i'm confused. how to get downtravel

ok, first lets start with specs.

95xj, 4.0L, aw4, D30/chry8.25, 3" RC AAL + 2" spacer and extended shackle (so 5").

lower currie enterprise double flex control arms
extended brake lines for 5.5" lift

(it's not done yet. i know i need new upper arms, better shocks etc...but that's why i'm asking this, so i can plan what to buy)


ok, so i've been thinking. i can max out my uptravel completely to where the knuckles actually push into the coils, but i would like to gain some more down travel. i see alot of pictures where people have one axle on the ground, and the other axle nearly vertical, or pictures of people loosing their coils. while i can get alot of flex out of my cherokee, i've never even been able to move the coil even a little bit even with it flexed all the way.

my current problems that i can see would be 1)trackbar end being maxed out 2)shocks possibly limiting me. (i think the trackbar end binding up might be a big factor).

then in the rear, i would like to get a little more downtravel if i could.
right now if i put my front tire up on a ford escort, my rear tire is probably 5-10" off the ground. i would like to keep it on the ground.

i already have longer shackles. i already flexed it so hard that it broke a couple of the leaf spring retainer clamps. i was thinking about possibly removing all of the retainer clamps. BUT...would that have any negative side effect when driving on the street???


SOooo...........

what do i need to change, extend, loosen in the front to get that extreme downtravel that i like seeing.

what do i need to change, extend,loosen in the rear to get that same downtravel???


PS: is it even possible for me to get more downtravel in the front if the highside is already pushing the knuckle through the coil??? i would almost think that if the low side went down even more, then the highside knuckle would start doing damage to the coil. so i might be limited to only improving rear flex. but i still don't understand how some of you can unseat your coils and i can't even move mine.

One thing limiting downtravel at this point is that you've got a 3.5" lift and your control arms are mounted to stock locations in the frame. If you want the wheel to really be able to drop, the control arms have to start from a more neutral position...a la Drop Brackets.

If you're running the stock trackbar, I'd strongly recommend upgrading...RE1660, 1665, and 1670 (HD Trackbar, Brace and Bracket) http://www.yuccaman.com/jeep/re1670.html

I understand you're building it cheap but after a time you really need to spend some coin if you're going to run it this tall.

Jim www.yuccaman.com

You should bumpstop the front to keep the knuckle out of the coil, that would be a good starting place that likely won't cost you much up travel.

[daydreaming] long arms sure would be nice [/done daydreaming] LOL

i don't like the drop brackets. never quite appealed to me. i'll just have to keep dreaming about long arms until they magically appear someday.

i'm currently running the rough country adjustable trackbar, and hopefully will get to try their new design in the near future since i need a new trackbar anyways.

hey cheap is cool. the XJ is basically being build as parts just "happen" to be available. it was sitting at 3" for the last 2 years as i slowly collected parts that fell off of other jeeps when i was working on them. finally i had the brake lines, 2" budget boost, trackbar and time. plus the 33's were really rubbing bad with the 3" lift. LOL it's by no means a "hey look i lifted my jeep 5" with blocks and duct tape and super huge zip ties" lol, but it's not a money pit either. i'm a mechanic and just recently opened my own shop (hence the lack of money. lol), and it's my daily driver as i mentioned. so i assure you it's by no means hacked together in an unsafe manner.

a friend of mine from another club who has 10years of time and money into his YJ says: "that thing is ugly and cheap as hell, but it works amazingly well". i take that as a compliment from a guy who could put his front tire ontop of my hood and still be comfortable parked. lol

a proper track bar will not limit your down travel much. the arch it swings will go under the vehicle. you pretty much hit it on the head yourself. to maximize down travel, which isnt always the best thing, you need to get longer shocks, possibly a different trackbar, and a long-arm suspension. stock-length arms just dont travel far. you can loosen up the rear with revolvers and z-boxes but it would affect roadworthyness.

i've looked at the revolvers for a long long time already. never did much research on how well they perform, but they just look cool for some reason. LOL that's important too right??? i'll have to keep an eye on ebay, forums and some jeeps i work on.

what are z-boxes???


any comments on pros/cons to removing the leaf spring clamps on a daily driver???

What does your shackle angle look like?

good question. didn't even bother looking at that. been to busy working and playing that i keep overlooking the simple stuff. i'll have to go out and look when i'm feeling better.

