JM1431
Bone Stock
Posts:2
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| 02/02/2007 6:07 PM |
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| I dont know if anyone has the answer to this question, because i have heard anywhere from 1/2" to 2", but does anyone know how many inches is raised to the front end of a 2000 Silverado Z71 when it is leveled? Also, I have heard that for chevys a leveling kit is not needed cause it can be done by just tightning up the tension on the suspension. Is this true? If so what is the purpose of buying a leveling kit? It would be great if anyone can help me answer these questions because i want to put some 285s or 295s on my truck and dont know if i should lift it an inch or two. If the front end does rise 2 inches then i wouldnt need to buy a lift. |
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Dan Pitts
Body Lift
Posts:232
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| 02/02/2007 6:25 PM |
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| all you got to do is crank up the torsion bars on each side to there max and you can easily tuck 285s seen it done a bunch of times. |
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Danny Pitts
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lift it, fat chicks can't jump |
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SnoMan
Lift & Lockers
Posts:943
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| 02/03/2007 3:10 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Dan Pitts
all you got to do is crank up the torsion bars on each side to there max and you can easily tuck 285s seen it done a bunch of times.
This is done though at the expense or placing the suspension at or near the limit of it upward travel. When you do this the suspesion will be choppy on bumpy roads because it will have little if any travel left and can cause vehicle to be ruff and jerking at times. (It kinda defeats the purpose of the suspensions abilty to follow the road. |
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webby4x4
Forum Admin, Magazine Editor
Rock Star
Posts:2375
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| 02/03/2007 6:37 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by SnoMan
This is done though at the expense or placing the suspension at or near the limit of it upward travel.
Actually, it's at the limits of it's downward travel - when you crank up the torsion bars, it pushes the wheels down, away from the truck, thereby lifting it. You'll get lots of upward travel, but no downward travel.
HOWEVER, this is NEVER a good idea. Cranking up the torsion bars on your truck will cause a lot of problems, such as premature tire failure. It will also cause your balljoints to fail prematurly, as well as other steering components.
You do have several options though, to level your truck. There are aftermarket manufacturers that sell re-indexed torsion bar keys that will set your truck up enough to fit larger tires, but keep the suspension in proper alignment as well.
I would honestly spring for a quality levelling kit before I go about cranking up the torsion bars.
Rick |
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Rick Webster
Editor, 4X4REVIEW.COM - A Tork Media, Inc. Publication
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'74 FJ40 Land Cruiser
"Measure once, cut twice" |
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SnoMan
Lift & Lockers
Posts:943
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| 02/03/2007 7:08 PM |
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| By upward travel I was reffering the the vehicle raising up on suspension (tire is further away from truck) not upward travel of wheel into wheel well. Also "keys" will not fix this upper limit problem and like I said it kinds defeats the purpose of the suspension design to let wheels travel up and down more on uneven terrain. It though alignment geometery off to because wheels tend to chamber in at top as height increases and you will see more camber shift on bumps if you compression suspesion much with alignment reindexed at lifted point which can lead to some instabilty on certain roads. That is the nice thing about lifting a straight axle because all you have to do basically is watch the caster angle as camber does not change with a lift (unless you overload and bend the axle that is) |
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webby4x4
Forum Admin, Magazine Editor
Rock Star
Posts:2375
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| 02/03/2007 7:48 PM |
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Snoman - I completely lost you... You wrote: "It though alignment geometery off to because wheels tend to chamber in at top as height increases and you will see more camber shift on bumps if you compression suspesion much with alignment reindexed at lifted point which can lead to some instabilty on certain roads."
huh? |
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Rick Webster
Editor, 4X4REVIEW.COM - A Tork Media, Inc. Publication
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'74 FJ40 Land Cruiser
"Measure once, cut twice" |
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JM1431
Bone Stock
Posts:2
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| 02/04/2007 12:42 AM |
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| What is a good affordable leveling kit? |
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SnoMan
Lift & Lockers
Posts:943
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| 02/04/2007 3:31 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by webby4x4
Snoman - I completely lost you... You wrote: "It though alignment geometery off to because wheels tend to chamber in at top as height increases and you will see more camber shift on bumps if you compression suspesion much with alignment reindexed at lifted point which can lead to some instabilty on certain roads."
huh?
