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extending wheel base
Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 3:19 pm
by ofr57
I'm just wondering if you can extended the wheel base without adding a chassie extension
aim is 2 inch more front and rear still keeping it spung under
yes i know of chris's trick but isn't that only a inch ?
any help would be good
Re: extending wheel base
Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 4:00 pm
by christover1
ofr57 wrote:I'm just wondering if you can extended the wheel base without adding a chassie extension
aim is 2 inch more front and rear still keeping it spung under
yes i know of chris's trick but isn't that only a inch ?
any help would be good
Redrilling spring perches, and therefore relocating diffs, can get a bit front and rear.
The rear has enough chassis hanging out to move rear springs back a tad (on some models)
For off road use only of course
christover
Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 4:10 pm
by ofr57
so how much exactly do you get by doing this chris?
an idea I was thinking is moving the acturly spring purch but the leaf spring has a locator pin on it correct?
could you redrill this and shift it back or forwards if not get costom springs made ... be abit pricy though wouldn't it?
Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 4:15 pm
by DeWsE
ofr57 wrote:so how much exactly do you get by doing this chris?
an idea I was thinking is moving the acturly spring purch but the leaf spring has a locator pin on it correct?
could you redrill this and shift it back or forwards if not get costom springs made ... be abit pricy though wouldn't it?
You can redrill the original pad's.. not sure how much gain though.
If you move it to far on the spring you are going to affect the cycle and spring rate.
Further 2" would be on the max without doing something to the steering coz it's going to rub.
Cheapest way is just redrill the originals.
Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 4:19 pm
by christover1
ofr57 wrote:so how much exactly do you get by doing this chris?
an idea I was thinking is moving the acturly spring purch but the leaf spring has a locator pin on it correct?
could you redrill this and shift it back or forwards if not get costom springs made ... be abit pricy though wouldn't it?
I moved my front axle forward 22mm roughly an inch.
Details can be found via my members thread, tho pix are still down.
I chose this distance so my new hole would be half way between old hole and the edge of the metal. This seemed a stronger choice. Old hole can be welded shut, if you can weld.
I haven't moved the rear this way, but I would go half way, too.
You can buy axle relocation plates from the states, if you prefer.
christover
Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 4:22 pm
by ofr57
could be a way

and yes i can weld
what would you have to do to the steering to put it forward 2 inch... highsteer?
Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 4:36 pm
by christover1
Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 4:44 pm
by christover1
It was easy to space the bottom of shock over a bit, as there was enough spare thread. Probably not entirely needed, but better to put less strain on mounts.
I don't know if these mods are legal or safe in Your region

Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 4:44 pm
by DeWsE
Or cross over..
Posted: Wed May 24, 2006 12:59 pm
by ofr57
cool .. and no I'm guessing its not legal here but its for a trailer queen

Posted: Wed May 24, 2006 8:16 pm
by Gwagensteve
The rear will be easy - there are plenty of possibilities there.
With regard to the front... I am starting to think that with 2" bumpstop spacers it might be possible to run RUF with no chassis extension with the right shackle lengths.
Without the bumpstop spacers, the front end will invert the shackles.
If you want to run a fair bit of tyre, the bumpstop spacer is a fair help.
Steve.
Posted: Wed May 24, 2006 8:47 pm
by ofr57
I was planning on running the triangulated extened shakles ... which stop them inverting ... or still need to do the bump stop?
Posted: Wed May 24, 2006 9:12 pm
by Gwagensteve
No, the anti inversion shackles won't help. They invert forward and come right around and stick straight out in front of the chassis.
I don't think this will be feasible at all without the bumpstop spacers.
Don't quote me though, it;s just that every car I seem to RUF end up with a smaller and smaller extension, but I now build them with bumpstop spacers so the shackles don't come as far forward.
With no extension, and the shock lengths properly sorted to suit the bumpstop spacers, pretty awesome droop should be possible.
Steve.
Posted: Wed May 24, 2006 9:21 pm
by Bad JuJu
How is this affecting the vehicle balance and height ??
Posted: Wed May 24, 2006 9:47 pm
by Gwagensteve
Seems really helpful for balance, but bear in mind that I run the bumpstops under the chassis rather than outboard like suzuki. This really twists the springs up on articulation, but the car articulates very well.
spacers on the bumpstops in the stock locations would really hurt articulation as well as handling. With the bumpstops moved in, you don't seem to notice even a really small amount of compression as a problem.
without the extension it might be really hard to get enough ride height to have acceptable compression travel (i.e. any at all

) with a full 2" spacer and a "regular" length shackle, so the shackle might end up quite long to make it all work, but this would only help droop even more.
As I said, It would be a bit of an experiment.
The front of RUF cars tends to want to sit a bit high with an extension, (with the same springs all round) so it is all a bit of a juggling act. If I run a front bumpstop spacer I run a rear one as well, but due to the higher roll stiffness in the rear, it is much harder to get the rear to articulate anywhere near as hard as the front, which is why IMHO ruf cars feel nicely balanced- much better than a stock front end with common travel increasing tricks like 3/4 or scissor shackles in the rear.
Steve.
Posted: Wed May 24, 2006 10:16 pm
by ofr57
hmmmmm testing time maybe

Posted: Wed May 24, 2006 10:25 pm
by christover1
ofr57 wrote:hmmmmm testing time maybe

All the jacking and measuring in the shed, and on paper, never equals the true offroad forces acting on everything.
Sometimes you just have to try something, suck it and see.
Careful planning and thought is important, tho.
But build it as you drive it can still happen, even when you think you have planned it all well.
christover
Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 1:12 am
by nicbeer
Gwagensteve wrote:Seems really helpful for balance, but bear in mind that I run the bumpstops under the chassis rather than outboard like suzuki. This really twists the springs up on articulation, but the car articulates very well.
Steve.
Any pics of these under chassis bumpstops?
Nic
Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 6:28 pm
by Drew
for rears up front maybe move the spring hanger back on the chassis a bit or redrill the bolthole an inch back so the shackle doesn't flip forward
pics please mr nicbeer
Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 6:33 pm
by ofr57
cant move the perches it one of the rules in the comp I'm planning on going in
Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 6:52 pm
by Drew
which comp you lookin at, where do we find the rules