ride height pics & questions

[corn]

I keep hearing guys say how its bad to have 3-4" front springs because its dangerous & hard to align. How do you guys with bags align your front ends? Do you just pick a height & align it there? Do you drive down the road with your truck looking stock & it only sits low when its parked? Im really not trying to be a smart ass, I just know nothing about bags. Can you post a pic of your ride height?...

[OJOE]

you are right on time with your thoughts. that is the best way i know of is to pick out the ride height for your driving and look and have your alignment set there.

[corn]

Thanks, do you drive it with the truck at mostly stock height then?

[IvelDesigns]

not stock height, but higher than when completely aired out.

[corn]

Originally Posted by IvelDesigns

not stock height, but higher than when completely aired out.

[1LoC10]

when I had my old bagged S10, people always asked what my ride height was......I can't speak for everyone else, but I don't have a ride height, thats why it was bagged, so I can change it... but most of the time, I would drop it down till the tire rubbed, then tap it up slightly

[corn]

So basicly the ball joints & a arms are in the same place as real short springs right? So why does everyone act like its an accident waiting to happen with any drop springs over 2"? Like I said before, Im not trying to bash anyone running bags. It just seems like the story is always the other way around. I have 3" springs in the front of my truck & would love another inch of drop & not take my 6 bolt drums off so why not 4" springs?...

[jimmydean]

I think it has to do with the travel you get with a bag vs. a spring at that height.

It's your truck. If you want to run a shorter spring, then by all means. I seem to think there are a few people on this board that speak from experience. If they tell me a 3" spring is a bad idea, I look at other options.

[powell72]

I drove and had aligned my old bagged '72 at about a 4/6, laid out was approx. 8/9-ish.

[pharcyde05]

are you only useing a sprig to get that low or do you have other parts like a arms or drop spindles
i am not too shure of all the storys of what happend bu useing a shorter spring i know that you will loose ground clearance and you cant get it back now with air its a quick hit of a switch and i am up to stradle that road kill so its not stuck draggen on my crosmember
as far as the alighnmet isssue decide what hight feels the best for you and set it there mark the pressures on your gauges so you know where you are
and if your lower you will whear inside of tires and if you ride higher you will get same affect on outsides

so bottom line if you want to be lower but dont want air i say go with the 4 in springs

[corn]

The whole issue I have is I have power drum fronts & 6 bolt wheels. I dont really want to go with disc brakes yet but would love to drop mine another inch. I had 3" spindles & 3" springs on another truck so I know what it takes to clear the dead varments. Heck, I dont know what to do, maybe just drive it the way it is...Thanks for the help...

[powell72]

How good of a fabricator are you? You could step the lower control arms. I don't have any pics of what I mean, maybe somebody else does. I know Bill Turner used to do this years ago.

[SCOTI]

Step the lower arms or notch the crossmember.

4" drop w/springs can be done but it might max out the alignment capabilities on some trucks (meaning not enough stud length for shims required). You definitely also have to worry about the spring falling out when the suspension is over-extended so there needs to be a 'limiter' that only allows for x amount of extension.

Stepped arms (look closely):

[corn]

Hmm, that doesnt look too tough. If I go 1" on the lower arm, will it give me 1" of drop? Notching the XO will only give me ground clearance, right?

[pissonNOS]

im having trouble figuring out where you notched that out could you circle it for me or something?

[corn]

This help?

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by pissonNOS

im having trouble figuring out where you notched that out could you circle it for me or something?

Study the yellow/red areas:

[pissonNOS]

perfect guys thanks alot is this something really hard to do or just have to know the right measurements?

[corn]

Ill let you know. I work in a fab shop & as soon as I can find another pair of lowers, Ill give it a shot. Will 73-87 be the same or do I need the 67-72 only?

[IvelDesigns]

i'm sure you have junk yards close to you, but if you have issues finding a set of lowers, i have an 86 that i'll be parting out with a complete disk brake front suspension.

[corn]

Originally Posted by IvelDesigns

i'm sure you have junk yards close to you, but if you have issues finding a set of lowers, i have an 86 that i'll be parting out with a complete disk brake front suspension.

Ill let you know. Can you measure the rotors for me(1" or 1/14")? Thank you...

[IvelDesigns]

it's 2 hours away from me right now, but i'll give my brother a call tomorrow and have him run out and measure them. I'll PM ya with the results.

[powell72]

Originally Posted by cornfed63

Hmm, that doesnt look too tough. If I go 1" on the lower arm, will it give me 1" of drop? Notching the XO will only give me ground clearance, right?

Yes, one inch on the control arms equals one inch of drop. Notching the x-member will also drop the suspension, that's what the suspension mounts to. I would rather do the stepped arms. Less work.