Long Travel BS Thread

Honestly if you think you can do it...do it..if you have some competent friends to help go for it...I started out that way and the tons of stuff I've learned has been awesome

 

Yea I feel like I’m overthinking a little and I want to build out a truck one day anyways so I have to start somewhere I guess!

 

The DMZ install is a piece of cake....literally 2 measurements per side and your done. I think the hardest part was cutting off the stock hangars. The bedcage was not really that difficult, myself and @Yotamac just kind of winged it as we went. @Yotamac thankfully had all the tools we needed to get the job done. The last 2 pages of my build thread has pictures of it all going down

 

The kits and stuff are rather "easy" (in the realm of fab) to get started with since a lot of them use pick up points and references already known and they have instructions. It's when you start really delving into it that more thought has to be taken into account. Start with small stuff. Like instead of purchasing a frame plating kit go buy some sheets and make your own with a grinder and cardboard templates. Practice welding small little things. Some welding supply stores you can rent welders. But I promise you once you start putting in the work yourself you'll be better for it. Two main reasons pride for what you have accomplished and you will get to know the inner workings of your truck better so when stuff breaks you know how to fix it. The suspension geometry isn't hard people just tend to overthink it or make it sound a lot more like black magic than it actually is. Pick up some books and read there are some good youtube videos discussing suspension systems and designing them.

 

What’s your ride height? Seems to sit a little high in the front.

 

Didn’t measure. It is high though. I went a little high to compensate for my previous stink bug. I’m going to back it off and get it where I want. The ride quality was a little stiff with the preload

 

@Cam2010taco Just over think it lol. It’ll take forever but you’ll really know the concepts and ask tons of questions!

 

For round 2

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bbk_wpEjjz6/?igshid=1dhsu8oy0f8my

 

Does preload really effect ride quality?

 

I've heard both. I'm pretty sure the topic has been covered many times but would require a little searching.

 

I thought it did personally but I could very well be imagining it.

 

Yea boy!! Can't wait for it to be done

 

The further you compress a spring the more it resists further compression. F=kx the force required to compress a 600 lb per inch spring in the first inch of travel is 600 lb. The second inch would start at 600 lb and finish at 1200 lb. It would take a bigger impact to make the spring compress in that second inch of travel versus the first inch, therefore the ride is going to be harsher. A turn or so on the spring retainer may not be enough to affect it significantly though.

 

What’s everyone running for second gen LT cv boots lately ? My sdhq boots turned hard and split wide open ?

 

For a while I was running their boots until I upgraded to RCVs. Could just get another set or did they die pretty fast?

 

Sure.

Think about it this way. If you are adding preload, you are pre-compressing a spring that gets progressively tougher to compress. Therefore, your ride should be more firm.
Now of course, you could counter that with making the shock softer initially with tuning.

 

I feel I had bad luck with the sdhq ones and recently switched to try the allpro boots. So far so good but it’s only been about a month and I don’t dd the truck

 

Yeah pretty fast IMO 3 years the odd part is that they started out as soft flexible rubber and turned hard then the outer split in half

 

Wow that is interesting especially in Cali too. I would be curious to see how they explain that.

 

Not unless you put on so much that you get coil bind, hit the limits of your travel or you are using progressive springs.

A 600# spring takes 600# of force to compress 1 inch. It doesn't matter which inch of compression that is. That means it takes 1200# to compress it two inches, but it still only needs another 600# to compress the 3rd inch (1800# total).

Setting pre-load is about ride height and maintaining suspension travel. As long as the up/down ratio is correct for your application, and the limit is coming from your bump stop and limit strap the amount of pre-load doesn't matter at all.