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Nine Inch Suspension Out Back Out Back: The rear suspension control arms in their original location, due to its drastic lift, rotates the tire right into the front side of the wheel well. This coupled with the fact that with 9 inches of lift on an 18 inch lower control arm put the lower arm at such an angle that the roll oversteer will be of such concern that stability of the vehicle would be seriously compromised. Roll oversteer is essentially bumpsteer in the rear. In fact, due to the nature of four wheel drive vehicles and the need to get the frame and suspension components out of the way as much a possible, virtually all vehicles have roll oversteer to some degree. To minimize this I lengthened the lower control arms by 12 inches and moved the rear axle back in the center of the wheel well.
This required a new front mount that cradles the
frame and provides a new attachment point for the control arms. On top I used a simple spacer and left the wishbone and ball
joint intact. This is a bit of a compromise for the compressed
spring alignment but a requirement for driveshaft slip joint engagement. For
the springs, I again used spacers to lower the stock units and put them in
proper position to the axle. Longer springs are on my 'do' list
but as of yet I've been unable to find some that give me the right spring
rate. I've got my eyes on some Saturn LS rears which are 3 inches longer
right now. Parking brake cables also need to be relocated to the underside
of the frame rails.
The shocks, Monroe gas, due to their diameter require the rear shock
mounts to be cut off and switched with the opposite side. Then welded back
on. This was a minor change which could have been avoided if I utilized
smaller diameter shocks.
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09/15/04 14:53
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