ride height worries

[sqweaka]

my rides not on the road yet.. ive bagged jag ifs and sleeved bags on a four link rear end.. ive set it all up so my steps are 4.5", front bumper 5" rear 6" of the deck at ride height, which i thought should be fine, but when i stand back and look at it i'm worried it looks too low for driving around in at highway speeds
any thoughts?

[e015475]

I like the look.

I set mine up to be about 6" to the bottom of the running boards, but no experience driving yet, but that seems to be a pretty popular height. Obviously don't know what your roads are like in England, but with a little caution you'd get by here.

Just a couple of observations-

With that rear bumper cantilevered off the back of the truck, you might some problem with driveways and scraping. On the other hand, it looks pretty stout and not likely to be damaged if it does.

Around here, there's so little rain that they tend to rely on the crown in the road and a raised curb to channel water and that can make for some steep approaches to driveways. The chin air damn on my wife's car drags every so often and its at factory height.

I'd start taking speedbumps and driveways at a diagonal for a while and see if there's any scraping and then decide if you want to leave it at that height.

BTW - how did the rear shocks work out? What did you finally go with?

[sqweaka]

thanks the roads over here dont normally have to bad a crown.. motorways/highways should be fine.. i think, little worried for A roads but i guess i could use the hockey puck idea to raise the rear an inch if i do have any problems, but that would mean i wouldn't get the rear totally on the floor when aired out!

i got lucky with rear shocks a mate had a nr new pair of cortina kyb 443017 which have a 8" travel

[e015475]

Around here, the lowrider culture is pretty strong. They put titanium rub plates on the low points of the chassis for making sparks.

Looking forward to hearing how the KYB shocks work out in actual driving

[b00sted]

Mine is down there and driving it is not an issue... Unless the oil pan hangs down... Other than that just watch table tops and big speed bumps.

[sqweaka]

e0.. hopefully get it out next year, so fingers crossed they are ok

b00sted the oil pan is slightly higher than the jag clip, plus i'm going to fit a guard just in case

[e015475]

Boosted- any issue with tire interference in turns at the ride height? What the distance from the fender lip to the tire?

Sqweaka - my cast oil pan is at the same height as my Jag front crossmember. Please post a pic of the guard you install - I'm having the same thoughts about putting a guard on mine. Looks like you're a few months ahead of getting of me and getting on the road and would appreciate your experience.

[sqweaka]

Originally Posted by e015475

Boosted- any issue with tire interference in turns at the ride height? What the distance from the fender lip to the tire?

Sqweaka - my cast oil pan is at the same height as my Jag front crossmember. Please post a pic of the guard you install - I'm having the same thoughts about putting a guard on mine. Looks like you're a few months ahead of getting of me and getting on the road and would appreciate your experience.

i was just going to add a sheet of steel or alloy off the back of the cross member, bolted the back lip and and make a rear mounting that will bilt to the gearbox xmember mounts

[e015475]

I'm not nearly as concerned about scraping my pan as I am about hitting some sort or road debris with the cast aluminum LS pan and shattering it and having a sudden loss of oil. Was thinking about some sort of v-shaped diverter under the Jag crossmember and a little 'fence' in front of the pan to keep objects in the road from hitting the pan directly.

I should probably just bite the bullet and shorten the truck pan but was trying to avoid yet another project

[joedoh]

you will be fine. looks like you are going to be pretty level at ride height. my old mazda, the rockers would scrape the ground at ride height in a fast sweeper (like an offramp)

on the highway you will find yourself rolling around even lower than that because of the smooth pavement and small turns. you know, for fuel economy, yeah.. mpg. yeah.

[mr48chev]

Used to be that that ride height would get you a ticket for being below the scrub line around here from the first state patrolman that spotted you. I think all of the ground scraping Hondas have made them a bit numb to it now though.

As long as you don't get hung up on the roads you travel at normal ride height and the law doesn't start pulling you over because it appears to be too low you should be good. At least the bags should let you negotiate steep entry ways to driveways or rough driveways.

[oldman3]

On my pickup it is static drop, no bags, coil-over in front, leaf in back. I have a MII front end crossmemer is 4-3/4" off the ground, running boards are 6" each in front and 7-1/2 in back (rake). I run 70 on the interstates and never had a problem, but sometimes I the A-hole puckers when you see something in the road, but haven't hit anything yet with 24,000 miles...Jim

[my56chevytruck]

I like the stance but how are your roads? any crowns, uneven spots?? can the truck bottom out?? if not, leave it and hit the road. if you have any question about the heighth during the ride, if you can't drive it yet, can you hook up a tow bar and pull it around to see?? just a thought.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by oldman3

sometimes the A-hole puckers when you see something in the road, but haven't hit anything yet

one year I was on my way to a 4th party in the boonies, local highway and I didnt remember EXACTLY where the left turn off the highway was so when I came up behind a blazer doing 10 under the speed limit I just stayed 50ft back, didnt want to pass him then slow down in front of him for the turn.

I was driving a 95 nissan with hydraulics that I rescued from under a tree (another great story). I hadnt installed accumulators yet so the best ride was with the hydraulics all the way down and the truck riding on the factory torsions which had been cranked up to just keep the truck off the ground, maybe an inch.

the blazer made a little move, a juke to the left, and passed over the biggest, deadest, bloatedest raccoon I have ever seen. the blazer cleared it easily, but I didnt even have time to reach for the up switch before he was banging around under the truck, dragging under the engine crossmember a few seconds then clacking and banging under the floorboards. It took a full 10 seconds to find the switch and raise the truck and he tumbled out the back finally.

at the party, I had to park away from everything, and spent $20 at the jet wash trying to get rid of the stink! haha, man, good times.

[Donaldo]

It all works except the low Barden Bumper. To me it looks like dragging around an old accessory, but if you like it - it's your truck - keep it. jus sayin...

[hogfarm]

checked my truck.it is 6" at the front of the running boards,no problems yet

[lynx5653]

best solution I can give is keep it stock height . Maybe start a new trend

[sqweaka]

Originally Posted by Donaldo

It all works except the low Barden Bumper. To me it looks like dragging around an old accessory, but if you like it - it's your truck - keep it. jus sayin...

the bumper came with the truck and looks like it has been on it most of its life... shame to separate them now! plus its quite an unusual sight over here in the uk! and i quite like the industrial look of the whole truck

[Shinysideup]

Mine is 5" static at front bumper.My scrub line still keeps it on the wheels if I have a flat tire tho and thats important. You will need to slow over speed bumps and driveway inclines as necessary too.

[mr48chev]

That rear bumper is butt ugly but at least you don't have to worry about tailgaters banging up a shiny one. Anyone that bumps that either on the road or in a parking lot will know they lost the battle.

[Shinysideup]

I like the rear porch, it gives it its character. Put out some rocking chairs.