ruf specs/advice

[ajsr]

hey all
im pulling the spoa out of my zook
going to ruf
who's the person to speak too on outers that has a great ruf setup that can give me info and specs. ive read all the theads in the bible but ive got other queries.
and volenteers?
only want to do this once
cheers andrew

[want33s]

Take your pick, there's quite a few here with RUF setups.

Mine is sort of half-ruf as in I use rear springs but:
I have redrilled the hole in the rear mount back 20mm.
I moved the diff forward 22mm on the perches.
I use 100mm shackles(bolt centre to bolt centre).
VS Commo wagon rear shocks and 25mm bumpstop extensions.
I can get one front wheel 685mm off the ground.

[ajsr]

thanks jas
ok what front springs are you using? ie lifted brand

is it better to redrill rear bracket or ext front of rail? my rails are already 60mm longer for my bar setup so a new bracket at the front is no problem

does ruf work with drop shackes(just thinking now probably not going to happen)?

if I move the front mount what the ideal distance front bolt hole to rear? and if i go this what whats the best way to center the diff again?

ps im short wheel base so maybe new front mounts are the go also going to try and squezee 34s in there if that makes any difference

cheers andrew

[dank]

With what you are describing you will be all over your headlight buckets with 34s. I run 2inch BL, standard fronts and diff around 27mm forward and pretty long bumpstops 30mm+ and I had slight scrubbing on the headlight bucket. Nothing an angle grinder and welder can't fix.

[ajsr]

thats ok dank i not really on good terms with anything else in the front, its all been hammered and cut before, might as well take to headlight buckets now

[VR Rodeo]

You could probably get away with your 60 mm that you have already. I used Calmini 3 inch rears with main leaf 1/2 inch longer then stock rear and have extended the front by 4 inches, my shackle is around 30 degrees and are 90 mm eye to eye. Running 32 inch simex's I had to hammer a fair bit of the bucket even with 3 inch bumpstops and 2 inches uptravel

[ajsr]

[quote="VR Rodeo"]You could probably get away with your 60 mm that you have already. I used Calmini 3 inch rears with main leaf 1/2 inch longer then stock rear and have extended the front by 4 inches, my shackle is around 30 degrees and are 90 mm eye to eye. Running 32 inch simex's I had to hammer a fair bit of the bucket even with 3 inch bumpstops and 2 inches uptravel

thanks vr
hmmm maybe ill have to stick to the 32 mongrels i have on now.

what did you do with the diff loc ?
anything with rear mount?
cheers andrew

[zookimal]

If the chassis has already been extended then that is definately the way to go. 50mm is normally enough. Will help clear the firewall and add some useful wheelbase.

Rebuild the headlight bucket. I run a OME HD rear spring in the front of mine. (Rephrase-My old truck ran that spring, they are sitting in the shed waiting to go into the new one.)

[VR Rodeo]

thanks vr
hmmm maybe ill have to stick to the 32 mongrels i have on now.

what did you do with the diff loc ?
anything with rear mount?
cheers andrew

Diff is about 1.5 - 2 inches forward same as a normal full RUF, haven't had any problems with the steering arms although I bent the tierod last time I was out, although I don't know whether I hit anything with it or not. In saying that I will be redrilling the spring plate to move the diff forward again soon for a better approach angle. I have a new 79 series PS box with forward facing pitman arm sitting here waiting to go in and will go highsteer with cromo arms in the near future to stop things from bending.

I had originally redrilled the rear mount and made up a dodgy bolt on chassis extension, but ended up getting a mate to weld up a proper extension and used the original hole.

[PJ.zook]

If you do go RUF, i definately recommend either getting driveshaft lengthened or at least use spacers, my slipjoint is absolutely rooted as not enough contact area on splines.

[ajsr]

got 38mm spacers front and rear already from spoa so im good there.thanks though

any adverse affects stability with ruf? only reason im pulling out the spoa is the side slope stability sucks cog is too high

[ajsr]

can someone tell me can I still use my high steer setup with ruf or am i better off ditching it?? it looks to move the diff about 30 mm forward which will not be an issue with high steer but may be if I remove it.

also the rears i have in the back now are rancho 2'" lift although they are now near flat should I use these or maybe go new ones??
if new lifted? brand?

last question whats the ideal upwards travel on a ruf Im thinking about 2" measured from top of tyre, thoughts ???

thanks andrew

[want33s]

thanks jas
ok what front springs are you using? ie lifted brand ARB OME +40mm

is it better to redrill rear bracket or ext front of rail? my rails are already 60mm longer for my bar setup so a new bracket at the front is no problem Rail extension is better as it increases wheelbase.

does ruf work with drop shackes(just thinking now probably not going to happen)? Drop shackles??? Nothanks

if I move the front mount what the ideal distance front bolt hole to rear? and if i go this what whats the best way to center the diff again?
Rears are about 60mm longer than fronts so move the front perch about 50mm to increase shackle angle for better droop.

ps im short wheel base so maybe new front mounts are the go also going to try and squezee 34s in there if that makes any difference

cheers andrew

[bazooked]

got 38mm spacers front and rear already from spoa so im good there.thanks though

any adverse affects stability with ruf? only reason im pulling out the spoa is the side slope stability sucks cog is too high

are you on crack?

