Slush Box
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- June 20, 2002
- Messages
- 374
- Reaction score
- 1
- City, State
- Panama City, FL
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1999 Mazda Protegé LX
Well I have not had the Explorer for almost 2 years now. Been rolling around in a Miata. I guess I wanted something legal in Autocross. So thought I would finally tell how I lowered my truck. Sorry about the wait if anyone was waiting.
I got most of my parts from a local shop that could order QA1 Suspension parts.
http://www.qa1.net/
http://www.summirracing.com
PARTS LIST
- QA1 Proma Star Shocks One Way Adjustable. Sure you could get them two way but I got the cheapest at the time just in case it didn't work. I had always planed to get the double adjustable later.
- 600 lbs 12" Springs. I tried 350 lb the first go around. Trust me it just bottoms out.
- Stud Top Conversion for the top so it could be mounted in the upper shock mount. I played with a bunch of different bushings here and most just cracked under the weight. I ended up using an Energy Suspension Damper Donut that I cut in half to use one each side. Not sure where I got that at.
- Stud Conversion for Eyelet Bottom Shocks. This was used after the original mount for a better mounting spot. The Bolt I remember we had to shave the top of it down so the shock could sit correctly. Beyond that it was a bolt on process.
Here is a shot of how I drove the truck home. Don't use 350 lb springs.
Here is the original lower mount we welded to the lower control arm. We decided that the angle was not right and used an existing hole close to the spindle on the lower control arm. If you look you can't miss it. We then just bought a universal lower shock mount and bolted it in there. This had the shock sitting in a better angle and looked more OEM. I did all this so that it would work as a kit but never really got to that point.
Now this sorta gives you an idea of how it can be done. I am sure the kit would have changed even more to this day if I still had the truck. I think the Spring Rates could be played with a bit. Might be a magic number between 350 and 600 that would be fine. It bounced a little bit with the 600's. Also I used 12" tall springs. I think a slightly shorter spring could net you some more drop but I was pretty tapped out as low as I could go without tearing into the front wheel wells more than I already did. So yeah ask questions if you like and maybe some of you guys could benefit from a static drop. Oh I never did put bump stops but always thought an inline bump stop in the coilovers would work but not sure. You have to remove the rubber bump stops from the front to get low and possibly cut the tabs off.
I got most of my parts from a local shop that could order QA1 Suspension parts.
http://www.qa1.net/
http://www.summirracing.com
PARTS LIST
- QA1 Proma Star Shocks One Way Adjustable. Sure you could get them two way but I got the cheapest at the time just in case it didn't work. I had always planed to get the double adjustable later.
- 600 lbs 12" Springs. I tried 350 lb the first go around. Trust me it just bottoms out.
- Stud Top Conversion for the top so it could be mounted in the upper shock mount. I played with a bunch of different bushings here and most just cracked under the weight. I ended up using an Energy Suspension Damper Donut that I cut in half to use one each side. Not sure where I got that at.
- Stud Conversion for Eyelet Bottom Shocks. This was used after the original mount for a better mounting spot. The Bolt I remember we had to shave the top of it down so the shock could sit correctly. Beyond that it was a bolt on process.
Here is a shot of how I drove the truck home. Don't use 350 lb springs.
Here is the original lower mount we welded to the lower control arm. We decided that the angle was not right and used an existing hole close to the spindle on the lower control arm. If you look you can't miss it. We then just bought a universal lower shock mount and bolted it in there. This had the shock sitting in a better angle and looked more OEM. I did all this so that it would work as a kit but never really got to that point.
Now this sorta gives you an idea of how it can be done. I am sure the kit would have changed even more to this day if I still had the truck. I think the Spring Rates could be played with a bit. Might be a magic number between 350 and 600 that would be fine. It bounced a little bit with the 600's. Also I used 12" tall springs. I think a slightly shorter spring could net you some more drop but I was pretty tapped out as low as I could go without tearing into the front wheel wells more than I already did. So yeah ask questions if you like and maybe some of you guys could benefit from a static drop. Oh I never did put bump stops but always thought an inline bump stop in the coilovers would work but not sure. You have to remove the rubber bump stops from the front to get low and possibly cut the tabs off.
