Ok so I have been soaking up a lot of knowledge from these forums and getting great answers thus far so... here goes nothing!

Now that I have my rims on order, found my 4x4 fenders and corners etc... I am looking into lowering my truck in the future to tuck the tires. I was always against lowering a vehicle since I stand at 6' (not a world record height but I hate climbing out of things). I always found it comical to watch guys get owned traversing the worlds smallest drainage ditches and speed bumps as well.

However, I am getting sucked into spending money on my truck to keep it moving towards a better look. This brings me to my questions... I have seen many of threads about removings leafs, drop blocks, drop spindles, shocks, bags etc. I am a nub to the suspension world blah blah. I know the basics of how a vehicle runs and operates... but know nothing of the real nitty gritty technical aspect. What is the "correct" way to lower your vehicle? Nothing too rediculously low... just enough to close the gap a bit. Here in Hawaii we have recon inspections whenever you modify the suspension etc so it has to be done correctly in order to pass. Not interested in budget tricks like flipping or cutting stuff etc.

What items would I need to do it correctly? Thanks for any insight. Not looking to do this any time soon but researching for when the time is right.

Thanks in advance.

 

I drove my 88 2wd static dropped for a few years,rode great.
Beltech 2" dropped spindles,Aim 2" dropped leafs w/ 2" angled blocks & Dosetch shocks @ all 4 corners.Then turn down the torsions to set the truck level!
At the rear if you get to low you will have to install a notch,so keep in mind if your going to bag it @ a later date,install a 6" or 8" notch!
This set up keeps all your suspension as it should be & handles & drives very well!
Also change all the bushings to poly for better handling.
Good luck with your project.

 

I bought Belltech 2" drop spindles & 4 Toxic drop shocks from stylintrucks.com for $407. A buddy of mine had 3" blocks so we used those, but my torsions & leaf springs are factory. I haven't even touched 'em. I still have most of my factory ride.

 

I've been looking over your build thread and advice you gave on the generals thread.

http://www.stylintrucks.com/part.as...sults_trigger=&partfamilyid=825&partid=603268

These are what you used right?

This brings me to my next question... I just slapped on my rims... it looks like I have a bigger gap in the front then I do in the rear. What jumps out to me (keep in mind I don't know much about dropping) at first is that I would lower the front 4" and the rear 2". Now once again... this is just eyeballing the fact that there seems to be a bigger gap in the front then there is in the rear. That being said... why would the front get lowered less then the rear? Isn't the rear supposed to sit slightly higher than the front and if not level? Wouldn't 2" in the front and 3" in the rear make the front higher... especially if it seems to be that way from the beginning? (Just appearance to me).

Thanks for entertaining these questions. Don't have the drop in my budget right now but once I have some income coming in again it is going to happen.

Thanks.


Edit: Also where I live, whenever the suspension on a vehicle is modified it needs a recon inspection in order to be street legal. From what I have read, in order to pass you need to have an alignment done within 30 days of the inspection. The shop needs to be able to put your truck within the factory alignment specs in order for you to pass. They also need to see visible travel in your suspension when bounced. With this drop method would these requirements be able to be met? Once again sorry if these are "no brainer" questions but I don't know the first thing about lowering a truck.

Thanks much.

 

or... since this is "in the future when I have money"... these would be better than blocks?

http://www.stylintrucks.com/parts.a...rts&canned_results_trigger=&partfamilyid=3346

In addition... toxic shocks all the way around? Just trying to get ideas... feel free to sway me in different directions etc.

 

Can't sleep if you guys can't tell... too excited I finally got my rims on. So I will just keep hammering out the questions as I think of them. Please don't think that I am be pushy for responses... respond at your leisure if at all etc.

I slapped on 18 x 8 X-runner stock rims off a '07. They have the stock 45 series tires on them. How much of a drop (front and back) would I need to achieve a "tucked" look. Is this possible with 18's without cutting or modifying anything from stock (with the exception of the bolt on drop components). I am running 4x4 fenders.

If possible without modifications... will the setups described by both posters (Truck Action and Nvrenufedge) provide enough drop to achieve this or is there significantly more drop needed requiring more mods?

Once again sorry for all the questions but now that I more or less finished my other projects for my truck I am scheming for the next.

Thanks in advance.

 

There's a bigger gap in the front because the fender is 2" higher. And you're not dropping the rear more than the front. The rear gets more than the 2" from the drop spindles and you turn down the torsion bars to level it out. 4" drop front/rear should slightly tuck 15/16" rims. I'd think that 2" would tuck 18s. Don't know about how much you want, though.

 

The outside diameter of your tire is about 26".
The outside diameter of MY tire is about 26"

In the rear setup of my truck, I have 3" drop blocks. Looking straight from the side, The fender line is barely above the tire. (Note this is not touching because I have lil bitch 205's that don't fill the width of my wheel well.

If you got 3" drop blocks and trimmed your bumpstops and removed your inner fender liner for the rear and rolled the lip of the wheel well, I'm sure you can get those 18" wheels in there pretty well without and rub or scrub. if they rub on the inside, you can get spacers...

Another trick is to use two 2x4's, and a jack on the inside to push out that bed side.. omfg imagine the wheel fitment!!!


As for the front end, my truck is only lowered via b/j flip. With a 1"/3" setup, my frame is parallel to the ground except the fender up front is 2" higher.. so i have a 2" fender to tire gap from the side... Also my 205's leave me a deep sunken look again...

So slap on your 18's, and if they don't seem to make the outside flush, use spacers.


Good luck, you should try a 3/3 setup, you should be sufficient




"wishin I had some 18's now..."

 

Thanks for the input guys. Continuing to do my homework... should have some pics up for you guys shortly.

 

I didn't buy the whole kit, but these are the spindles I used
http://www.stylintrucks.com/part.as...sults_trigger=&partfamilyid=3350&partid=20486
these are the shocks I used
http://www.stylintrucks.com/parts.a...ocks&canned_results_trigger=&partfamilyid=552
I don't see why those lowering leaf springs wouldn't work. I might even look into those when I get to the point of going lower.

As far as the whole kit, It would work just fine. I would recommend getting a drop shock and not run your factory shocks. I've also heard that Belltech's drop shock are crap. Also, when you order, make sure the kit comes with new u-bolts.

 

bro post some pics of ur ride!

 

Another person from hawaii? Sup bulleh

 

Yeah going to try to tomorrow or the next day.

@ Oahu grown... yes sir! Work in progress... Seen a couple other guys from hawaii here... 5psi I think is one... big island though.

 

j10nk & oahu grown, no worries about the questions. Ask away, thats what these forums are for. So ask as many as you'd like.

 

these are some of the most straight up drop processes there is I was on a few months ago researching the samething, drop spindles, drop shocks and drop blocks, thats the same results I got from these boys,. and really without getting to crazy $$$$$$ this is the most solid reliable way to go,.

 

its where i went

 

This is a really cool site with lots of cool people. Thanks man. way better then forumshawaii. Glad to see hawaii people in here.

 

Yeah people on forumshawaii seems to be dicks a lot of the time waiting to jump on someone. That or they can't be bothered helping. This, from what I seen so far, is a pretty close knit community who share the same hobby etc.

Glad I found this site.

 

My wife thinks its funny that I'm on here so much. She calls it my car porn.

 

Toyotas... do... have... nice... boobies!