suspension gurus

[bart]

i need help on strengthening my rear suspension. now to clarify this is a truck, SUV for that matter. it has leaf springs on it. i just want to get rid of the side to side flex and the "give" in the rearend. i am open to anything at this moment as im even looking into a 4 link and coil overs. the truck has been lowered 7" in the back so theres not as much give as there once was, but id like to make it a little more firm.

and just curious, but would moving an axle over 3/4" dramatically effect anything?

thanx for any help

 

[dug]

try installing a sway bar which might help or better yet, a panhard bar. and what type of vehicle is this anyways?

 

[bart]

bronco 2, its on my www

 

[dug]

wow. i checked out your site. to be honest i thought your bronco was gonna be...well "gay." but damn its pretty cool man! i have to give you props on that one. its different and thats what i like about it. did you do the work yourself? nice ride

 

[Michael Yount]

No question - the II is cool; seen it before. Leaf springs are about the worst way to locate a rear axle - and they're heavy unsprung weight. No doubt a properly located 4 link with Panhard rod and coil overs will make a huge difference in both suspension effectiveness and ride quality. However, that's a huge change and quite involved. And, you need to work with someone that understands the implications of how/where you locate the pickup points, instant centers, anti-squat/anti-dive, etc. Locating the rear end that way would also probably make you want to re-think your front suspension - especially if it's still got the old 'twin-I-beam' in it -- almost as archaic and heavy as the leaf sprung rear.

I road raced a leaf sprung car, and we couldn't by the rules ditch the leaf springs. Two things I did that helped a lot. First - added a Panhard rod to locate the rear end laterally. Lateral location isn't a strong point of leaf springs. Second, I varied shackle heights so the spring sat level with respect to the ground. This minimizes 'rear steer' when cornering hard.

If harder launches are what you're after (my car didn't have enough power to worry about that) then some sort of traction bar or control arm is probably available to limit or eliminate leaf spring wind up. There's a great article in this month's Car Craft (silver 71'ish Mustang on the cover) about rear suspension design. Given what you're considering, it's probably worth a few bucks to pick up a copy.

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

bronco 2, its on my www

That is without a doubt the first Bronco II i've ever liked... two thumbs up! Get that thing as fast as a Mustang and handling like one, and you've got one seriously cool ride.

 

[bart]

thanks for all the nice comments guys.

yeah micheal it still has those junkie i beams under it, me and one of my friends are workin on a way to get a rack under it. looks like i might be throwing a parallel under it with some CO's then. oh well i wanted to anyways.

dug, my truck was well on its way to being "gay" at one time. i was gonna go 100% crazy with it, bag it, body drop it, blah blah. i got a job at a bodshop where they do only hot rods, well.........i got into this whole classic look, decided not to go crazy..just give it a nice stance and make it look mean. so anyways one of the guys i work for has an 87 hatch, its a hella machine, runs the 1/8th in like 7.50s. anyways i got to drive it one day for lunch....been a 5.0 freak since. i WAS gonna sell the bronco and buy a stang, but my dad got all bitchy about it (i was 17 btw) so i decided if i couldnt have a stang then id just have a bronco with a stang motor. im now 21, i pick on rice, camaros, and s-10s with 350's. i just need it to handle a little better, its not a stang and it never will be, but id like for it to be better than what it is.

 

[HaggardGT]

HAHA! Dude that is by FAR the coolest Bronco II I've ever seen. I can't believe you stuffed that engine in there. Nice work. I suppose I'm a little late in making this comment but I just had to give you props. That ride is badass.

 

[bart]

thanx alot man, hey and its scary to see how well that 5.0 sat in there. i think the guys at ford might have been plannin a little something back in 89. lol. there are bends in the frame and firewall, that serve no purpose at all for the 6 cyl.....but something on the v8 goes right into that spot. lol