts the Jeep guys want, except the front axle. One last thing on the front axle. Sure the Blazer has a IFS, however it is a recerse cut gears. Reverse cut gears are stronger then regular cut gears in a front axle. The week point on a Jeep is the u-joint, and the week part under the Blazer is the cv alxe. Which is easier to replace on the trail? Yep teh CV axle.
Then again I AM BIASED!
