What the F**k? Screwy drop stats . . ....
 

OK guys/gals, check this out. I did my Western Chassis flip kit w/shock relocators last week & decided to mount the 20's to see how they looked/fit. Man, they look f'ing sweet . . .... waaaay tucked up in the wheelwell.

Waitttttttttt a minute, tucked up in the wheelwell w/just a flip kit?????

Ok . . .... I figured the drop was exaggerated because the front was still @ stock height. I go out today & pull the front springs & swap some bags in their place. With the bags deflated & the front end resting solidly on the bumpstops & everything else bone factory stock, the measurements @ the axle C/L, @ the lip of the wheel opening are: F= 27.5; R= 25.0.

Before drop measurements were: F= 31.125; R= 32.5. So that equals a 7" drop w/just the flip kit.

This particular truck does have the 'HD' pkg w/8 leafs. At first I thought maybe I should have taken off the overload spring (since I've usually done this on other peoples trucks), but since I own a trailer, I might just need to use it for pulling one day & left it on. But as I look @ it, I don't think it would make a difference since the helper is the very bottom spring & doesn't effect rear end placement.

I also didn't tighten the leaf spring bushing bolts until the suspension was under load so the bushings aren't 'pre-loaded'. The rear is lower than in this pic. . . ..... what gives???

Pic
 

This is a photoshopped pic that a fellow board member did.

A 73+ axle flip kit is good for 6". The extra inch may well be because the front was still in the air.

Only Belltech offers a 6" flip kit for 73-87' C10 trucks. ;)

I know people might disagree w/this but, a flip kit is a flip kit. If you measure the C/L of the rear when it's under the springs to the spring pad + add the thickness of the spring pack you should have the amount of drop (which in my case equaled 6") when it's flipped. The only way I can see there would be a variance is the spring pack dimensions.

That being said, I still don't understand how mine is approx 7.5" from initial measurements. My shocks (w/the extenders) have only 1" of travel before bottoming out, there is only 1" or less between the top of the axle tube & the frame (before the drop it was 8").

I'm not complaining really, just wondering what the heck happened. The 20's definitely look sweet tucked. I just don't know if I can get the the front down low enough to balance it out & still be daily driven w/o tearing up the a-arms.