Improving flex on the ttb?

[downonthefarm]

well this questions if for my 91 ranger, it has 5.5" superlift coils, rough country alxe drop brackets(which should be right around 3-3.5") tuff country radius arm drop bracket, soa with explorer leaf springs, and a 3" body lift
and the flex is alright, but it could be better. i even removed my sway bars

and since my truck is lifted 8" which is what i needed for the 35" tires it had, but now it only has 33's soo im gonna drop it a inch soo its only lifted 7"

but what coils should i get?
leaf springs?
shocks?
extended radius arms....y/n?
should i get new axle drop brackets?

 

[boominXplorer]

I would start with extended RA's. That will help get rid of some of the bind

 

[WhitEngineering]

I second the extended RA's. For coils you may want to look into the skyjacker 6" coils. They're softer than the SL's so it'll flex better and from what I read they typically sit just under the SL's in height.

 

[SkanlaxJMO]

an EB D44 that will improve your flex a shizat load...plus the axle pretty much slides right under the truck

 

[410Fortune]

I agree with everything, make sure you get radius arms designed to be used with the skyjacker 6" coils.

Shocks you measure for after the lift is installed and flexed to full droop and full bump

heim jointed radius arms will help get the max flex, with rubber (not urethane) radius arm bushings being a close second.

the stock steering will then be limiting your travel, the stock steering with a drop pitman arm and 6" of lift is responsible for the bump steer the TTB suffers from. A superrunner kit will help reduce that ALOT, makes for much safer wheeling and a much better ride on the street.

The sky is the limit, if you are serious about wheeling the TTB and getting a ton of flew (up to 21+") or so then it would be time for custom beams from say Camburg or Autofab, generally desigend to be used with no axle pivot drop brackets...

 

[downonthefarm]

well i had a few problems with the d35 but i love it! what other coils? im looking for 4" coils because i only want 7" of lift

 

[sn0border88]

consider jeep or skyjacker coils. The spring rate on thes stupid lift coils is around 600, skyjacker and jeep coils are around 400/250? respectivly.

 

[410Fortune]

Skyjacker 4" coils will sag and sit about 3"
Skyjacker 6" coils will sag and sit about 4.5"

Eibach makes some nice coils in a 5" height


I reccomend the Skyjacker 4" coils and then if they sag you can install the F-150 spring seat.
The Skyjacker coils are more like 350# spring rate, very nice ride and flexy.

 

[downonthefarm]

where can i find this eibach springs?

 

[410Fortune]

Google.com:

http://eibach.com/cgi-bin/start.exe/eibach/index.html

they will custom make any coil height and spring rate you want.
the eibach 5" coil is typically very stiff because they are used in desert trucks.
Eibach likely makes the coils used by other lift companies.

 

[downonthefarm]

i was thinking about running coilovers, to get rid of the shock and coil spring up front, but how hard would that be? could it be done with just new mounts on the frame and axle?

 

[410Fortune]

check out rookieshooters BII rebuild.

there are so many ways to mount a coilover on the TTB
in front of the beam, on top of the beam, on the radius arm, etc
Measuring for a coilover is done just like a shock, at full droop and full bump.
Then the angle and location of the C/O comes into play, so say you have a 10" c/o, mounted back on the radius arm and on an angle can get you 14"+ of wheel travel, where as on top of the beam that same shock straight up and down may get you 11". Differnt shaped beams with different length coilovers with different track widths have different arcs of travel.
there is alot to think about, but there are also proven setups that you can duplicate.

Typically the coil/shock bucket it removed and a hoop is made to pick up the coilover. Extreme travel kits for heavy duty use and good handling (desert trucks) use things like bump stops, limit straps, heim joints, uniball pivots, swingset steering, custom axle shafts, custom outer knuckles, brakes, hubs, etc.
The sky is the limit.


So basically its an involved process.
People have been building custom beams and radius arms, etc for so long in so many ways you really need to do some research.

Check out the "Zimmerman Mod" here on EF.com
Then check out Camburgs website, they have 3 or 4 stages of TTB kits.
Autofab also has simple very proven Excellent TTB suspension kits.
there are many companies that still make custom beams and kits

There are of course bolt on drop bracket kits from Superlift, Skyjacker, Duff, etc
I have a combo of parts on my truck, but it works together because I learned about the TTB, the geometry involved, the alignment, etc
You can really get in trouble if you do not plan properly (not able to align, horrible bump steer, etc)
searching on EF about the TTB is a great place to start, it has been discussed alot

It may / may not be the right setup for you and it can get expensive quickly, so reaserch is key