JoshC's D30 SFA by CRLCustoms.com

[JoshC]

Did you get it mounted, along with the coils?

Cory, go ahead and ship my front drive shaft to me if you don't mind. That way when you give me the measurements i can take it to the shop. My address is on the pay pal i just sent you.

 

[CoryL]

NEW PICS!!!

Got the heims in on Friday and the steering block in today. The pitman arm is getting drilled out tomorrow and the drag link will be made, completing the steering setup.

Also going to get the tranny crossmember modified tomorrow and possibly get your old sliders welded on.

 

[Robb]

They are like twins!! Looking Good Josh! Nice Work Cory!

Robb

 

[Jefe]

Originally posted by morrisey0
They are like twins!! Looking Good Josh! Nice Work Cory!

Robb

Eh. . Josh has less lift. But that can be fixed

Lookin good.

 

[taxx]

so that is witht he 4.5" springs? Looks good.

 

[cdsl227]

Looks GREAT!

I hope you're getting the measurements of EVERYTHING POSSIBLE.

I'm about ready to kick out for the kit and all!

One question and I'm definitely not questioning the work, but...the angle on the springs isn't going to be a problem when flexing the front?

I always thought they should(?) be pretty much straight?



Beautiful!!

 

[taxx]

angle shouldn't be a problem. I am interested to see how it works and rides with the jeep springs on it. 4.5" jeep springs should be pretty soft. I imagine that the front of a cherokee is a little lighter than ours and that of a EB. I measured my 3.5 eb springs compressed and that is about where they where with the weight of an X.

 

[CoryL]

With the springs you have to cut about a rung and a half off to get the coil to seat in the bucket and on the axle.

With the bucket bolted where it is at its lowest possible abd the springs where they are, you achieve the smallest amount of lift.

A 1/2" ratchet and you can change your ride height.

With this axle, you don't have a choice to keep the springs perfectly straight. Either way, it won't hurt performance. There will be some noticable noise of the springs rubbing in the bucket, but to achieve this setup, you have to give and take.

 

[taxx]

Thinking of sticking with the EB buckets I have, but out of curiosity how much are those buckets?

 

[cdsl227]

So then for a daily driver that sees a lot of street mileage this setup wouldn't be too good due to the rub...wear and tear is what I'm thinking.

 

[CoryL]

Everything I make is for "off-road use only" for legal purposes.

While you can drive it on the street, I didn't design it (Josh's) to handle daily driving chores like the stock suspension was designed for. You have to give and take.

That said, you could cut a large portion of the coil bucket away so as to prevent it from rubbing. This will have a negative effect for wheeling because it also helps keep the coil in the bucket.

The buckets themselves with the adjusters can be purchased seperately. A pair of buckets and adjusters will run $175. If you want the plate on the back for bolting to the frame the total goes to $250. Sounds kinda pricey, but for the ability to adjust your ride height at a fraction of the cost of coilovers makes it worth it (to me at least).

 

[taxx]

I agree, pricey, but the adjustability makes up for it. Dtill sticking with my EB buckets for less rubbing on the street.

 

[cdsl227]

Ok, I understand the legalizations, but...

If I wanted a setup like this that would give me less trouble in terms of spring rub and things of that nature along with the durability needed for driving around on a daily basis and whacking the never ending onslaught of potholes here in Brooklyn, what would the options be?

Are there springs with a smaller diameter, but strong enough that would give me clearance between the actual spring and bucket given the angle the spring would have to be set on.

I totally understand that you're merely offering your opinions here...the determination as to what I want to use it for is my business. Ergo- anything that comes of it's usage- is MY problem!

I'm kinda leaning back over to the leaf setup...

 

[SteveVB]

How long are the control arms? In thought they would be mounted farther back- anyhting to be gained with longer arms? I would think they would allow a bit more movement, and a better ride. Just curious.

Looks Good

 

[taxx]

Originally posted by SteveVB
How long are the control arms? In thought they would be mounted farther back- anyhting to be gained with longer arms? I would think they would allow a bit more movement, and a better ride. Just curious.

Looks Good

You can get more flex with longer arms due to less binding, but if you set the short arms up correctly (wristing in the case of the ford factory setup) you can eliminate the bind with the short ones too and not lose that much desired breakover angle. I am not sure how cory set these up but some set them up pinned on one side or so that one piece slides in and out buit can be locked for on road driving.

 

[CoryL]

The lower arms are setup at ~28" right now.

I could have gone much longer and pushed the axle forward a lot. That means a gain in an already long wheelbase and the move to full hydro steering.

I could have set the mounts back further, but that would have meant dropping the brackets down further. I didn't like that option. I also didn't want to screw with all the cutting and fabbing that would entail making a completely custom tranny crossmember to gain 2"-3" in arm length.

You can't "wrist" anything other than a radius arm like you see on older F150s and Broncos. You can set up suspension to mimic the end result though. In this case, since the coiled D30 has its upper control arm mounts on top of the pumpkin and over the vaccuum disco, I reused them. Hence the angle they are turned in. You could remove the passengerside to mimic the effects of a wristed arm, but because of that angle, you would lose a lot of control of your caster. I'd rather keep that control at the loss of some flex.


In regards to the spring rub issue, you could cut away a significant portion of the bucket, but then you get into issues of the strength of the bucket and reinforcing it.

The other option would be to cut out your frame, recess the bucket in there, and then reweld it. It wouldn't be terribly hard for someone with a torch (or cutoff wheel) and a welder, but the average Joe wants something bolt on. Recessing it into the frame would eliminate any rubbing problems. It would also save you money in terms of the entire "kit."

That said, I would still push this kit over the leaf kit. I think it is easier to setup properly, offers you adjustability in ride height and will be easier to install.

The other option would be to forgo the buckets and traditional coils and run coilovers. This would also eliminate the rubbing, save space, and still offer the adjustability. Of course it would require fabbing up a pair of hoops and would be more expensive, but it would solve all the problems as well as offer the benefits that coils bring.

 

[BMRisko]

Looks great man! I have one suggestion though just from previous experiences. On your lower arms at the lower to upper mount, it looks like the upper arm mounts too high off of the lower arm. You might look at lowering it to decrease some leverage or brace that mount with a piece of plate perpendicular to the 2 sides of the mount and then a triangulated piece at the bottom. Those short upper arms generate a lot of force trying to hold the pinion angle. Here is a pic of my upper to lower connection. Notice how the top arm mounts closer to the lower and the mount is longer to disperse some of the torque. Granted its a ZJ, but same concept.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/63159783/63159882JeEONo

 

[JoshC]

Wow, very impressive Cory. It looks funny with out a front bumper on it! haha. How much can you adjust those buckets?

Won't be long and i'll testing it in the woods.

So i guess the driveshaft will be done thursday, and the rear should be done too. If that gets done and you get the steering knocked out in a day then you'll have to measure for shocks, do the brakes, front bumper and that should be it. Besides some of the smaller stuff you listed earlier.

I like it! Looking forward to the next set of new pics!

 

[jasonb]

Originally posted by JoshC
If that gets done and you get the steering knocked out in a day then you'll have to measure for shocks, do the brakes, front bumper and that should be it. Besides some of the smaller stuff you listed earlier.

yeah yeah.. the bumper!

 

[jasonb]

i'm thinking it may be something like this? what do i know though!

i like this one at least.