Fitting 35’s with minimal trimming NOW ADDING LONG TRAVEL AND 934 CV’s

@EatSleepTacos it was me with the 18x600. Even no preload was way to high.
The 16x650 with no pre load worked out perfectly.

I still have the 18x600 in AZ if anyone wants.

 

I tried the same, now have 18x500 but am still in the middle of clearancing so don’t know how they are going to sit yet

 

It’s also important to note what shocks you have as the threaded body length varies between manufacturers. For example the silver truck with the cage started with 16x650 and after beating on the truck they could no longer keep the front end up without too much preload. We then put 18x600’s on it with zero pre load and after one hard trip the truck now sits back down to stock ride height. I’ve been slowly cranking preload in it since. It also has half of a pelfrey aluminum bumper and no winch. That truck has kings.

I did a truck last week with fox’s and used 18x500’s and with no preload and it sat 1” over stock.

The moral of the story is every truck is different depending on weight, shock type and what you want to get out of the truck. If you just do low speed crawl stuff then you can get away with a lighter rate. If you want to beat on the truck at speed you will need to stay in the 550-650 lbs range with a 18” long spring

 

ADS coilovers on 18x500 with about 1.5” of preload about 3” over stock. Gonna lower it down once I get my bumper on and remove a leaf from the Deavers.

 

How do you know your height compared to stock with glass fenders

 

yup and there is also something like a 500lb difference in the 3rd gen’s ( heavier )

 

I do frame height front/rear with tire deduction to know where I’m at. Really the only way.

 

I imagine there has to be some difference in leverage between the 2.25 and 4” kits as well? I’ve considered dropping to a 18x550 and adding some preload myself. Front could maybe be a little softer. Though I’m not sure I will notice much at all going from 600-550.

 

Because I had the LT on before I installed the glass fenders.

Side note: @81Trekker , what grease did we say was good for the EMF uniballs? Red n’ tacky? Probably just one pump because they’re sealed, correct?

 

Whatever you have handy works fine

 

Cool cool, I currently have some green marine grease in the gun that I’ve been using on drive shaft and the old ball joints. Should work fine. Old grease is breaking down and seeping so I wanna freshen it up. Needs more dirt.

 

The 4” kit is leveraged out about 1.5” more than the 2.25 kit.

50lbs difference in springs isn’t going to do much especially considering the springs aren’t built exactly to their designated rates. Ever seen how one is made?! Lol.

 

I did a quick search into what kind of tolerances these springs are held too. The thing I found was Eibach just stating that their tolerances are tighter than anybody else's. I would not be surprised of a +/- of 25lbs. So if something is out of tolerance it is just labeled the next closest rate. How they are tested can also make a measurable difference. And to 81Trekker's question of ever seen how one is made. Yes. I used to do it at a high-end specialty MFG. Are methods being a different, but the basic process is not at all sophisticated.

 

Please clarify your usage the the term “no preload.” Knowing these trucks the little bit I do, you’re not going to get any desired ride height out of a 600# spring with no preload.

 

18” spring with the collar backed all the way off gets you as close to as little preload as possible

 

Respectfully disagree. I've had mid travel Kings and then LT kits. Both set near zero preload. Mostly only had a tube bumper up front but definitely heavier than stock. Raised it up about the advertised 1.5" to level the car. By level, I mean the frame is level, not fender arches which some seem to use

 

I got my collars backed off as much as I can, certainly dropped the front a bit. I have probably 160lbs in bumper and winch up front. It’s got about 1.5” of preload on it now.

 

Does the 18” coil not have to be preloaded when installed on 8” Coilovers? I know 16” springs can be slid on no problem with preload at zero. My cap-over ADS coilovers needed the 18” spring preloaded to fit. Standard top cap with the longer body might have better luck for all I know.

 

zero pre load to fit an 18” spring on my 8” Kings

 

Podium elites showed up today! Can’t wait to start on the cage and not worry about trees killing me so much, along with eliminating that last bit of chassis flex!