95 dodge dakota Lift
#11
07-18-2010, 03:46 PM
Some more questions... I took a dive under the truck today and the torsion bar and the two bolts were easy enough to find. I can tighten it all the way right? And then from there determine if I want to lower it more? This only raises the front right?
I would just jack up the left wheel adjust the left bolt clockwise (raising it) then jack up the right side and match it?
What are side effects?
<--- favorite icon so far...
I would just jack up the left wheel adjust the left bolt clockwise (raising it) then jack up the right side and match it?
What are side effects?
<--- favorite icon so far...Leave the truck on the ground. If you jack the front up, you won't have any idea where the truck is sitting height wise! And don't follow the "turn the two bolts the same number of turns" rule. Measure it. Turning the bolts the same number of turns involves the assumption that the two bars have exactly the same spring constant, which is not likely true.
Side effects are harsher ride and less suspesion movement in the front... in other words, it won't flex as well.
Yes, anytime you make any changes to suspension geometry, you need to worry about tire alignment.
#12
07-19-2010, 12:53 AM
I bet to differ. If you lift our trucks with the torsion bar method, you lose all flexing ability in the front. The bars have way too much preload and therefore can't handle any higher load when trying to flex over anything. If you want to build a decent rock crawler out of our trucks, you need a solid axle, but you have to go big or the axle won't fit. I may be going bigger than I need to with my build, but it will outperform any other Dakota offroad that has stock suspension still under it!
And you may lose some things, but you gain too! How can you say you lose performance? You may lose racing performance, but who races a big, lifted 4x4? You gain offroad performance! Have an open mind... there are many types of performance vehicles out there. MPG? Really? Maybe some, but if you gear the axles accordingly, you won't lose much! Braking?!?!?! I'm putting 12.5 inch discs on all 4 corners with dual piston calipers up front. I bet you $100 my truck will stop faster 60 to 0 when I'm done with it than yours does! Traction?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Umm, what kind of traction? I'm pretty sure my 37 inch mud tires will tear through some dirt, grass, and mud. The only one on that list I'll give you is handling, but who corners a big lifted 4x4 reallly fast anyway?
And you may lose some things, but you gain too! How can you say you lose performance? You may lose racing performance, but who races a big, lifted 4x4? You gain offroad performance! Have an open mind... there are many types of performance vehicles out there. MPG? Really? Maybe some, but if you gear the axles accordingly, you won't lose much! Braking?!?!?! I'm putting 12.5 inch discs on all 4 corners with dual piston calipers up front. I bet you $100 my truck will stop faster 60 to 0 when I'm done with it than yours does! Traction?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Umm, what kind of traction? I'm pretty sure my 37 inch mud tires will tear through some dirt, grass, and mud. The only one on that list I'll give you is handling, but who corners a big lifted 4x4 reallly fast anyway?
Suspension lifts are the way to go!
#13
07-19-2010, 07:54 AM
I am not knocking your build and like what you've done with your truck but it is different entirely because of your solid axle setup. When I mentioned braking, traction, performance and mpg losses i was really talking about on the street/highway on otherwise stock suspension and brakes. For off-road use a lifted truck with larger tires would obviously perform better but I think that the suspension should be set up to handle it. Lifted trucks do look awesome but if done wrong can have negative effects.
Suspension lifts are the way to go!
Suspension lifts are the way to go!
Yeah, if all you do is throw big tires on a truck and change nothing else, you will definately lose more than you gain. But if you set up the rest of the truck accordingly, they will gain you off road traction without losing much of anything.
Its the same for any build... you can't throw a big engine in a car without changing the drivetrain to handle it. You can't make the average car go 200 mph without giving it the suspension, aerodynamics, tires to handle it and brakes to get it stopped again. I think you get the idea!... you have to change all affected systems during a build, you can't just change one part and expect your build to be great.
#14
07-20-2010, 10:15 PM
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#15
07-21-2010, 06:09 AM
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#16
07-21-2010, 08:57 AM
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#17
07-21-2010, 07:40 PM
Decided id hold of on adjusting torsion bars --- Why pay the 50 to 100 bucks for a tire realignment if I am just gonna get an inch of lift?
So Whats a decent tire size...? What would be a medium priced big tire that would work and how would I go about getting bigger tires on this thing?
The bolt adjustment on the bars is used to compensate for sag, over time the weight of the front end puts stress on the bars which causes them to change shape.
Another thing to think about is wheel size, a 30" tire on a 16" rim is the equivalent of a 31" tire of the same type on a stock size (15") rim. You can go that way too.
#18
07-21-2010, 11:13 PM
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All Dakotas are not the same height on the front. I put 31x10.50's on my truck and they rubbed pretty good. I did some trimming and got reindexed torsion keys and ran them up to the bump stops and now I have plenty of room and probably could go bigger if I wanted. It does ride a little rougher but not that much IMO, but it looks a lot better to me. LOL
#19
07-22-2010, 01:58 PM
All Dakotas are not the same height on the front. I put 31x10.50's on my truck and they rubbed pretty good. I did some trimming and got reindexed torsion keys and ran them up to the bump stops and now I have plenty of room and probably could go bigger if I wanted. It does ride a little rougher but not that much IMO, but it looks a lot better to me. LOL