The Stupid Lowered Questions Thread

[ccreddell]

Heres the deal; You need to realize that doing a 4/6 doesnt effect the suspensions ability to carry a load. You still have the same springs, all you did was relocated the axle to the opposite side of the spring. So, doing a 4/6 doesnt hurt your ability to carry a load. Ive put stupidly huge amounts weight in my trucks over the years, lowered and unlowered, and the only difference is that the unlowered is a bit more tippy.

What you will find though, is that when you go through all the hassle of doing a 3/4, youre going to hate it (eventually) and wish you had just done the the 4/6 (that is way easier to install, BTW), in the first place. But you cant. At least not without undoing all you did to get to 3/4. It almost always happens.

 

[Rick Champagne]

Well if thats the case, what would be the preferred kit

 

[someotherguy]

Belltech for the flip kit, hands down. Belltech shocks are good. I'd also go Belltech for the front springs and spindles, but everyone likes to dwell on saying the Belltech spindles push your wheels out (1/2", 1" whatever) I personally am not convinced but have never had the chance to compare different brands in hand and take specific measurements. I've run a number of trucks using Belltech spindles and as long as you pick your wheel and tire correctly there is no issue. They are by far the best quality stuff you can get.

The most important points to having a 4/6 (or even 5/7) drop and still using it as a truck are...

1. c-notch for the frame, absolutely critical, you will not get away without doing this as there simply isn't enough room for the axle to travel otherwise. The truth is even with a 3/4 drop you will need a notch if you're going to carry a heavy load.

2. correct tire size and wheel size so you don't get rubbing on the front. Front wheel width of 8.5" with a 5.5" backspace is ideal for pretty much most tire sizes, of course you need to keep tire height down to a reasonable amount - 30" or so which is not really getting too short on the sidewall until you get into 22's. For example I often run a 255/45/20 up front and it's a great fit. That's a 29" tall tire with about 4.5" of sidewall so you aren't smashing your wheels up on every little pothole.

3. correct load range of tire. Too many low profile tires are meant for lightweight passenger cars. Look for a brand you can get XL rated tires if you intend to haul weight around. I'd pick them anyway just because you have a heavy vehicle that you may be prone to driving around in a sporty style since it's lowered and handles better. With the higher load rating you get the stiffer sidewall which will prevent any mushy handling. I've been using Toyo Proxes S/T for years now, they've been replaced by the STII which also has been good for me. Good grip dry and wet, good treadwear, XL load rating. Plus many sizes are made in USA, some in Japan.

20' car hauler trailer and a classic Thunderbird body are not exactly light

You must be registered for see images attach

Neither is a bed full of 19.5" tires and wheels

You must be registered for see images attach

Not like those are stupid heavy loads but things I never thought twice about, just load the truck up and go.

Richard

 

[someotherguy]

I just read back and saw you're planning on sticking with 235/75/15, with many stock wheels (and probably a good number of aftermarket 15") you may need to trim the "rain gutters" on your lower control arms, just a little bit. It's an easy job and as long as you don't go crazy you will not hurt the control arm. Just a small amount at the ends where it gets close to the wheel hoop. Some 15" wheels clear, many won't. If it bugs you, you can weld a small A-shaped patch across the bottom for strength (leave a hole in the patch for accessing the ball joint grease fitting), but most people don't bother, and nobody has problems. My '92 extended cab longbed was trimmed by a serious hack before I got it and I ran it like that for literally 100K miles across the country driving like a maniac and many times loaded down stupid with classic arcade games, pinball machines, parts, motorcycles, etc.

Richard

 

[sewlow]

Bed crossmember over the rear dif.'s pumpkin has to be notched, too.
My '97 (Blue) is a 2/4. PitA install.
Those front hangers! Aaarrgghhh! Pinion angle probs, too!
And...it's just not low enough! A lotta work for...Yawn!
My '98 is at 4/7. Use it like a truck! Still load it up as much as when it was @ stock height.
Only thing that ever touched ground was the Y-pipe crossover. And even that was an extremely rare occurance. Only reason that that was modded was because I could see it hanging under the truck, & it bugged me.
Same size & brand front tires as someotherguy. 295/40's in the rear. Same sidewall height as the fronts.
Rims are 6 years old & I've never had a pothole take one out. Even with the condition of some of the roads around here.
I'd recommend a rear sway bar. The one on my '97 is a factory GM one off of an SUV. A bolt on!
Nitro Drop shocks are poop. Not a performance shock in any way, shape or form. They are nothing more than a shorter than stock shock which imitates the original ride characteristics. Made by Doestch. I tend to get a bit enthusiastic in the twisties! Killed those Doestchs in under a year! Deader than dead! Actually burnt the shaft blue!
Short of spending big cake on some double adjustable Steeda QA1's, ($1500.00!) the BellTech Street Performer shocks are the way to go. Better valving aimed towards performance in compression & rebound. And they are significantly more robust in both shaft & body size.

 

[someotherguy]

Man, thanks for mentioning the bed crossmember and Y-pipe. I knew I'd forget some details. I always have the Y-pipe modded to raise it even with the crossmember; figure why let it be the thing that gets smashed on a hard high speed dip? A few bucks at the muffler shop and they can cut the low piece out, cut a new cross piece with a simple bend up at each end, weld it up in place.

Raised Y-pipe, looks lower than crossmember due to angle but it's basically even with it

You must be registered for see images attach

295/40/20 in the rear here too when I had 20x10, 6" backspace on the '94

You must be registered for see images attach

255/45/20 with 20x8.5, 5.25" backspace (5.5" would have been better but not offered in this wheel)

You must be registered for see images attach

Richard

 

[sewlow]

When I had the Y-pipe modded, I got them to run it forward & tucked up under the front of the oil pan. The exhaust shop was concerned with the heat of that affecting the temp. of the oil in the pan. Was never a prob for the 4 years it was like that.

 

[Rick Champagne]

Who has the best price on the BellTech kit?

 

[ccreddell]

I'm one of those who don't like the BT spindles (and most likely the reason Someotherguy wishes he had 5.5 BS). I'm also the guy who is well aware that no one has any problem with trimmed rain gutters but doesn't like that either. So, I always recommend at least a 17" wheel. Nitto makes a great set of tires called the NT450. 255/50 front and 275/50 Rear. Stick like glue wet or dry. I also have had numerous trucks I lowered with KYB Gas-A-Just shocks-and I swear by them. Lifetime guarantee too. Ride nicely just cruising around and stiffen up for better control when you push it. In fact, I don't miss a rear swaybar when I use them.

 

[Blue 93 stepside]

so this might be a dumb question but if was to buy drop leaf springs would i have to do an axle flip or could i leave it stock with the springs on top of the axle? Cause evrything ive seen they do the axle flip.