Is it possible.....?

[00Bolt]

to lower the truck with traction bars and not rub on exhaust? Right now all I have it the rear drop shackles... I remember it was like the first thing I did, I had it done at a local shop in Mansfield called Low Inc or something like that... anyway, they guy said he put on Chevy shackles for me instead of the Ford ones cuz they drop it a little more.... I dunno what to compare it to, but I was happy with the results.

From a side view its not perfectly "even" but its not far off. Im wondering if its possible to maybe lower the front 1" (prolly with just springs) but my question is... how would I lower the rear? I would guess it would prolly need to go down about 1.5 - 2" to get that "even" look....

but.... is it possible to go down that 1-2" in the rear and not have to remove the TBars... ??

[wesman]

Leaf springs for the rear or perhaps the 3" drop shackles from JLP

No way to tell on the traction bars without knowing the brand, where they sit now etc.

--wes

[SILVER2000SVT]

I assume you refer to the 58" T-bars.

You've seen how much mine is lowered, a 2/3, maybe a little more. I used to couldn't ride with the traction bars on but recently I had a cat replaced and it looks like Terry was able to shove the pipes a little further up (he claims it was an accident), and I also have a T-Bar with a slight bend to it. Now I have no more problems with it hitting.

If that hadn't worked out so well, I was just going to have the pipes coming out of the muffler remade to keep them out of the way. It's a tight fit but a good exhaust person can get them in there tight enough for you not to have a problem.

[00Bolt]

well Im assuming my shackles now are about 3"....

I just went out and measured. The front gap is 4.5" and the rear is 5.5" (between tire and sidewall)

and the gap between my TBars and the exhaust is about 1.75" They are the red Rancho style Tbars btw

[00Bolt]

what if i removed 1 rear leaf.... what would that do?

[SILVER2000SVT]

what if i removed 1 rear leaf.... what would that do?
I've heard of some people taking out the overload leaf, but that seems like the exact opposite thing that you would want to do.

Most lowering springs need to be stiffer because now you have less suspension travel. If you remove the overload your suspension is now less stiff and with less travel you would be bottoming out all the time not to mention taking away from the performance of the stiffer spring which is one of my reasoning points to lowering a vehicle other than looks.

I would STRONGLY advise against doing this. The best thing to do is buy lowering springs that were designed for this purpose, but other options are lowing shackles, and de-arching the factory spring.

[00Bolt]

i already have 3" lowering shackles... im wanting to go another 2"....

[SILVER2000SVT]

are you planning to C-notch it? I have a 2in shackle and a 1 1/2 drop on a hotchkis leaf spring and after cutting 1" off of the bump stop in the rear I still only have 1-1/2 of travel available. With the stiffer spring and the QA1 shocks set pretty high I still bottom out quite a bit.

If you are going to a 5" drop in the rear you need at least a 3" drop for the front. That's an extreme drop man! Forget about those traction bars for that much drop because of that bracket that hangs down. With my 2/4 drop I have problems over some speed bumps, and the front scrapes on everything if I'm not really careful.

I'm not sure what's available for the front of our trucks for going with a 3" drop, but you'll have to use either a-arms or drop spindles in addition to drop springs if you want to get the alignment anywhere close enough not to be shreading tires.

[SILVER2000SVT]

well Im assuming my shackles now are about 3"....

I just went out and measured. The front gap is 4.5" and the rear is 5.5" (between tire and sidewall)

and the gap between my TBars and the exhaust is about 1.75" They are the red Rancho style Tbars btwScott,
I wrote the last thing assuming you had 3" shackles.

I don't think you have 3" shackles. It sounds like you have a 1" shackle. I went out there and measured mine and I got about 2.5-3" all the way around the way you measured. That's with 2" lowering springs in the front and 2" shackles and a 1.5" drop on hotchkis leaf springs in the rear. It sounds like you are looking for something similar to my set up. I believe Jeff's sits about the same ride height as mine.

I usually measure from the top edge of the rim, that give a more consistant measure than the tread of the tire. I get about 6.5" with this measurement.

[00Bolt]

well possibly my shackles are not what I thought they were... maybe only 2"

i just measured from top of rim to the edge of sidewall and front is 8.5" and rear is 9"

i didnt realize JL sells 3 AND 4" rear drop shackles.... If I were to get a set of 4" rear drop shackles, would I need a 1" or 2" front springs to get the "even" look

and would 4" rear drop affect my TBars or ride at all?

[SILVER2000SVT]

Why don't you just go for a Roush kit. I think it would put you right about where you want to be height wise, and all the guys that have them swear by them...(you guys with the Roush setup chime in here)

If you like my set up, just buy me the Roush kit and I'll give you mine.:d

[Nuhklz]

Why don't you just go for a Roush kit. I think it would put you right about where you want to be height wise, and all the guys that have them swear by them...(you guys with the Roush setup chime in here)

If you like my set up, just buy me the Roush kit and I'll give you mine.:d I'm chiming! I love my Roush for both looks and ride.

[00Bolt]

i would love the rousch, but dont wanna pay $1000 for it

[Lyfisin]

/chime

Love mine. I had concerns about the worth also, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. Worth every penny IMO.

[BC Lightning]

chime

the roush made the height just right, and really helped out the look of the chrome wheels