Just picked up my new D/A, crew, 4x4 on Saturday. I had the dealer do about a 2" torsion lift to accomadate the larger BFG 287/75-16's. I absolutely love the look but the ride is a bit harsh. I really don't mind so much but when I saw my family jiggling in the rear view I started thinking about toning it down a bit.


I have two questions: First, can I split the difference in height and lower it back down about an inch and still have the proper tire clearance. If so how much difference will it make with ride. Secondly, am I better off going down to a 265/75-16 and keeping the stock ride height? I LOVE the look of this new rig but I can't beat my family's butt every time they go for a ride.


Thanks in advance!

Unless you are up off the rubber supports, I'm guessing it won't make any difference. The stiffness of the torsion bar is not a function of its position (i.e. rotational orientation) but of it's construction (i.e. material and size). Now the amount of compresson on those rubber blocks in the front might make a difference.

You can, however, adjust the pressure in the rear tires to soften the ride. Just make sure to put the correct pressure back in when your hauling a load.

I'd say check the air pressure in the tires too, but you can definitely make it ride different by cranking them down some. Do it in 1/2 inch increments and see what happens.

With the 285's you could probably run 40 lbs or less air pressure unless you get uneven tire ware. One turn of your torsion bolts equals about 1/4" of height change.

when you are done adjusting the torsion bars make sure you get it re-aligned. Very Important!

I've had a few CC and all of the got about 5 turns or so.


I've run 285-16,285-17 245-16, and 265-16 and all rode well.


I'd check the air and go 50-55 front and 45-50 rear unless loaded then bunp up the rear.


i've had some tire shops but 80 psi in the bigger tires that have max. air of 65, it will make a difference.


Do u have any weight in bed, a 1000# of so puts it on the helpers and this will make it ride rougher.


U shouldn't have needed much lift if the tires are on stock rims, just tie the left inner fender front and back for the clearence u need.

i just turned mine up yesterday. i only went up 1" with the torsion bars. i have 285's on mickey thompson classic 2's i had to trim more then turing them up but the rise is like stock with bigger tires on for more cusion.


patrick

Cranked mine 2" and also went with 285's. Traded out stock shocks for Bilstiens. Night and day difference. Rides better now than the day I picked it up from the dealer. My 8 year old noticed the difference in the back set when I took her to swim lessons. Wifey couldn't believe that it not only looked better, but rode like a dream (she has a tahoe with the air ride)

I adjusted my torsion bars as prescribed in this forum. About 2". Looks great and no more tire rub on my 285/75/16s (unfortunately, I'd trimmed my fenders a bit before learning I could address this problem with the torsion bars).


In several places, I've seen how important it is to get the truck re-aligned after playing with the torsion bars. I was very careful to adjust both sides identically. Took before and after measurements from the tow hooks up front (to the ground) and paid attention to the number of turns on each bolt.


Since adjusting, I have no drift on the highway. Truck drives straight as an arrow. Do I still need to get it aligned? For those who feel strongly about this, is it necessary for reasons other than uneven tire wear?


Thanks in advance.


~Terel








when you are done adjusting the torsion bars make sure you get it re-aligned. Very Important!

Man all you guys not running the exact stated tire pressure they are supposed to be run at remind me of a lawsuit not too long ago. Something with Ford and Firestone. I cant remember the details, But it was something like people werent running their tires at the right pressure.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Confused.gif


Maybe Im wrong, maybe you can run at a lower psi, But when my tires says 80 psi @3000 pds etc, I run it at that. The tire doesnt say for 50 pds, max weight 2400 and so on and so forth.


I thought running a tire at lower pressures than recommended was much like driving on a flat tire(ie your sidewalls will be shot).


If theirs a tire guru etc here let me know.


