Outer Limits 4x4 Board

As some of you are aware, I've stuck 33's on my rocky. Silly move you may say? Yeah, well STFU!

I've also got some extended shackles and have moved the shackle hangers forward to return to factory angle at neutral flex.

This means that the shackles barely lift the vehicle, and ride harshness isn't really affected. I'm trying to make the tyres fit with as little lift as possible. Because I can.

So, is there any way I can limit or reduce the 'bump' travel of the suspension, other than bumpstops? At the moment, the springs have a small amount of arch when the vehicle is sitting static.

Obviously lift springs would raise the car, and probably work well with the extended shackles also....

I'm absolutely positive that more info will be needed - I'm happy to go get info once I know whats needed...

Cheers in advance guys

So you want to limit up travel to keep the rubber out of the guards is that right, but dont want to drop your bumpstops ...

The only option if can see is to re-radius the guards and make the opening bigger to fit the bigger tyres ...

Add another leaf to the smaller end of your pack that is only loosely retained at its ends (load carrying leaf), ie serves no effective purpose until all leaves are flat after which it increases the spring rate reducing the amount you will stuff into your guards.

Similar to this

love_mud wrote:So you want to limit up travel to keep the rubber out of the guards is that right, but dont want to drop your bumpstops ...

The only option if can see is to re-radius the guards and make the opening bigger to fit the bigger tyres ...

No no, Happy to drop bump stops, but trying to figure out if that is just a bandaid solution. Is it a bad idea?

I have load leaves in the packs which are upside down (Like that when I got the truck) So I might flip that load leaf so it sits the right way, and see what difference that makes...

tehekho wrote:

love_mud wrote:So you want to limit up travel to keep the rubber out of the guards is that right, but dont want to drop your bumpstops ...

The only option if can see is to re-radius the guards and make the opening bigger to fit the bigger tyres ...

No no, Happy to drop bump stops, but trying to figure out if that is just a bandaid solution. Is it a bad idea?

I have load leaves in the packs which are upside down (Like that when I got the truck) So I might flip that load leaf so it sits the right way, and see what difference that makes...

Dropping the bumpstops is not a bandaid at all. It is a very useful tool for tuning suspension travel exactly as you suggest ...


I would go the hack on the guard .. (on a beater rig) But on a daily I would have no hesitation on altering the bumpstop height ... Take a look at some of the low slung full body rigs that gwagen steve from the Zuk section build, they perform great and almost universally have bumpstops lowered to keep the tyres out of the headlight (there is only so much sheetmetal you can remove .. some needs to stay)

Fantastic!

I've hacked a fairly impressive amount out of the front guards (Its a daily, but my drive to work hardly opens the thermostat) and I'll be chucking some Polyurethane Insertion around to cover the tyres for the fronts...

The rear guards I think I'll get away with just a bit of beating with the 'elliptical straightening device' as they just go 'knock knock knock' as is, but also rub on the inner body which can't be cut out without filling the cab up with track, so there's no point in cutting the outers out I don't think. Perhaps a few slit type cuts, bend them out then stitch back together and sand flat for larger flares??


It needs a new clutch too so can't do too much off roading at the moment...

If I get the other shitbox out of the garage tonight I guess I know what I'm doing this weekend

Dropping your bumpstops is fine. Don't rely on anything other than a bumpstop to limit travel, soon or later, you need a hard stop to prevent the axle ending up where you don't want it.

Do be aware though that leaf springs only have so much flex in them Lowering the bumpstop means you've reduced your effective wheel travel by the amount you've lowered the bumpstop. You can play with shackle lengths to get some back.

Be aware also that lowering the bumpstops can actually force more articulation by increasing leverage. This way, it's possible to have very little travel but quite a lot of articulation. Articulation is far more important offroad than travel. (unless you are racing)

PS I'm sure you realise that unless you figure out how to regear your car, this won't be the last clutch you need to replace. 33's will be terrible to drive offroad until the gearing is sorted, regardless of the suspension setup.

Steve.

Totally understand re:clutch

They aren't that expensive though, and I do the work in my garage, so don't pay for labour...

I'm actually in two minds about getting a kevlar clutch made up. From my understanding, the love teh slip, and the hotter they get, the better they grip...

I've made up longer shackles (They'd be pretty close to 9 inches ) and relocated the hangers for better angles, so the arse walks really well...

Will have a play with dropping the bumpstops soon, and then look at shockies!

You could have the best clutch in the world made up, it's no substitute for gearing.

Why so long on the shackles? Stock shackle length is relative to the length of the spring - I'm struggling to see the point in such a long shackle. In fact, the relationship between bumpstop location, shackle length, shackle hanger position, and droop travel is quite a complex balancing act and best done once your bumpstop location is set.

Remember too that lowering the bumpstops will force the car to articulate harder, so depending on where they are positioned, you might find you have to cut your guards more after lowering the bumpstops.

Just my 2C.

Steve.

Thanks steve....

Shackles weren't planned. Just made 'abitlonger'. Before long, 'abitlonger' became 'ashitloadlonger' and they were cut, bent, and drilled.

I spent half the day today looking at twin transfers.

I'm lucky in that the rocky diff gears are around a 3.6 ratio, so could improve the crawl ratio a bit by going to poo or lux diffs....

One thing at a time though....I'm doing what I can with what I've got