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Drop Boxes or Castor bushes for 4 inch

Tech Talk for Nissan owners.

Moderators: toaddog, V8Patrol

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Drop Boxes or Castor bushes for 4 inch

Post by GUEEY »

Hi.

Currently setting my truck up for a 4 inch lift.
i currently have no castor correction and with the new lift i want to fix the castor correctly.
is it worth the extra money for drop boxes For 4 inch!
or do i run castor bushes.
i like the idea of drop boxes but am unshore whether it is worth the $$$$

Grant.
GU III TD42T UFI18G Cross Country IC, 20 PSI. Neeeeeed mooooore Fueeeeeel.
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Post by viperguy »

not even a desicion buddy..drob boxes all the way. would never use anything else for castor corrrection
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Post by chunderlicious »

i currently use 2 inch castor bushes on my 4 inch lift. i took out my castor plates as it was WAY to much castor for the lift.

only problem i have now is that the mushroom bushes keep tearing on biggish hits...... alot less than it took with boxes
turbos are nice but i'd rather be blown
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Post by MKPatrolGuy »

Go the drop boxes
[size=100][url=http://www.vickrawlers.com/]VicKrawlers.com[/url]
[url=http://www.drfwdc.org.au/]Dandenong Ranges 4wd Club[/url][/size]
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Post by simcoz »

Drop arms are better again but cost more.
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Post by SuperiorEngineering »

simcoz wrote:Drop arms are better again but cost more.
Coz ,to clarify what you said it depends on what the truck is used for as drop radius arms are good for just competition and ground clearance but the boxes will drive better on and off road than any other caster correction as they drop the rear of the radius arm down to the same specs as a factory nissan has , this will then support the diff properly over bumps. The important factor is the height difference from an imaginary horizontal line from the centre of the diff to the centre point of the rear pin
Drop arms will give you only a marginally better ride than caster plates and this is only because they have relieved the rear bushes of stress, the rear mounting point is still to high up above the diff centre line to give proper support of the diff.
To answer the original question that was posted the drop boxes are so much better than bushes, save your money buy boxes and you will have a nice driving truck.
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Post by oondy »

IMO its up the perception of the driver as to which drives better on road. I think my GQ with 4" lift and drop arms is much better to drive than when it only had 2" lift and no caster correction, not just the steering aspect but the whole hitting bumps and wot not, its fine, the front diff just compresses the coils and away we go, no harshness at all realy.

My mate in his GU Ute with 4" lift and drop boxes says it drives crap. if you want drop boxes then get them, if you want arms, then get arms. personal preference really.

cheers

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Post by santaz351 »

How are drop boxes fixed to the chassis?
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Post by turps »

santaz351 wrote:How are drop boxes fixed to the chassis?
From the ones I have seen. They bolt onto the four bolts that hold the gearbox crossmember (so it gets lowered by 8-10mm). And thru the factory rear mount for the radius arm.
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Post by santaz351 »

so is it just a matter of preference which way people go. I'm about to give my gq a 4" lift and i'm confused/unsure which way to go, drop boxes or radius arms.

cheers
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Post by KIWI »

I'd go for drop boxes, although if you want good wheel travel wheel too, I'd go for the Superior arms
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Post by Rogue Patrol »

I used to use castor plates then changed to Drop boxes and have never used drop arms.

The biggest reason I like the boxes is the way the car 'mounts' obstacles.

The greater the angle from the front axle to where it's mounted at the chassis the harder ir will be to drive up onto something.....
The flatter this imaginary line that Mick spoke of is the more easily the car will drive up onto something.

The only thing you lose by using drop boxes is a little bit of clearance at the gearbox crossmember.
I've heard stories of guys getting hung up on drop boxes but never seen it and it's never happened to me.
AND if you want to use the Superior arms then you need only buy one.
6" GQ, 37" Treps, that is all.....



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Post by nastytroll »

when I was running drop boxes I would always get hung up on them, winch trucks are different cos they just drive til their stuck n winch.
biggest problem with drop boxes is you (I did) will hit the arms on rocks, then drag the arm over the rocks, then if it slides over the rock it will jam its self on the box if you need to reverse.

I had the same problem with the bolt in 5 link.

I have had caster plates, caster bushes, 5 link, 4 and 6 inch drop boxes, drop arms with 4 and 7 inch lifts.

I would recomend arms, but between bushes and boxes go the boxes.
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Post by azzad »

simcoz wrote:Drop arms are better again but cost more.
Depends on what arms you use, I have had both bushes and arms, drop arms win hands down.

I agree with what has been said about drop boxes returning everything back to normal but I think I would still use drop arms, just because I dont think I would notice the differance in ride between the 2 but probablly would notice the reduced clearance.

Just my opinion.

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Post by PGS 4WD »

I have used drop boxes for 4 years and never hung up on them. They are the go as they get the radius arm horizontal that means when you hit obstacles the arm goes up and back not up and forward, and it centralizes the rear pin in the bush(better for articulation and the life of the bushes. Drop arms would acheive the same but I can make drop boxes cheaper than buying arms.

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Post by Yom »

All well and good, but once you start going over 4" lift you push the panhard and steering angles seriously out of whack.

Don't think anyone has really addressed this problem yet as it requires chassis modifications and steering mods.
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Post by GUEEY »

Yom wrote:All well and good, but once you start going over 4" lift you push the panhard and steering angles seriously out of whack.

Don't think anyone has really addressed this problem yet as it requires chassis modifications and steering mods.
I have fitted Tuff Dog ajustable panhard rods, cheezy supplied me a adjustable drag link.
all my alignments are now spot on, just what to get the castor right!
i dont like the 3 deg bushes, there is bugger all material between the eye and the steel sleave.
Thanks for everyones comments.
i am booked in next week for Drop Boxes.

Cheers

Grant
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Post by its aford not a nissan »

GU slotted bushes help alot with flex

just thought i would add that :D
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