Try again, as you raise the truck into the air and the suspension extends, there is a a shift in camber angle due to the unequal control arm lengths. When suspension is aligned near mid travel, it is at a place in its geometery that there is minimal shifts in camber and front tread width during average deflection Yes, tread width does change a bit but is designed to not change much by control arm design causing camber shifts to attempt to keep front track kinda constant as axle articulates. (this is the main reason why TTB's are so hard on tires and can handle squirrely on bad roads because their promative design allows for radical camber and track width shifts as axle flexs. Sorry if I get too technical Rick, it is the engineer in me and I tend to look at things from a design and limitation stand point with most devices and not take them at face value. (Detriot would not want me reviewing a new model in print because I get down to the nuts and bolts of it. Example, if you look at a new chassis on a 07 GM truck you will see that it is now boxked and touted as stiffer in one axis BUT, overall it has a lower yeild point when its capacity is exceeded and will fail with more "vigor" when that point is reached. They boxed the frame to reduce overall frame costs as they use a lot less metal overall and the coil over design let them removed some heft from frame too as the central massive bracing and stiffing required for Tbars is gone now too. I have seen them and looked them over and I am not impressed with them at all under the skin. See some look at a truck for a pretty face while I have always said outer beauty is only skin deep on a truck and it is the inter beauty that counts. Time to get off of soap box |
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webby4x4
Forum Admin, Magazine Editor
Rock Star
Posts:2375
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| 02/04/2007 9:05 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by JM1431
What is a good affordable leveling kit?
Well, "affordable" is a relative term now isn't it? [)]
Superlift's 2" (to 3.5") leveling kit is really more of a suspension lift as they have all new brackets to actually lower the front axle, instead of just replacing the keys and torquing the torsion bars. But, that kit will run you about $800 clams.
On the other end of the $ spectrum, Hill 4-Wheel Drive offers something as simple as a replacement key, for $149
There are several manufacturers that make kits ranging from $150 to nearly a thousand dollars. You'll get what you pay for in the long run. The quick, easy and dirty way to do it is to crank up the torsion bars (something I don't recommend). But I'd talk to someone at your local 4x4 shop. Tell them your budget and see what fits into it. Discuss the pro's and con's of each system as well.
Rick |
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Rick Webster
Editor, 4X4REVIEW.COM - A Tork Media, Inc. Publication
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'74 FJ40 Land Cruiser
"Measure once, cut twice" |
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Dan Pitts
Body Lift
Posts:232
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| 02/04/2007 1:26 PM |
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| man if i were you i would crank the torsion bars and have it realigned. we did this to my uncle's trucka nd my cousins truck. both of the trucks have mad it to 100,000 miles with out being aligned since we did it. There hasn't been to much strain put on the suspension componets. yea they might wear a tad bit sooner but not that bad. on a chevy you can get away with cranking the torsion bars up and still get it within alignmet i have done it on a couple of trucks and i worked in alignment shop. |
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Danny Pitts
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lift it, fat chicks can't jump |
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SnoMan
Lift & Lockers
Posts:943
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| 02/04/2007 6:25 PM |
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| Till you drop is a chuck hole and the truck pitches down and cluks as suspension tops out on extension because it is cranked up so far. Kinda defeats the purpose of a independant suspension. |
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Dan Pitts
Body Lift
Posts:232
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| 02/04/2007 7:26 PM |
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| it's up to you i think you will be all right yeah your ride will be rougher but you save money it is not going to hurt your suspension noticably. it is all your own opinion. |
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Danny Pitts
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lift it, fat chicks can't jump |
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SnoMan
Lift & Lockers
Posts:943
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| 02/05/2007 2:29 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Dan Pitts
it's up to you i think you will be all right yeah your ride will be rougher but you save money it is not going to hurt your suspension noticably. it is all your own opinion.
It would be debatable whether excessive "topping" out of suspension hurts anything as it does shock the upper control arm and joint in ways that it does not see normally. |
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