Drop spindle ?

[chris mc bride]

Will 2" drop spindles allow me to run wider wheel combo by clearing a-arms with being higher or moving upper a-aem more towards center of wheel?

Going for lower with wide tires all around.

[Ziegelsteinfaust]

You may want to buy a tool like one of these or make your own.


https://www.amazon.com/Speedway-Moto...3-0e5c1a776d5d


https://www.amazon.com/WheelWiseTM-5...3-0e5c1a776d5d

[LS short box]

I haven't had a issue with drop spindles because I'm running 18"-20" rims on my projects.
If you are running 15" wheels you may have problem.

[chris mc bride]

I do not have problem with drop spindles I am thinking they will help with more clearance. Might could go 1" but not going 20". Do not like the look of huge rims and little to no sidewall. Plus with lowering and stiffer suspenion I figure just make ride rougher, While not looking for cadilac ride also not for horse and buggy ride. Just raod carving handling.

[HO455]

Originally Posted by chris mc bride

I do not have problem with drop spindles I am thinking they will help with more clearance. Might could go 1" but not going 20". Do not like the look of huge rims and little to no sidewall. Plus with lowering and stiffer suspenion I figure just make ride rougher, While not looking for cadilac ride also not for horse and buggy ride. Just raod carving handling.

Drop spindles can actually help the ride quality. With factory control arms there is a limit to how low the truck can go. The closer you get to the limit the less travel the suspension has to absorb bumps in the road. Thus the stiffer the shocks must be to prevent the suspension from bottoming out.

So instead of using 4 inch drop sprngs, you can use 2 inch drop spindles and 2 inch drop springs to get a 4 inch drop while the suspension still has the travel of a 2 inch drop.

Dropped spindles allow you to gain drop but keep suspension travel. It's a win win as not only do you retain the travel but you keep the control arms closer to stock location which helps with bump steer.

As previously pointed out the downside is reduced wheel clearance. Going with 16 wheels is fine but tire choices are limited for 16 inch wheels.. A better choice would be 17 inch wheels as there are lots of good tire choices in that size.

[cwcarpenter98]

The drop spindle bring the lower portion of the wheel closer to the lower control arm. If you have a lot of back spacing, you could potentially have issues with the inside lip hitting the LCA. If you're running stock width wheels, I don't think you'll have an issue.

[SCOTI]

Delete.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

The drop spindle bring the lower portion of the wheel closer to the lower control arm. If you have a lot of back spacing, you could potentially have issues with the inside lip hitting the LCA. If you're running stock width wheels, I don't think you'll have an issue.

This is correct. Not sure what the others are thinking.

[CC69Rat]

Just to add to what others have said..

If I have a 15" wheel. (Diameter) If I measured from the center of the wheel to the edges, it would be 7.5". (Radius) Not in any way assuming anyone doesn't know, just trying to help it make sense.

Thinking of it from a wheel Radius perspective vs. Diameter. If I add 2" dropped spindles to my truck, I am essentially changing the wheel radius. What used to be 7.5" is now 5.5" on the lower portion because the wheel centerline moved UP two inches compared to stock.

The clearance issues are introduced because of this 2" (Belltech for example) reduction, OR McGaughys makes a 2.5" dropped spindle. 2" is very tight on a 15" wheel, and even tighter if you have an 8" wheel with a lot of backspacing. 2.5" will rub, and I have had them even lock the wheel from rolling with a 15" rally wheel (depends on the backspacing)

They're really hard to find, but GM made a 15x7 Van rally that looks very very close to an 8" wheel from the outside. It doesn't have a lot of backspacing and works well with 2.5" dropped spindle. The 85 below is a 7" wheel, 2.5 spindle and 2" dropped spring. It works very nicely. Not the same truck in the pics. I borrowed the one showing the LCA clearance of the interwebz.

Hope this helps.

[BIG ORANGE]

Don't mean to interrupt but I have a question concerning lowering, I have ECE drop spindles on my blazer, I have a set of 2inch drop springs coming in this week that I'm installing, ok here's the question. Should I purchase some drop shocks w that spring and will I need to maybe cut some off the bump stop on the upper control arm. I've never ran a short spring w the drop spindles, I've always just ran the drop spindles with stock shock.
Thanks guys

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by BIG ORANGE

Don't mean to interrupt but I have a question concerning lowering, I have ECE drop spindles on my blazer, I have a set of 2inch drop springs coming in this week that I'm installing, ok here's the question. Should I purchase some drop shocks w that spring and will I need to maybe cut some off the bump stop on the upper control arm. I've never ran a short spring w the drop spindles, I've always just ran the drop spindles with stock shock.
Thanks guys

You can test it out w/the stock shocks as it will be close.

I'd put things together & measure the distance between the upper & lower mounts to 'know' that dimension. You can also measure your stock shock @ full extension & fully compressed. The math between the 3 dimensions will provide insight. It's pretty common that stock shock length usually works w/a cut-coil which is similar to a 2" drop spring.

[HO455]

Originally Posted by BIG ORANGE

Don't mean to interrupt but I have a question concerning lowering, I have ECE drop spindles on my blazer, I have a set of 2inch drop springs coming in this week that I'm installing, ok here's the question. Should I purchase some drop shocks w that spring and will I need to maybe cut some off the bump stop on the upper control arm. I've never ran a short spring w the drop spindles, I've always just ran the drop spindles with stock shock.
Thanks guys

You can use the stock length shocks as long as you don't modify the bump stops. One of the functions of the bump stop is to prevent the shock from over traveling.

However, shocks are generally designed to operate in the middle of the shock's range of travel. When the vehicles height is altered and the shock spends most of its time on one end of the travel you lose some of the shocks ability to do its job. This is why folks will go to a shorter shock when the vehicle ride height is altered.

[BIG ORANGE]

Thank you HO455,

[raggedjim]

I have 2.5" drop spindles on my truck with 15" 8" wide rally wheels and there's no rubbing at all. Not sure of the oem backspacing.