The Stupid Lowered Questions Thread

[Devs93]

Looks like a 4/6 to me measure from the wheel hub to the bottom of the fender lip. Another reason i say that front is for is because it sounds like you have belltech coils pull the spacer and it should drop another inch. Id say you tire shop screwed ya because you should be able to have more meat than that. also if the fender lips are roll rolled on the front id suggest doing so.

 

[Devs93]

Looks like a 4/6 to me measure from the wheel hub to the bottom of the fender lip. Another reason i say that front is for is because it sounds like you have belltech coils pull the spacer and it should drop another inch. Id say you tire shop screwed ya because you should be able to have more meat than that. also if the fender lips are roll rolled on the front id suggest doing so. Your back maybe 7 inches hard to tell get those measurements and we will know for sure if its not then a pair of shackles will get ya there.Also i hope frame is already notched if not i bet it rides look pooh

 

[ccreddell]

A couple things-First of all, just looking at your pic it looks to me like someone put a 4/6 on it and then raised the front an inch or so. Most likely the P/O had rubbing issues up front. Second, you talk about putting a bed notch in, but unless you mean a frame notch, it has to be already there. If you have a flip kit on the rear (if the axle is on top of the springs) and no frame notch, your axles are basically riding on the frame. If this is the case you have no ride and you are right to want to fix this. If you do have the frame notch, then its almost certain that you have the bed notch already. If you didnt, you would have a good sized hump in the middle of your bed. As you didnt say anything about this, Im assuming its not there. If you are indeed wanting to do the wheel well to wheel well bed notch, the frame notch you currently have isnt going to allow your rear end to raise up into the bed area enough to make use of it. the top of your axle needs to be able to move up to at least the top of the stock frame rail to need this mod. As to your tire size/filling your wheel opening saga; a lot depends on your wheel offset. with the correct offset, you can stuff some pretty good sized tires in there-your tire guys hosed you. The bad news? The wheels in the pic dont appear to be that offset. As mentioned above, you will need to roll the front fenders, the rear appears to be fine. With the offset of the front wheels, even taking out the inner fenders or replacing them with trailer fenders wont do you much good, because the tires are going to hit the outer skin of your front fenders before you go much farther. in the rear wheel tubs will allow you to run 50-60 series tires with out a lot of trouble. Its fairly self explanatory to just look at your tire, and go straight up and see what it hits, and when. Get a wheel with more offset in front and it will tuck-although its a bit harder if you happen to have Belltech spindles, but its still possible. Just not with those particular wheels.

Oh, and to get another inch in the rear, just throw a drop shackle at it.

 

[Devs93]

here is a guidline to help with offset Also i guess you could be talking notching the bed crossmember over the pumpkin on the rear that need to be done or they will smack

 

[kewljay223]

ok. im sorry i forgot to mention a few things or at least make myself clear. i had so many things on my mind to ask i guess i forgot. all the fenders are rolled already. and the frame already has a bolt in c notch. pretty sure its not welded either but luckily it hasnt giving me any problems. also the rib above the axel is notched as well as stated. i never noticed it before until you mentioned it.

the axel does not hit too often. only when i had a dip or bump too hard. or if i have the bed loaded up. but with these 35 series, i wont be moshing thru stuff like that anymore... lol the notch im reffering to i guess is called a step notch. the one with the 2 inch tube steel on top and 1/4" steel plate on sides. im sure you guys know which one im talking about. that will give me extra clearance and allow for an extra 1" drop correct? i think i read that the brake lines and whatever else is on top of pumpkin needs to be reloacated so it doesnt get pinched also.... am i doing good so far?

so from what ccredell said, im pretty screwed with the wheels i have now... if i want that extra inch i need new wheels in front with more offset to bring them back some, away from the outer fender...?? as of now it looks like i have plenty of clearance in back. would i need to cut anything inside? just a thought... if i have the (belltch???) spindles, the ones that stick out further, could i swap those out and get enough clearance to tuck them for the drop? that would be cheaper then buying new rims/tires and losing money on these new ones selling them..... as far as i know the P/O was the original and he said he dropped it right after he drove it off the lot... which means the parts are most likely the old style... is there a way to tell which spindles i have???

here are a few pics to help see what i have. i measured from center of wheel to fender. didnt know exactly where on the hub you were talking about. if you need a different measurement let me know. the bed has a ladder and a few tools and boxes in it so it may or may not be down an extra half inch... if u need me to remove them then i can. also this is a lil off topic and dont want to direct the convo this way but the measurement are taken from driver side. the passenger side is sitting lower for some reason. i never noticed untill i put the rims on... where should i look for the cause? all of the front susupension is new now. and nothing looks out of the ordinary in the rear...





