Dropped A-arms??

[WyoSyclone]

When I bought my Sy, the guys who did the build screwed the torsion bar adjustments all the way out so the front is basically resting on the bump stops - rides like @#@%! I'm going to screw them back in so that I at least have a little suspension movement (can't imagine the stress it puts on ball joints, etc ).

For you guys with coil overs and replacement A-arms, what is your front suspension travel?

If the travel with the coil-over setup isn't adequate, and since there is no such thing as a drop spindle for our trucks, how about someone designing a set of drop A-arms (curved A-arms that give us a 2-inch drop, have correct geometry, and give us good suspension travel)??

Truthfully, I haven't even crawled under the front to see if this would work.. just thinking out loud...

 

[Black Knight]

Re: Dropped A-arms??

I haven't driven mine with the coilovers installed yet to see about ride quaility ( I plan to adjust my shocks resistance up pretty high, so I can drive the truck low without risk of damaging the cladding ), but the coilover kit does allow you to get the truck pretty low, as low as you could possibly want to get it without hitting the cladding, IMO.

 

[WyoSyclone]

Re: Dropped A-arms??

Thanks Roy,
I like the look of mine with the front dropped, but I know it's just tearing up the front suspension components resting on the stops the way it is :rant:

I've seen a few threads today with the new A-arms and coilovers and really like how they look (I wish they would have capped the ends of the A-arm tubes to keep the possibility rust forming internally, out of the equation).

I'll screw my torsion bars up a bit, get it realigned and drive it for a while to see how I like it...

 

[MRKING]

Re: Dropped A-arms??

Who says you need new arms . Coilovers alone do what you want with the stock arms .They even lower the truck enough to sit low , but not dragging parts low .

 

[WyoSyclone]

Re: Dropped A-arms??

Hey, Thanks Michael..... do you know how much travel there is with the coil-over setup? Of course it depends on ride height... I don't want it slammed, just a nice rake with the stock rear setup.

 

[BoostedSUV]

Re: Dropped A-arms??

I have my truck lowered about 2" up front and have 2" drop blocks in the rear. Looks Awesome but definitely rides like Sh*t! If I decide to keep my TY I will look into a coilover setup and perhaps shorter bump stops to allow more suspension travel. I love the look but the ride is terrible! Someone needs to create a better solution to lower our vehicles and maintain a comfortable ride.

 

[MRKING]

Re: Dropped A-arms??

Hey, Thanks Michael..... do you know how much travel there is with the coil-over setup? Of course it depends on ride height... I don't want it slammed, just a nice rake with the stock rear setup.

Ride height is dependant of how the coilover is adjusted . Tighten to go highter and vice versa . What do you mean by travel ? My sy sits where I can fit 3 fingers in between the top of the tire and the front fender cladding , and i am only adjusted 3/4 so far .

 

[dgoodhue]

Re: Dropped A-arms??

so the front is basically resting on the bump stops - rides like @#@%! I'm going to screw them back in so that I at least have a little suspension movement (can't imagine the stress it puts on ball joints, etc ).

For you guys with coil overs and replacement A-arms, what is your front suspension travel?

My suspension travel is reduced, its not neccessarily a bad thing, it help with flatter launches. Mine isn't lowered that much my ride height is 27" measured from the ground to top of the cladding (stock is 28" +/- 1/2"). I ultimately want to drop to it 26.5" and have played with that setting but I need to lower my rear first. At 26.5" my coilover are real close to my bump stops at rest. I would probably trim them a little bit and check my upper suspension clearance with the cladding (taking the coilover out) You need most of the bump stops, because with take out you fander cladding with too small or no bump stops. I think furthers I would drop it to would 26" but I really don't know, it would be hitting the bump stop alot much below it, you might want stiffer spring the lower levels.

If the travel with the coil-over setup isn't adequate, and since there is no such thing as a drop spindle for our trucks, how about someone designing a set of drop A-arms (curved A-arms that give us a 2-inch drop, have correct geometry, and give us good suspension travel)??

Their are no dropped spindle for our trucks, and 3 of the 4 coilover kits correct the ball joint angles. IMO Unfortunately the one currently still being produce used the stock ball joints angle, which are correct for a 4x4 and were already inccorrect from the factory with the stock lowered stance.

 

[WyoSyclone]

Re: Dropped A-arms??

Thanks for that info Dave.
I'm sitting at 27 1/4" in the front and I'm actually sitting on the bump stops - this is with the stock front suspension.... I'm at 30 1/4" in the rear.

Maybe I'll take the front up to 28 1/4" and see how much suspension travel that gets me - I'm not sure of the triangulation factor of the bump stop - I don't think raising the front 1" will give me 1" of bump stop clearance - probably 1/2" or something close to that.

 

[dgoodhue]

Re: Dropped A-arms??

Thanks for that info Dave.
I'm sitting at 27 1/4" in the front and I'm actually sitting on the bump stops - this is with the stock front suspension.... I'm at 30 1/4" in the rear.

Maybe I'll take the front up to 28 1/4" and see how much suspension travel that gets me - I'm not sure of the triangulation factor of the bump stop - I don't think raising the front 1" will give me 1" of bump stop clearance - probably 1/2" or something close to that.

Maybe the stock A-arms are thicker where they meet the bump stop, I never really inspected the stock suspension/bump stops that much. Yeah isn't not a 1:1 ratio for the bump stop clearance to change in ride height. Its probably closer to 1:2 or 1:3 (this just a guess base on my expereince)

I have quick a bit of room at 27". 27 1/4" isn't that low at all, maybe you could cut the stock bump stops down. Or maybe some put in non stock one.

 

[jabberwalk]

Re: Dropped A-arms??

I have lowered torsion bars and had the same problem with the front resting on the bump stops. I removed them and it rides much better. I have not had any issues with tire/cladding contact.

 

[WyoSyclone]

Re: Dropped A-arms??

Thanks Jabber.... that gives me some guidance on giving it a try.

 

[MRKING]

Re: Dropped A-arms??

This is how 26 1/4 front and only 1 inch blocks in the rear sits .I have no front stops in at all .The rear will eventually be level with the front when I weld in my rear kit .

I agressively jumped on my front bumper mounts with the wheels fully turned , and I couldnt get the cladding close enough to see clearance issues , nor do the arms hit the frame bump stop pad . IMO , that new arms money could be better spent on motor parts . Drop 5 bills on some qa1's , you wont be disappointed .

 

[mattw]

Re: Dropped A-arms??

Your tires will contact the cladding without bumpstops up front. I speak from experience. However if you use these:

With two washers behind them:

It will provide the maximum amount of travel without contacting the cladding. In the second pic you can see that I tried to trim the stock bump stop. This provided a very harsh stop when the arm contacted the stop. Those energy suspension stops work 100x better.


-Matt

 

[dgoodhue]

Re: Dropped A-arms??

Tire height will also play a roll in how low you can go as well. I agree with Matt, I wouldn't run my truck without bumps stops, I know of a couple other owners who have broken the front cladding because they were missing bump stops and their ride heights were higher than your yours.

 

[WyoSyclone]

Re: Dropped A-arms??

Thanks Michael and Matt,
I think I'd have a hard time running without any bump stops - I'm the type that worries about little things like that, and I sure don't want to risk the chance of damaging any cladding! The roads in Oklahoma are pretty much like riding across the prarie so I think I'll need all the help I can get in building longevity into the front suspension - the Energy Suspension pieces look good.