Dean's Diesel Off Road Build

[phatphuck]

And then the final product.

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Two questions:

- have you previously been into old bmws?

- what are your suspension heights front and rear in that last pic?

Nice truck!

 

[90halfton]

Love this project

 

[e30dean]

Two questions:

- have you previously been into old bmws?

- what are your suspension heights front and rear in that last pic?

Nice truck!

Yep, used to have 2 e30's, an e36, e39 and a z3 coupe. The suspension is that standard rough country 6" lift. If you are asking about a specific measurement like from the floor to the bumper or fender flare then I can do a measurement quickly.

 

[phatphuck]

Yep, used to have 2 e30's, an e36, e39 and a z3 coupe. The suspension is that standard rough country 6" lift. If you are asking about a specific measurement like from the floor to the bumper or fender flare then I can do a measurement quickly.

Ha! What are the chances. I too have had quite a few.

5 e30's, 2 e39, e24, e28, e36, e34 over the years.

Well, I mostly meant on the front. Did you install the rear leaf on yours for the full 6" in the rear and crank your front keys for the full 6" on the front?

I'm considering the RC kit too but don't want to go that high and Ove heard you can do a 4" lift by not cranking front keys and leaving out the rear leaf and just keeping the block.

Any input on that?

 

[phatphuck]

also curious what is your sub setup like?

And let me know if you find a source for the TB relocators. I'm looking for some too.

 

[e30dean]

I finally got my Realift TB relocator's on which turned out to be a pain in the ass. The TB cross member has to be moved backwards with some new holes in the frame drilled so be ready for that. Also since I upgraded my exhaust to a 4", the exhaust was in the way to slide the cross member back so I had to remove that section of piping and will have to have an exhaust shop extend the section to the hump that goes over the cross member. And finally, on some longer trucks like mine the transmission cross member is in the way so you have to either drop it down below the frame and add 1" spacers or you cut that section of the cross member out and notch it. I ran out of time so my torsion bars are currently resting on the cross member, hopefully next weekend I will have some time to notch them.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[e30dean]

Ha! What are the chances. I too have had quite a few.

5 e30's, 2 e39, e24, e28, e36, e34 over the years.

Well, I mostly meant on the front. Did you install the rear leaf on yours for the full 6" in the rear and crank your front keys for the full 6" on the front?

I'm considering the RC kit too but don't want to go that high and Ove heard you can do a 4" lift by not cranking front keys and leaving out the rear leaf and just keeping the block.

Any input on that?

The max I have seen people get out of a TB crank is about 3" but it varies by truck. The downside of the TB crank is that essentialy your control arms will be right up against the bump stops so if you go offroad then you wont have any wheel droop/extension left. Essentially TB cranks of that much work for street trucks only, and they make the ride stiffer upfront.

The benefit of the RC kit is that they move the control arms down so you don't have to have your TB cranked and you get to maintain the same ride quality and amount of wheel travel. In the rear, the RC kit uses a block spacer for the lift.

I also didn't want to go 6" high and wanted only 4" but no one did a 4" lift kit.

 

[phatphuck]

I finally got my Realift TB relocator's on which turned out to be a pain in the ass. The TB cross member has to be moved backwards with some new holes in the frame drilled so be ready for that. Also since I upgraded my exhaust to a 4", the exhaust was in the way to slide the cross member back so I had to remove that section of piping and will have to have an exhaust shop extend the section to the hump that goes over the cross member. And finally, on some longer trucks like mine the transmission cross member is in the way so you have to either drop it down below the frame and add 1" spacers or you cut that section of the cross member out and notch it. I ran out of time so my torsion bars are currently resting on the cross member, hopefully next weekend I will have some time to notch them.

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This is super good to know. I just ordered my TB relocators as well last week. Still dont have the lift selected though. I paid $325 for the relocators a full third of the price of the RC kit.

So all told do you still think the TB relocate was worth it?

The max I have seen people get out of a TB crank is about 3" but it varies by truck. The downside of the TB crank is that essentialy your control arms will be right up against the bump stops so if you go offroad then you wont have any wheel droop/extension left. Essentially TB cranks of that much work for street trucks only, and they make the ride stiffer upfront.

The benefit of the RC kit is that they move the control arms down so you don't have to have your TB cranked and you get to maintain the same ride quality and amount of wheel travel. In the rear, the RC kit uses a block spacer for the lift.

I also didn't want to go 6" high and wanted only 4" but no one did a 4" lift kit.

Not really what I meant. What I was saying was, from what I've read, the RC kit uses a ~4" drop bracket for everything on the front end and the rest of the front lift is crank to get the full 6"

The rear is a combination of rear block and add a leaf.

From what I've read you can install the kit, but not crank the front for the last couple inches and leave out the aal on the rear altogether and end up with about 4" of lift out of the kit as opposed to the full 6".

Is that also your experience with the kit or is it an all or nothing deal with the k2500s?

Truck looks all the better without the TBs hanging out there man!

 

[e30dean]

Unfortunately I don't think that information is fully correct. When I received the RC kit, the subframe drop for the diff and the control arms all measured out to be a 6" drop. When reassembling the torsion bars, I torqued them to the same spec as what I had stock and my total lift came out to be 6". I'm sure I could take out a few turns out of the torsion bars and drop the front a bit and maybe get it down to that 4" mark but then the front suspension would be much softer as well. Ive considered this.

Also keep in mind that the RC kit comes with a 5-6" rear block, there are no add a leafs (atleast that's how mine came). So if you wanted to keep the rear level for your scenario, then you would need to order shorter blocks elsewhere.

 

[e30dean]

And yes the TB relocation was worth it. I am planning to go to Moab this year and that will keep me from dragging the torsion bars and brackets on some of the tougher trails.