The Tall T Gets Taller - Torsion Bars and AAL's

[Philosopher]

Well no pics yet (I know, I'm sorry) ... they're at Kirk's house. And there aren't that many anyway ... but we'll get a whole slew of them next weekend at ECXC I'm sure. :bandit: We worked on my truck for 5 or 6 hrs. in the RAIN yesterday - sometimes a downpour, most of the time just an annoying drizzle that soaked us to the bone. A big fat THANK YOU to Will and Kirk who got drenched under my truck and standing in Kirk's drieway just to help me out. Anyway ...


'PowerBarz' by Sway-A-Way torsion bars - awesome. I can't believe the difference when driving, like night and day. Smoooooooth! And I still have on my front stock shocks, which have been bottomed out numerous times in the past 52K miles!

Rancho Add-A-Leaf - again, I'm surprised. Nice and smooth. I've always been told that AAL turn your ride to crap but these sure don't ... maybe it's because we actually "replaced a leaf" instead of "adding a leaf" ... ? Not sure, but I like 'em. They raised up the back of my truck 2" and gave me back the stock attitude rake that I wanted after the torsion bars leveled out my truck. Not to mention I'm glad to be rid of that flat load leaf at the bottom that just wants to get snagged on rocks! As far as the install went, it was pretty much like any other DIY project - it takes some time to figure out WTF is going on with the first half of the install and then when you finally get it done, the second half takes a lot less time. I drove around with my rear shocks set on 1 and it was smooooooth and then turned them up to 3 and although not as smooth, the ride was still great.


New measurements (with 32" M/T's - just under 1/2 tread left on front tires, 3/4 tread left on rears):


FRONT:

• Ground to uppermost part of lower A-arm = 12"
• Ground to top of wheel well fender lip = 35"
• Ground to frame just behind first body mount = 15.5"

REAR:

• Ground to frame just in front of spring hanger = 16.5"
• Ground to top of wheel well fender lip = 37"
• Ground to bottom of rear shackle = 18.5"
• Ground to bottom of rear diff = 10"
• Bottom of rear bumpstop to top of axle = 5.75"

(BTW - all measurements are the same on both driver's and passenger's sides)

[xterrabull]

Sounds like a lot of misery (install in the rain) that will be forgotten when you take the new suspension components out for a little testing.
As for not posting pics...sounds to me like a way to increase your post count .
By the way, in your opinion what is the advantage of the Rancho addaleaf you used over a larger rear shackle (such as the infamous SLR 2.5" shackle)? I'm assuming you think the addaleaf is in fact a better way to go since that's what you did.
Obviously the best route is to replace the entire spring pack but does this Rancho addaleaf really affect the suspension geometry in a very negative way?
I've got a buddy who swears that replacing the entire spring pack is the "only" way to go & I sure would like to argue that the Rancho addaleaf isn't going to be detrimental in some way in the long run....
One more thing, where did you get your PowerBarz? I called xterraparts.com & was told they were out of stock & that I should go to swayaway but (doh!) they don't sell direct....

Thanks for any feedback.

[ScottG]

Congradulations on your new mods, and thanks for the measurements

[Philosopher]

Originally posted by xterrabull
Sounds like a lot of misery (install in the rain) that will be forgotten when you take the new suspension components out for a little testing.


You got that right.


As for not posting pics...sounds to me like a way to increase your post count .
By the way, in your opinion what is the advantage of the Rancho addaleaf you used over a larger rear shackle (such as the infamous SLR 2.5" shackle)? I'm assuming you think the addaleaf is in fact a better way to go since that's what you did.
Obviously the best route is to replace the entire spring pack but does this Rancho addaleaf really affect the suspension geometry in a very negative way?
I've got a buddy who swears that replacing the entire spring pack is the "only" way to go & I sure would like to argue that the Rancho addaleaf isn't going to be detrimental in some way in the long run....


I have both the 2" SLR shackles (Gothamist and I were the first guys to install them months ago) and the AAL now. I've also had my spring pack replaced by Nissan at 45K miles under (extended) warranty.

The shackles have more of an adverse effect on the geometry of the spring pack than the AAL does - the AAL replaces the load leaf and has a bit more of a curve than the stock leaves, thus making them curve upwards at either end a bit more - not that big a deal compared to the shackles, which literally push the rear of the spring pack lower to the ground and (I think) will eventually flatten out the springs. Nonetheless, I have both of these items instead of buying a $500+ new spring pack. I got both the shackles and the AAL for DIRT CHEAP so it was the best thing for me to do right now - further down the line (should be quite a while) when my Nissan springs are sagging and the AAL isn't helping much anymore and the shackles just aren't doing any good, I will be replacing my spring pack with the best one I can find.