I run my BFGs at 65 pds like it says, Its not too rough in my opinion


Not causing a fight/ or trying to


Bill

Bill, 80 psi is the max load for 3000 lb. capacity of the tire. A lighter load calls for less pressure. The tires that Ford had trouble with were PR rated. They looked half flat when properly inflated. I run the amount of pressure needed to get even tire wear. I inflate the rears to max when I tow my 5th wheel. Later! Frank

Terel,


Anytime you adjust the T-bars you change the toe. Raising the nose increases toe-in, lowering the nose decreases it. Toe is easy to set. You want 1/16 to 1/8" toe in. I simply marked tread locations on the front and rear of the tires and used a tape measure. If you are uncomfortable doing this then take it to a front end shop for an alignment. If you rasied the nose 2" with the T-bars, then you have a bunch of toe-in right now. You can tell becasue the feel of your steering should be heavier now that it was before you cranked to T-bars.


Blaine

Blaine is right on the money here! Whenever we lift trucks at the shop i work at we ALWAYS get them aligned. its always a good idea, some trucks wiil have no adverse affects when crankin the tbars, some will veer left or right, no matter how many people think a cheyv is a chevy they are all different! if it were my truck i would get it aligned, but thats just me!

285's and i run 40psi

Every truck I have ever driven cornered bad unless it had max psi in the tires.

285's running at 54-56 psi in them (65 psi MAX). Never even had a ball in the hitch so I dont haul anything. I have the front lifted 2" via the green keys and it drives great. That 80 psi is the MAX for the 245's not what you have to run all the time.

The junk firestone car tires that ford used were probably at max load and they ran less air in them for better ride.


Tires got hot and they will come apart.


Most of the gators u see on the highways are recaps that separated, heat build-up usually is the cause.


We are running truck tires and the BFG's use three ply sidewalls so u have plenty of overcapacity for unladen pick-up trucks.

Has anyone thought about running the manufacturer's recommended tire pressures? Those are located on the driver's side door... I always run the recommended pressures, although it says the rear tires should be at 80psi and obviously that's like riding on stone wheels, so when I am not towing I knock the psi down to about 65 or 70 in back. Edited by: StraitDiesel

Regarding alignment, I did not align my truck after putting the H2 rims and tires on (315 17's), and cranking the torsion bar about 2". My truck tracks arrow straight..but... After a couple of months on them I'm noticing the fronts are wearing the outside shoulders much faster than the rest of the tire, hence, they should be realigned. I'm going to rotate the tires and hold off, as towing season approaches I'm going to be putting 265 ProComps on my stock PYO's to tow (3400lb load rating). Then I will bring the bars back down a bit and get an alignment at that time. Food for thought for those not thinking an alignment is needed.


Mike

StraitDiesel, the data on the door is for the max GVWR of the truck. You will find that you will get excellent tire wear and a better ride with approximately 50 in the front and 40 in the rear. (OEM tires)I changed this to 65 front and 80 rear when I towed my 5th wheel. Later! Frank

I run 305/70/16 BGF MT's on my truck in the summer at 33psi, when I switch to my stock tires in the winter at about 50psi I feel like my fillings are going to fall out. Try running a little less pressure like these guys said while using it for daily driving.

On the alignment part of this thread, I just raised my '01 K3500 Dually exactly 2 inches this Saturday. I took it down for an alignment and the data showed it was significantly out in both camber and toe. I had pre-warned the alignment tech( Mark, a friend of mine) what I had done. I watched as he set the truck up. I had just completed an alignment some 3 weeks back when I put some new rubber on the front as I had picked up a screw an 1 tire and the other had a nail in it. So we knew the alignment was on mark BEFORE I raised it. Mark said regardless of truck, if you raise the truck your toe will be out significantly. He said Camber would be out also but that would depend on how high you raised the truck.


Just thought I would chime in for the folks who were curious.

i dont want to dredge up old posts, but after replacing my torsion keys (more indexing) and shocks and cranking to 2", the ride is better than stock. a search of older posts will provide more info but there does seem to be a difference for some folks between cranking stock to 2" and replacing the keys. My .02

Quick note on the BGF 3 ply sidewalls. It's more of a sales gimmick than anything. Load rating is load rating. 3 pieces of typing paper don't have the same strength as 2 pieces of cardboard. Don't believe the hype until they give you measurements!


Correct Air pressure is based on load and speed. I have thousands of miles(dirt,rock, snow, and pavement) on tires with air pressures between 2 and 15psi, speeds between 1 and 50mph. Never had a problem with tire failure.

Ditto what the other Oldman said. Later! Frank