Suspension for dummies
...to center your axle with an adjustable track bar...
This comment is a perfect illustration of why I am looking for a "suspension for dummies" primer. Center the axle how? Horizontally or vertically? Center it to what, the drive shaft, the xfer case, the body? Makes sense that you would want a centered alignment, but again what am I centering to? Ignorance, my friend, is definitely NOT bliss! :nonono:
...added droop of long travel shocks in some cases...
What's drooping, and when? The axle? Drooping from what?
...do you want more up travel or down travel from your static ride height? ...
I'm being redundant to illustrate the need for my education, but how do I know which I want? What are the pros/cons and other considerations?
Most lifts use a higher spring rate to account for accessories like winches, bumpers and armor ... Know the rate AND free length of the springs you want to use ...
I need to learn what spring rates are, how they are measured, an how to determine what I want from a spring rate and what length.
the folks at Northridge 4x4 and I discussed the different coil options and specifically selected those coils for that height.
It's become readily apparent that a good partner on the vendor side is one of the keys to success.
... Sway bar links and/or quick disconnects ...
... you might need new wheels and/or wheel spacers ...
... but you do need to remove or modify the stock bracket to ensure you have the slack/travel where you need it.
Still learning what sway bars links do, how do you determine why, when and how much you need spacers, and how to measure slack/travel needs for brake lines.
So, DJ, all really good info and lots of snippets for me to google and learn.
But really what I wanted to illustrate (and maybe a hint to some of the vendors here) is that while disjointed searches and bits of info are great, how awesome would it be to have a few "validated" start to finish "Things to consider before lifting your Jeep" and "Suspension parts, what they do and how they interact" articles or stickies with pictures or videos on this forum? The one posted earlier from Teraflex is an excellent example. And, I'm finding more and more TF videos that show a lot of info!
Here are a few I have found so far, from off the forums. They seem reasonable, but I am not yet smart enough (nor do I expect to become experienced enough) to separate real world performance from marketing hype.
Also, many are generic without the level of detail one requires to learn the basics.
I guess the expectation is that if you buy a Jeep, you should already know most of this stuff.
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12 Things to Know About "Lifted" Suspension Engineering
Lift Kits, Truck Lift Kits, & Suspension Lift Kits from 4 Wheel Parts
Suspension Lift Kits, Body Lifts, Leveling Kit, 4x4, Jeep, Chevy, Dodge, Ford, Off-road Truck - great Jeep suspension pics on the home page, would be useful if they were explained in detail what each component does!
This may be taking this thread off topic, so maybe I need to move this post and start a new one.
-Paul