Newb To Truck Lowering: Help!

vodapas · November 6, 2005

As I have stated in other posts I have modified several cars in the past and consider myself reasonably mechanically inclined. So when I decided, "Hey I've owned a couple of trucks, but I've never modified one. This should be fun." I figured it wouldn't be too steep of a learning curve to transfer what I know from cars to trucks. I'm begining to realize I may have severely underestimated the differences.

So, here's the point I'm at. I want to get lowering the truck out of the way before I do anything else. Not much of a point in throwing on new wheels and tires until I know what the clearance will be and that I'm not going to eat the new tires alive because of a poorly done drop.

I do have the wheels and tires I want to buy picked out, so I can gauge from there how much of a drop to go with. I'm planning on 20x8.5" wheels with 275/45 rubber up front and 295/45 out back. (I realize this may cause ABS problems, but I'm going to check if the speed sensor calibrator I'll be buying can handle the two different diameters.)

So, based on my front and rear diameters I'm thinking of going with a 2/3" drop or maybe even a 3/4" drop. (I like the raked look.) I think I have the back pretty well figured out. Shackles and hangars will do the trick and I may have to buy a carrier bearing relocation kit and shims.

However, the front is what has me completely perplexed. All of the total drop kits I see online do the drop with new coils but the local 4 Wheel Parts told me to drop the front with drop spindles and that it will make for a much better alignment. I see the logic in that and thought they had the right idea. Then I come on here and read through this section and hear very bad things about the Beltech spindles I've priced out. The most common complaint being the increase of turning radius. My truck's an extended cab and I've already got enough problems parking it without increasing its turning circle. So, which direction should I go with? I'd really appreciate comments from both sides and definitely anyone who has tried both.

My other concern is ride quality. I realize by lowering that the ride won't be quite as cushy. I can deal with that so long as it's not horrible. Because I plan to increase wheel size and decrease rubber I know that alone will hurt the ride. So, I plan to get toxic drop shocks no matter what drop method I use up front to combat the degrading ride. However, I want to take advantage of the lower center of gravity and make my handling better as well. Which brings me to my next question. Is there a way to use drop spindles and drop springs together for a mild drop? It seems to me that would be the best compromise. The spindles would help keep alignment in check and the springs would help with handling. Is this good logic or am I completely off here?

Sorry for the length of the post and the newb questions. I did research the other posts but couldn't find a post that applied to this specific question. I really appreciate any helpful advice I can get.

vodapas · November 7, 2005

Bump for a newb.

asilverblazer · November 8, 2005

Last thing I lowered was with springs, big waste of time. My suggestion is spindles. Spindles work much simpler than the spring, rather than limiting the suspensions movements as well as adjustments to a fraction of its original. The spindle simply relocates the wheel higher in relation to the rest of the suspension components. Makes for a tougher install but the finished functionality is much improved over the springs alone.

vodapas · November 8, 2005

Good deal, thanks for the input. From what you said and what I talked about with one of my coworkers today it's sounding like drop spindles are the way to go. From what I've seen on here McGaughy's spindles have the most satisfied customers. So, I'll probably be going with them maybe for both front and back. Or maybe I'll stick with Belltech for the rear. Sounds like that's my best bet for a comfortable ride.

Thanks again.

99Silver6.0 · November 8, 2005

Good deal, thanks for the input. From what you said and what I talked about with one of my coworkers today it's sounding like drop spindles are the way to go. From what I've seen on here McGaughy's spindles have the most satisfied customers. So, I'll probably be going with them maybe for both front and back. Or maybe I'll stick with Belltech for the rear. Sounds like that's my best bet for a comfortable ride.

Thanks again.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If you are not looking to gain any handling, then yes. Spindles are great. If you want some improvment in handling you need to do springs. I have never had a problem with my OBS trucks that I dropped with coils. Ever.

vodapas · November 10, 2005

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If you are not looking to gain any handling, then yes. Spindles are great. If you want some improvment in handling you need to do springs. I have never had a problem with my OBS trucks that I dropped with coils. Ever.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So, you've found that lowering springs have dropped as much as the maker claims they do? I ask because that seems to be the most common complaint. What brand(s) have you used?

I definitely want to improve handling as much as possible since my last car is, last time I checked, one of the best handling front drive cars in the world. Moving to a truck takes some getting used to.

However, I don't want a ride that will jar fillings loose either. Just trying to find the best balance. I'm really curious to see what a combination of 2" drop spindles and a set of springs with more aggressive rates but a very mild drop (like 1") would be like. But, I don't know if I want to drop a full 3" in front.

Thanks for the input, I really appreciate it.

Lang

99Silver6.0 · November 11, 2005

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If you are not looking to gain any handling, then yes. Spindles are great. If you want some improvment in handling you need to do springs. I have never had a problem with my OBS trucks that I dropped with coils. Ever.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So, you've found that lowering springs have dropped as much as the maker claims they do? I ask because that seems to be the most common complaint. What brand(s) have you used?

I definitely want to improve handling as much as possible since my last car is, last time I checked, one of the best handling front drive cars in the world. Moving to a truck takes some getting used to.

However, I don't want a ride that will jar fillings loose either. Just trying to find the best balance. I'm really curious to see what a combination of 2" drop spindles and a set of springs with more aggressive rates but a very mild drop (like 1") would be like. But, I don't know if I want to drop a full 3" in front.

Thanks for the input, I really appreciate it.

Lang

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I had Belltechs on my old 95. They dropped almost 2" up front. I have a full Hotchkis setup now and they dropped a true to life 2 up front and 4 out back and im really glad I used Hotch. Sits perfect. Eibach makes some mild drops like a 1/3 you could look into. Are you set on a 2/4 drop?

vodapas · November 11, 2005

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I had Belltechs on my old 95. They dropped almost 2" up front. I have a full Hotchkis setup now and they dropped a true to life 2 up front and 4 out back and im really glad I used Hotch. Sits perfect. Eibach makes some mild drops like a 1/3 you could look into. Are you set on a 2/4 drop?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, I'm not sure if I'm set on a 2/3", 2/4" or 3/4" drop. I need to get off my butt and go out and estimate what kind of drop will be best with the wheel/tire package I plan to buy. Not wanting to tuck the tires or have to roll the fenders.

I checked out the Eibach springs and those look like they might be the ticket. They listed a 1 to 1.5" drop depending on what type of cab. I'm curious if an extended cab will be more or less drop? I'd think it would be more on a extended cab than on a standard cab.

So as of right now I'm thinking of running McGaughy 2" drop spindles (maybe with the Eibach springs) up front, Belltech hangers and shackles with either a 3 or 4" drop out back and then Toxic drop shocks all around. From what I've gathered on here and on other sites that would probably be the best drop for me. It would give me the look I want, still maintain decent ride comfort and mildly improve handling. Thoughts?