[ajsr]

got 38mm spacers front and rear already from spoa so im good there.thanks though

any adverse affects stability with ruf? only reason im pulling out the spoa is the side slope stability sucks cog is too high

are you on crack?

which part are you not following??
pulling out spoa as the center of grav is too high (tippy)

[brendan_h]

38mm i think he is about

[bazooked]

the spoa, i ran it for years on my shorty, never had an issue with cog or tippy shit.

[ajsr]

dont get me wrong its near unstoppable now but I think the height is my only limiting factor now

Im hopeing by lowering it a bit but keeping the suspension travel it will become a bit more stable

you can see my zook in the show us you flex thread

cheers andrew

[lay80n]

dont get me wrong its near unstoppable now but I think the height is my only limiting factor now

Im hopeing by lowering it a bit but keeping the suspension travel it will become a bit more stable

you can see my zook in the show us you flex thread

cheers andrew

Compare your measurements with the ride height and door height thread, and see how you stack up. I think Bazooked measurements are in there too.

Layto....

[ajsr]

dont get me wrong its near unstoppable now but I think the height is my only limiting factor now

Im hopeing by lowering it a bit but keeping the suspension travel it will become a bit more stable

you can see my zook in the show us you flex thread

cheers andrew

Compare your measurements with the ride height and door height thread, and see how you stack up. I think Bazooked measurements are in there too.

Layto....

70" wide
71" high
46" handle
80.5 " wheelbase
32" mongrels

so whats the verdict??? pull out the spring over and ruf it for more stability or leave it alone???

[lay80n]

Why not RUF with SPOA?

Layto....

[cj]

I think it depends a bit on what terrain you drive. Down here in Vic with the off camber stuff i'd rather be as low as possible although I am putting a body lift in mine for ease of fitting some stuff and also have a bit of suspension lift to help with rampover due to the extended wheelbase. I suppose if I was doing locks of rocky steps/ledges etc. then higher might be of more use.

[Gwagensteve]

ajsr,

A more useful photo of your car would be on flat ground. I'd say it looks fairly low for a SPOA.

Pulling the SPOA will lower the COG, but it's going to be alot of work, mostly because to run your current tyre and rim offset you are going to need to do plenty of guard work and a 2" body lift.

You could do it without the BL, but there'd be a whole lot of guard work in that then.

In relation to why not SPOA and RUF? sure, it will result in a very flexy and good riding car, but rear springs are much softer than fronts and trying to set up a SPOA car low with RUF is very hard unless you get your springs made up and that's not cheap (and a bit of an experiment)


Personally, I think the limiting factor is the hardtop/highroof - that's having a large effect on your COG and will be a pain when it falls over. As such, regardless of suspension, your car will always be less capable/stable than a soft top setup the same way.

Your high steer will have to come out. It will foul the chassis.

Don't redrill the rear hangers if you are chasing stability - having the axle all the way forward makes a big difference to stability.

It's really up to you whether you pull the SPOA or not, A SPOA car with flat springs and no BL is about the same height as a SPUA car with lift springs and a 2" BL, although the SPUA car will have the lower COG. If your SPOA is working properly and is reliable, maybe leave it and look for a soft top tub to take your car to the next level, and cut the guards for 34's.

Just some ideas.

Steve.

[hobzees4wdshop]

I may have a rust free excellent condition WT soft top body up for grabs in the near future. Let me know if interested.

[ajsr]

thanks fellars
this is great just what im looking for
cheers andrew

[Highway-Star]

If your really keen on improving stability, what about a WT axle swap? or has this been done already....

[ajsr]

If your really keen on improving stability, what about a WT axle swap? or has this been done already....

got them in already plus extra offset in wheels = 70 inch wide

[Highway-Star]

If your really keen on improving stability, what about a WT axle swap? or has this been done already....

got them in already plus extra offset in wheels = 70 inch wide

OK cool. I noticed the wheels have monsterous offset.