As for the spring wraps, don't remove all of them. The leaves will fan out and rub a hole in the tire.(Ask me how I know:doh: ) I've had good luck making new ones that are tall enough for the spring to flex. About the only way to get more down travel in the rear is new springs. Revolvers will let the axle drop, but there isn't much force applied to the tire, just the weight of the tire and axle, so it doesn't add much traction. It looks cool though.

RickHB19 said:

What does your shackle angle look like?

Click to expand...

shackles are nearly verticle with the bottom angled slightly to the rear

I only have one semi-tight, stock-type spring clamp per side. They're on about 8" in front of the axle. My passenger-side pack has one leaf that's fanned inward about 1/2" but not enough to rub my puny 235s.

scorpio_vette said:

shackles are nearly verticle with the bottom angled slightly to the rear

Click to expand...

For better flex they should be on more of an angle. I plan to move the shackle mount forward 1-2 inches with my next bastard pack. I have read, and it makes sense that a verticle shackle is no good for ride or flex. Any luck with it yet?

i've looked at the revolvers for a long long time already. never did much research on how well they perform, but they just look cool for some reason. LOL that's important too right??? i'll have to keep an eye on ebay, forums and some jeeps i work on.

what are z-boxes???


any comments on pros/cons to removing the leaf spring clamps on a daily driver???





i'm also confused what are z-boxes? i like this forum, i'm learning new stuff about my suspension

scorpio_vette said:

[daydreaming] long arms sure would be nice [/done daydreaming] LOL

i don't like the drop brackets. never quite appealed to me.

Click to expand...

my rigs' a DD with a c-hair more lift than yours at 5.5 and i used the drops ( 30 bucks new on ebay) and get some decent flex.....my upper and lower CA are rough country 'justables. i did dump the track bar and got even better travel, but on the paved roads i got too much front end travel ( 'duh....,sway! ) so i put it back on.....i liked the drops for the reason that my tow points angled slightly down....in case a tow line parts...anyway good luck.

Cipey

userbmx1315 said:

i've looked at the revolvers for a long long time already. never did much research on how well they perform, but they just look cool for some reason. LOL that's important too right??? i'll have to keep an eye on ebay, forums and some jeeps i work on.

what are z-boxes???


any comments on pros/cons to removing the leaf spring clamps on a daily driver???

Click to expand...

We can start your research on revovler shackles..........they suck.

The extra droop you get with them isn't worth the unloading, increased spring wrap, and decrease in stability that comes with using them. A good set of leaf springs will get you all the droop that you need.

Running without spring clamps will increase spring wrap and will fatigue the springs faster and will decrease the springs ability to hold the axle on steep climbs. Again, the slight extra droop that is gained by removing the clamps isn't worth the negative side effects.

Goatman said:

We can start your research on revovler shackles..........they suck.

Click to expand...

Richard, I've heard of quite a few people running Revolvers or something similar with great results. Most of them are running some sort of center limiting strap. I would guess that limiting the whole axle would help but not eliminate the problems.

Do you get the same sort of effect as unseating a coil? The tire's on the ground but doesn't have any sprung weight on it.....

your opinion?

Skip the revolvers.

Your front suspension must be binding. Here are some old pictures that show you can flex with all stock parts except 3" springs, 2" spacers, RS9009 shocks and cut LCA mounting brackets.

You still running a shock for 3" lift?

scorpio_vette, we aren't too far from each other. I would gladly check out what the problem is.

wow this thing came back alive.

ok. i have disconnected all of my shocks, and flexed it out to see if the shocks were limiting anything. the only limit is my front shocks are about
1/2" shorter than my axle travel. so that's not quite the droop i'm looking for, so i'm not getting longer shocks for right now until i can figure out how to get a couple more inches.

I have cut my lower control arm mount tops back a bit to clear the control arms.

i haven't taken any action to improve my rear shackle angles. right now even thought the angles aren't the best, i've determined that as of right now, my rear suspension actually equals if not outflexes my front by a bit. so if/when i get the front to flex some more, then i'll have to move the leaf spring mounts, or find some longer leaf springs.

TNT......stop on by my work anytime you want and we can play with the jeeps a bit. my work # is 414-727-1037