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Leaving nothing to chance

Suspension Mock Up
Posted March 17 2013 07:18 AM by John Cappa 
Filed under: Editorials, Tech Tips, Project Garage , John Cappa

 

When building a 4x4 I don't like leaving anything to chance. I often go wheeling alone and I also don't want to go wheeling with others and be "that guy" that has issues with his truck the whole trip. I like to test fit my tires and mock up the suspension using jack stands to try and figure out how much lift and trimming I might need to avoid excessive rubbing. I'm working with a set of 40-inch Super Swamper Boggers mounted on 15x12 Eaton steel beadlocks. The kicker is that I ordered the wheels with about 1.5 inches of back spacing. Yeah, they stick out, a lot. There were several reasons for this including inner bed fender well and front brake caliper clearance. Anyway, with the 40s on the Eatons there is plenty of clearance in the rear with no lift at all. Up front is a different story. I originally thought I could clear the tires up there with 4-inch Tuff Country lift springs and copious amounts of trimming, and I still can. It's just that I will likely need to completely remove the inner fender wells, requiring me to fabricate new battery mounts among other things. I want to keep the truck simple so I think it will be best to scrap the 4-inch lift idea and go with a 6-inch lift up front. I'll still need to trim quite a bit and lower the bumpstops, but it will be more realistic and easier for someone to replicate. Out back I'm steering toward an Offroad Design 4-inch shackle flip. I'm not worried about having a ton of flex, so Im not interested in custom spring swaps or fabrication. I want to keep the truck sort of bolt-on for now. Overall, I've also found that I typically end up with fewer problems elsewhere by having only a moderately flexible suspension. I think this combo will work out nicely, but it sure is wide at about 101 inches.


Tire and suspension mock up

   



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