Suspension Advice Request

[Old 97]

Hey y'all,

I'm trying to plan out the appropriate moves to augment my suspension setup as I continue to make changes to my T4R. I'd appreciate any advice folks may have to keep me from making a mistake.

My current setup is Bilstein 5100s all around (1.75 up front, 1" cornfed spacers on the rear), the purpose being to level the truck with a slight lift, and to stiffen the ride a bit. I've just put new tires on, and went from stock to 275/70/R17s, and am getting a bit of rub on the right front mud flap.

What I'm aiming to do in the very near future is add a Victory Blitz bumper up front (~30-60lbs, haven't decided between aluminum or steel as of yet), followed by a Warn M8000-S winch (~60lbs) added on early next year. I'm concerned that I'll need to upgrade my front coils to support the ~90-120lbs of additional weight. In doing so, I'd like to maintain the more leveled rake, and perhaps add another inch of lift to avoid having to remove the mudflaps due to the new tires. As such, I'm open to the idea of replacing the rear spacers with upgraded rear coils as long as I can maintain the appropriate rake. Finally, I'd like to avoid having to swap UCAs if at all possible.

I'd love to hear any recommendations or experiences that might help guide me towards a setup that will address the additional weight up front and potential extra lift.

Thanks!

 

[Chubbypanda]

Bilstien makes rear coils for 1.5" lift. But if you are adding weight up front then look into replacing all 4 coils with either Dobinson or OME. Both companies make coils for added weight while maintain a level ride hight with your 5100.

You mentioned that you didn't want to swap out your UCA but if you decide too than look into JBA uca. They are cheaper than many other brands that are out.

 

[SpeedyKevin]

Hey y'all,

I'm trying to plan out the appropriate moves to augment my suspension setup as I continue to make changes to my T4R. I'd appreciate any advice folks may have to keep me from making a mistake.

My current setup is Bilstein 5100s all around (1.75 up front, 1" cornfed spacers on the rear), the purpose being to level the truck with a slight lift, and to stiffen the ride a bit. I've just put new tires on, and went from stock to 275/70/R17s, and am getting a bit of rub on the right front mud flap.

What I'm aiming to do in the very near future is add a Victory Blitz bumper up front (~30-60lbs, haven't decided between aluminum or steel as of yet), followed by a Warn M8000-S winch (~60lbs) added on early next year. I'm concerned that I'll need to upgrade my front coils to support the ~90-120lbs of additional weight. In doing so, I'd like to maintain the more leveled rake, and perhaps add another inch of lift to avoid having to remove the mudflaps due to the new tires. As such, I'm open to the idea of replacing the rear spacers with upgraded rear coils as long as I can maintain the appropriate rake. Finally, I'd like to avoid having to swap UCAs if at all possible.

I'd love to hear any recommendations or experiences that might help guide me towards a setup that will address the additional weight up front and potential extra lift.

Thanks!

I'd say install the bumper/winch first and see if the drop in static ride height is ok. If not, you could measure and then decide which coil to use to get it back to an acceptable static ride height.

Regarding the rubbing, when does it rub and how bad is it? If its minor rubbing when you are on the bumpstops and fully locked, you could try using the heat gun to move around the mud flap to keep it from rubbing. 275s on stock offset shouldn't be a problem so I'm assuming you're running a different wheel.

Adding an extra inch of lift will not help you much with the rubbing when offroading/articulated. Also, adding an extra inch to your 1.75 lift will likely result in you needing UCAs to adjust the caster. Using stock ones may not get you enough caster to move the tire away enough from the body mount/mud flaps.

 

[Old 97]

Bilstien makes rear coils for 1.5" lift. But if you are adding weight up front then look into replacing all 4 coils with either Dobinson or OME. Both companies make coils for added weight while maintain a level ride hight with your 5100.

You mentioned that you didn't want to swap out your UCA but if you decide too than look into JBA uca. They are cheaper than many other brands that are out.

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll look into them.

I'd say install the bumper/winch first and see if the drop in static ride height is ok. If not, you could measure and then decide which coil to use to get it back to an acceptable static ride height.

Regarding the rubbing, when does it rub and how bad is it? If its minor rubbing when you are on the bumpstops and fully locked, you could try using the heat gun to move around the mud flap to keep it from rubbing. 275s on stock offset shouldn't be a problem so I'm assuming you're running a different wheel.

Adding an extra inch of lift will not help you much with the rubbing when offroading/articulated. Also, adding an extra inch to your 1.75 lift will likely result in you needing UCAs to adjust the caster. Using stock ones may not get you enough caster to move the tire away enough from the body mount/mud flaps.

That's probably a good idea. I was a bit worried that the 5100s would struggle without the additional support from the coils, but I'm not adding a whole lot of weight so it might be better to wait and see how it holds up.

As for the rubbing, I did some testing today and found that I'm actually rubbing on the front fender, not the flaps. It only happens when fully cranked in either direction and reversing. Also, I'm running TRD Pro wheels, so my offset is a bit different than stock. Gonna have to dig in to find the least intrusive way to address it.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Chubbypanda]

Angle grinder and trim down the bumper a millimeter or 2 and move the fender well forward a bit.

There are 2 screws holding the fender liner at the bottom
Remove them slide fender well foward a few millimeters and screw back into place.

 

[keyser_soze]

It is very easy to trim the front fender and move the liner back a bit. This will solve the rubbing issue.

Do not hesitate to get new springs. I had the Bilstein 5100 and Daystar 1.5" combo for years and I recently upgraded to Dobinson (2.5"F / 1.5"R) springs and it rides so much better! I wish I would have just done this from the start. The springs are cheap anyways.

I also upgraded my bump stops and sway bar bushings. These are cheap ($160 for everything) and are very easy to install, I highly recommend upgrading if you are already going to be working on the springs. The bump stops help the initial feeling over bumps making it smoother. And the sway bushings make a noticeable difference in body roll while driving at speed on windy roads.

 

[Old 97]

Angle grinder and trim down the bumper a millimeter or 2 and move the fender well forward a bit.

There are 2 screws holding the fender liner at the bottom
Remove them slide fender well foward a few millimeters and screw back into place.

I found I didn't need to trim anything, moving the fender liner forward solved the rubbing issues. Thanks for the advice!

It is very easy to trim the front fender and move the liner back a bit. This will solve the rubbing issue.

Do not hesitate to get new springs. I had the Bilstein 5100 and Daystar 1.5" combo for years and I recently upgraded to Dobinson (2.5"F / 1.5"R) springs and it rides so much better! I wish I would have just done this from the start. The springs are cheap anyways.

I also upgraded my bump stops and sway bar bushings. These are cheap ($160 for everything) and are very easy to install, I highly recommend upgrading if you are already going to be working on the springs. The bump stops help the initial feeling over bumps making it smoother. And the sway bushings make a noticeable difference in body roll while driving at speed on windy roads.

I've been looking at the Dobinsons, particularly C59-314 (front) and C59-505 (rear). Were you able to keep the Bilsteins with the Dobinson coils, or did you need to replace the struts as well? If you kept them, what did you set the front strut height to? If you had to replace them, which did you end up using?

I'll take a look at some bump stop and sway bar bushing options as I'm planning this all out.

Thanks!

 

[keyser_soze]

I've been looking at the Dobinsons, particularly C59-314 (front) and C59-505 (rear). Were you able to keep the Bilsteins with the Dobinson coils, or did you need to replace the struts as well? If you kept them, what did you set the front strut height to? If you had to replace them, which did you end up using?

The Dobinsons work with the Bilstein 5100s. I left the front strut at the lowest setting.