Gadgetized

iTrader: (9)

Bigger is better!


I can't believe that only costs one dollar! But seriously what size is that, it looks massive. I wonder what it would drive like without the panhard bar? The links are at such an angle it might not be bad without it. Very nice build by the way.

Spoolin

iTrader: (8)

I would imagine it had to do with the angle, clearance and travel of the coil-over and spring. The spring is already pretty close to the axle tube that it might hit if the tabs were welded to the brackets/plates. So then youd have to change the upper mounting location and that would possibly put the shock at an angle that is less than ideal for the articulation of the suspension. That's just a guess on my part though, I'll try to link this thread to Stoiciometric and maybe he might have an answer. I know his aim for the shocks were to have them as far out as possible. He at first thought about putting them outside the frame rails but decided against it because it would encroach on my ability to run the widest tires possible, and that was one of the biggest reasons why I had this suspension built.

Haha, no I haven't done a launch yet but I have pushed the suspension at an event and was unable to upset it in either the slalom or the road course. I wanted to go faster in the slalom but I could not turn the wheel fast enough, so basically my suspension has outpaced the stock steering box. I'm gonna have to get a tighter ration steering box to figure out how far I can push the suspension in a slalom and road course.
Middle finger is courtesy of Dave(USABodyguard). Lol

Truck is washed and ready for pick up... Just not sure it will make the cross country trip to Alabama with the valve springs being so weak right now! Lol
There's some adjustability built into it but I think most of it was done in the design. I'll ask about it though and get you a better answer.

Not sure

After watching Jarrett at the sand drags I was thinking of doing that with my truck! Does that count as rock crawling...probably not huh.

One of my biggest request is that I not lose the ability to haul my street bikes and dirt bikes with my truck since I still use this truck as a truck and help friends move and what not. Next time I'm able to load the bike up I will take a picture of it but after loading up a couple hundred lbs of gear in the bed and driving all around last week I'm pretty sure that it's still able to haul my bikes when needed.

Thanks!

I think those truck arms are gonna have to get a lot longer for that to happen! I'm curious as to how much if any air my front tires would see at a properly prepped track.

Not sure on the size but Stoiciometric did mention that he overbuilt that particular area. And I'm not sure I'd want to find out how it would drive without a pan hard bar, I would think it would stay centered for a little while until some hard cornering cracked the brackets off the frame or axle because of the side loading.

iamkeniff

iTrader: (16)

is all i can say

Stoichiometric

iTrader: (10)

To answer a few questions...
The shock tabs are welded to the arms so they can attach to the frame forward of the c notch. I do not believe the frame is stiff enough to allow the suspension to work correctly behind the notch. The other factors for that mounting position are keeping the shock eyes in line for the top and bottom mounts, keeping the shocks mounting point on the axle closest to the outside of the truck without mounting outside the frame rails (tire clearance later), the ability to use a shock short enough to fit under the bed, not scrape the ground and still allow for 8 1/2" of wheel travel.
The pinion angle is adjusted with 4 rod ends that mount the arms to the axle.
The joints on the front of the arms are forged and 1.25-12 thread rated at 238,000 lbs each. Should be strong enough. Rear rod ends are 3/4-16 with spacers reducing to 5/8 bolts.
Other notes on the set up; the instant center is good, the length of the arms combined with the Fox shocks creates an awesome ride, re-valveable shocks (great out of the box with 70/50 damping), ability to tub the bed to the frame rails for tire clearance, lots of wheel travel, plenty of height adjustment, uses any 2.5" coil springs, pushes on the truck under the cab where it is stiffer, canted arms allow articulation for the street without bind.

vanillagorilla

iTrader: (1)

That's a nice lookin' setup! I like how it's a better, more robust version of a the old 68-72 truck arms. I'm curious to know what the exact anti-squat value came out to be. I can't imagine where to begin when designing a suspension for a truck that serves double duty like the strip and auto x. Is there any brake hop?

Do you have any more pics of the panhard bar to frame mount? I'm trying to figure out how to get a low roll center with a panhard but not have a monster frame mount that hangs too low.

I'd put a rear sway bar on it too before you go and mess around with the rack and pinion (not a steering box is if its 2wd). I bet it'd help you out quite a bit in the slalom.

Stoichiometric

iTrader: (10)

I am also curious what the anti-squat came out to be. I tried to figure it out but didn't have confidence in the results with so many assumptions of CG and weights.

I didn't do a good job taking pictures. The only thing you might be able to do is angle the panhard forward to increase the length as much as possible and make a diagonal link. That would allow you to mount the frame bracket higher and tolerate more angle change on the link from suspension travel without translating the axle as far. As long as you can clear the driveshaft and have room to increase the diameter of the tubing to handle the extra load.

I agree, the truck already has a 1.5" sway bar in front and would really benefit from a rear bar.

LsxCody

iTrader: (3)

That looks awesome!

PRO TOUR HOE

iTrader: (2)

Very Cool ! I like it looks like we had the same idea for the panard bar, location and adjustablity

$nake Charmer

iTrader: (7)

Congrats on the sweet build man! How much does one need to get there truck in there for that... But no cnotch?

Spoolin

iTrader: (8)

Thanks man!! I love it and as most people who've ditched the leaf springs will attest to, it's night and date on how well these trucks really handle with proper suspension.
Not sure what your asking but I didn't have a shop do it. I have a couple buddies who did it for me for a case of beer...or two! I'm sure if you have a shop do it it can vary depending on how crazy you wanna go with it. But figure between $4K up to maybe $10K. That's just a guess though.
There's some other members who have some real nice ones who had shops do it and they could would probably give you a better idea of how much it would cost.