Spring spacer

You must be registered for see images attach

5" backspace

You must be registered for see images attach

front rim - fender clearance

You must be registered for see images attach

rear rim - fender clearance

You must be registered for see images attach

front rim

You must be registered for see images attach

rear rim

You must be registered for see images attach

c notch

You must be registered for see images attach

rib notched

You must be registered for see images attach

shackle

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Devs93]

Id say you have a 4 in drop up front the shackles look stock . if look on the back of the spindle and see a BT you have Belltechs if they are belltechs i think if you swapped them with djm you would have just enough room for the wheel to tuck. went back and looked at your first pic of the truck yank that coil spacer I think you are fine just let down off the jack slowly to double check it

 

[ccreddell]

Id say you have a 4 in drop up front the shackles look stock . if look on the back of the spindle and see a BT you have Belltechs if they are belltechs i think if you swapped them with djm you would have just enough room for the wheel to tuck. went back and looked at your first pic of the truck yank that coil spacer I think you are fine just let down off the jack slowly to double check it

I concur. Although, the BT spindles only push you out 3/4" each side, so it may still be close. If you get too more nuts with the drop, youre going to need to cut some inner structure on the fender. If Im reading the tape right, youre running 5.5" of back spacing which 'should' work-6.25 works better (especially with BT spindles). I would toss the springs and get a set of stockers and cut them. They get a bit stiffer that way which I prefer. The difference in height youre observing is known as the infamous Chevy lean. A couple things cause this. A bent sway bar, or springs that arent even. Usually the springs, and in your case that may be why there are spacers in the coils. Might be able to compensate when you cut a set of stockers.

For the back. What you showed is what I suspected you had. So, my recommendations still hold. You will need to redo your frame notch, so that its as least as deep as the top of the frame. A lot of bed notch kits (like you described) come with a frame notch to accommodate the required drop. Keep in mind that if you just use a drop shackle, and just go 1in. you might get by without cutting your bed. You will have to clearance above the shackle though. In either case, or however you do it, get a good progressive bump stop so it doesnt thump so hard-cause eventually, youre going to break something.

 

[Devs93]

he shouldnt have to cut those springs I dont think. the BT springs come with that spacer and if you want the extra drop you pull the spacers iirc My rear is dropped 7 and does bottom out on a hard bump but some of that is also getting used to driving that low

 

[ccreddell]

Thats why I said to get a set of stock springs and cut them.

 

[kewljay223]

I concur. Although, the BT spindles only push you out 3/4" each side, so it may still be close. If you get too more nuts with the drop, youre going to need to cut some inner structure on the fender. If Im reading the tape right, youre running 5.5" of back spacing which 'should' work-6.25 works better (especially with BT spindles). I would toss the springs and get a set of stockers and cut them. They get a bit stiffer that way which I prefer. The difference in height youre observing is known as the infamous Chevy lean. A couple things cause this. A bent sway bar, or springs that arent even. Usually the springs, and in your case that may be why there are spacers in the coils. Might be able to compensate when you cut a set of stockers.

For the back. What you showed is what I suspected you had. So, my recommendations still hold. You will need to redo your frame notch, so that its as least as deep as the top of the frame. A lot of bed notch kits (like you described) come with a frame notch to accommodate the required drop. Keep in mind that if you just use a drop shackle, and just go 1in. you might get by without cutting your bed. You will have to clearance above the shackle though. In either case, or however you do it, get a good progressive bump stop so it doesnt thump so hard-cause eventually, youre going to break something.

ok well i didnt get home till after dark today. long ass day at work. hopefully ill be able to get under it tomorrow and check the back of the spindles to see what i have. ill snap some pics. if i cant find much, is there a measurment i can take to check if they stick out that 3/4" you speak of?? and if its really 3/4" that it will bring them in if i swap them, im pretty sure that is the route i will take. from looking at it in person, that should be plenty to tuck. if not then im not sure... cant afford new set of front rims right now. and the offset is 5" i was measuring to the left side of the straight edge. thats the side that is up against the outer portion of the rotor where the back of the wheel mounts.

as for the lean, im hoping its the sway bar. i had a problem getting an alignment a while back cuz something was maxed out. the cause ended up being a bent frame. took it to a shop and they pulled it out and now alignment is all good. maybe whatever caused the bent frame bent the sway bar... but how can the sway bar drop it that much?? its at least a 1/2" and i been doing research on the chevy lean but everybodys on the driver side. i only saw like 3 guys that had it on the pass side like me... so the whole gas tank, driver, steering, etc reasons do not apply... there is something else causing it. ill get some pics of those measurments too.

and is there a reason you want me to cut stockers vs the ones i already have??? i mean i already have them... why buy used stock ones when i got ones already designed for a drop?

thanks for all the help so far!!! this is helping me out a lot. im actually getting somewhere!! lol