47-55.1 ride height

[csmeutah]

I'm trying to decide on my truck's rake, I want it low and flat front to back (frame = level) but not sure how that will affect my ride for a daily driver. I plan to run the same size tire all around on the corvette suspension so it would seem like level would be standard, any experiences/suggestions would be appreciated. As I look at photos on the site it appears that the trucks that ride "level" are actually and inch or two higher in the back.

[joedoh]

with a C4 suspension you have to be careful, the rear axles are u joint and not CV, so changing ride height is a little trickier because you dont want too much angle on your u joints, and you dont want them zero angle either. there is also no upper control arm/locating link on a C4, so the axles carry some of the camber forces on the hubs, you cant really screw with changing the ride height too much with them. its also possible with the vette suspension trucks you have seen they have lowered the front easily (adjustable coilovers or similar) but its harder in the rear because the frame is in the way, or the u joints like I said.

with any suspension the height you install it at reflects the ride height. If you want the truck as low as possible maybe mock it up on the ground and set the front a arms and the rear axles just slightly more than level (pointing down) that will give you an idea how high to install both the front and rear suspension on the frame.

I havent used corvette stuff but I have set up full frames for really low trucks, including a IRS setup. thats what I did, set it up on the ground first, to make sure the IRS didnt have camber issues or toe problems (I was setting it up for full drop)

[MiraclePieCo]

What constitutes perfect stance is very subjective and personal. When I've saved picks of trucks I thought had the perfect stance, they've all been close to level but if you look closely the rear is about 1-inch higher.

[MiraclePieCo]

All wheel openings at 23-3/4" above the pavement. Because the rear wheel wells are lower, this actually gives a 1-inch rake. I had the truck 2" lower, but with my current wheel/tire combo it had scrub line issues at the front fenders behind the tires. You can see now that the rear of my front fenders are just about 1/4" above wheel rim height. If I had a flat I really don't want to tear up these perfect NOS front fenders! I know of one guy who's ruined two sets of fenders by hitting the ground on bumps.

[mr48chev]

To me Miricalpieco nailed it. He has the same amount of tire showing on both ends and that makes it look a lot better to my eye.
I added a bit of sunshine to his shot so you can see the tires better.

[MiraclePieCo]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

To me Miricalpieco nailed it. He has the same amount of tire showing on both ends and that makes it look a lot better to my eye.
I added a bit of sunshine to his shot so you can see the tires better.

Thanks. With an AD you must choose between having the same amount of tire showing or having the truck be level. Due to the differences in the front/rear wheel openings, you can't do both.

[csmeutah]

That's exactly what I wanted to know, thanks. I suspected that even though I ran the same tire front and back that I would still have a 1" rake and that confirms it. I will fine tune when I get the fenders up but for now i will plan on a small rake, thanks again.

[Zippi]

My 49 is not slammed to the ground and it's not to high. Just right for me.

[csmeutah]

Originally Posted by Zippi

My 49 is not slammed to the ground and it's not to high. Just right for me.

That's the look I'm going for, is it an inch or two higher in back?

Are the tires the same size all around? What size?

[Zippi]

Originally Posted by csmeutah

That's the look I'm going for, is it an inch or two higher in back?

Are the tires the same size all around? What size?

Same height in front and back. 18" wheels all around. Stock frame that's been boxed. S10 front end.

[mr48chev]

I like them low but one important thing on that is the roads where you live. With all these little sedans running around with aero kits and cockeyed wheels to lower them to two inches off the pavement we don't seem to get as much "you truck is too low" as we used to if the stance looks right. Zippi could go lower than those of us who run 15's and be legal but probably not practical.

If you have ever been in Bountiful Utah the curb at the sidewalk in town is over 18 inches high and they have steps in them to get up on the sidewalk as the extreme crown of the street and the high curb serves as their storm drains for run off water. I got hung up on a store parking lot driveway apron there even trying it at an angle.
You get down in most of Texas and the roads are flat, smooth and wide and the only thing you have to worry about is stuff laying in the road. Until the city decides to repave the street and grinds down the pavement and raises the man hole covers.

I've got a Boyd Coddington book out in my mess in the shed somewhere that he discusses front to rear sidewall to wheel size relationship and suggests running a larger diameter wheel on the back if you run big rubber on the back to keep the proportions right. One reason that when you look at the cars he designed/built even if you don't like his build style everything looks right. The kids at the tire store couldn't understand why I wanted 14's on the front and 15's on the rear with 195 tires on the front and 255 tires on the back until they stood back and looked at the truck after they put the wheels on. I wanted a hot rod rake on it then though.