Does down travel affect performance?

I know, and i repeat, i KNOW the loss of down travel can affect ride comfort. I have billies at 2.5 in the front and a 2in AAL in the back w/ 5125s. However, is there any negative affect in 4x4 performance (ie. traction or clearance issues)? my gut tells me no but i figure i would see what y'all think. thanks!

 

Yea there is a lot wrong with that. You lose a lot of droop or down travel. This won't let the wheel fall into a whoop or whatever it is you do. The whole truck will sink down instead of the suspension working.

 

since this only affects the front, and the front never really acted independent (and i have tried the no sway bar, although not offroad, and never really noticed enough of a benefit) does the down travel really change that a whole lot? im ok if it is more bouncy but dont want to loose possible traction ability

and i dont know what a whoop is... im guessing some sort of weird spell check...

 

i dont follow... the rear 3 wheel? i am not locked...

 

Loss of downtravel can screw with on-road handling. Go into a corner and the inside tire can lift away from the pavement, causing a sudden loss of grip.

Remember the front 5100s are slightly longer than stock shocks, so you don't lose a full 2.5" of downtravel compared to stock, more like 1.5".

 

that does make sense. and along with the higher center of gravity it does not take sharp turns at as high a speed. as far as offroad i dont think this is as much of a traction loss factor???

 

For low-speed off-roading? When you encounter a small pit in the ground, since the front end of the truck is heavier than the rear, loss of downtravel means the entire nose dips into the pit rather than just a front wheel. This usually means your rear wheels lose traction because there's less weight on them.

High-speed turns in the sand is subject to similar limitations as on pavement.

 

I guess there has been more droop than I can feel bc I always thought the whole front end of the truck kind of dropped whenever a front tire hit a hole.

 

that makes a little more sense. how much of an improvement would there be A) going to 1.75 instead of 2.5 and B) getting the elbach coils and putting at either 0 or .85? i know the eilbach coils will ride much better but will i still have the same down travel issues?