One more thing, where did you get your PowerBarz? I called xterraparts.com & was told they were out of stock & that I should go to swayaway but (doh!) they don't sell direct....



I got them thru my buddy FSRBIKER. You should contact him if interested ...

[xterrabull]

I hate to split hairs here, but...
You mention the Rancho AAL adding 2" of height to the back. Is this in addition to the 1" or 1.5" or 2" you gained with the SLR shackle?
Or maybe your AAL compensated for some flattening of your second leaf set & both the AAL and shackle give you 2" above stock height?
So, I'm wondering what the Rancho AAL w/out the SLR shackle would do to the back end height (i.e. raise it .5"? 1"? 1.5"?).
Not trying to be a PITA here, just wondrin'.

[Philosopher]

Originally posted by xterrabull
I hate to split hairs here, but...
You mention the Rancho AAL adding 2" of height to the back. Is this in addition to the 1" or 1.5" or 2" you gained with the SLR shackle?
Or maybe your AAL compensated for some flattening of your second leaf set & both the AAL and shackle give you 2" above stock height?
So, I'm wondering what the Rancho AAL w/out the SLR shackle would do to the back end height (i.e. raise it .5"? 1"? 1.5"?).
Not trying to be a PITA here, just wondrin'.

Yes, that amount of lift is additional to the 2" I got with the SLR shackles ... but the AAL without the shackles would still provide you with 1.5 - 2" or so of lift. The replaced spring pack just helped a bit.

[rhombus]

Nice!
Thanks for the measurments.
It's cool to have something to compare against.

[Philosopher]

Originally posted by rhombus
Nice!
Thanks for the measurments.
It's cool to have something to compare against.

No sweat ... sorry we won't be meeting you this weekend.

[Aquamander]

Well I ordered my NisMo t-bars today, still looking for the best price on the Rancho AAL's. I doubt I'll get them until next week. That should give me some time to get the AAL's Thanks to Schlud and Mr.T, I think the install should go off w/o a hitch!

[Philosopher]

Originally posted by Aquamander
Well I ordered my NisMo t-bars today, still looking for the best price on the Rancho AAL's. I doubt I'll get them until next week. That should give me some time to get the AAL's Thanks to Schlud and Mr.T, I think the install should go off w/o a hitch!

Cool. Before you try installing the AAL's, give me a holler and I'll give you a few tips to make the install as smooth as possible ...

[Aquamander]

Thanks! Yeah I think it may be a week or two before I'm ready. Like yourself, I want to wait and do the mods after I get all the parts.

I do have one question though, do you think it will be okay to put the t-bars on even though I don't have a bullbar? I'm prepared for the front end to be a little tighter, I figure I'll be able to ride with my shocks on 3 to kinda balance it out.

I guess I should have asked this question before....:bonghitte

[Synchro]

yeah, go ahead and install them. just index them properly so you have enough room to crank them more once you get the bullbar on there.

[Aquamander]

I see, in effect what you are saying is to set the bars up where I have the pre-load I want, but the adjuster-arm thingys are close to the bottom of their travel right?

If this is so, how do I check the height of the t-bars to know they are indexed properly? Is that posted in someones set-up notes?
I'll read through them again. I don't mean to seem stupid about this, but I'm trying to visualize the process before I get started.

Thanks for all the help bro's

[Synchro]

not exactly. what you want to do is index the bars so the anchor is just inside the crossmember and out of harms way when tightenend up to hold the weight. this way it gives you maximum room to adjust them up once the bars settle a bit and once you get the ARB on there.

[xterrabull]

I just added the Rancho AAL to my truck.
I love it. I believe the ride is actually *smoother* than before (I actually replaced the stock load leaf w/the AAL like (I believe) everyone else who's done this).
My only concern is the resilience of the whole spring pack w/out the load leaf but I don't really tow much so it's probably moot.
Anyways, I would also like to give a big "thanks" to Todd (FSRBiker) @ EOE (website HERE) for the awesome customer service....
I think this pretty much ends the chapter on my suspension until my tires wear out (31x10.5 all terrains) and there are more (& hopefully cheaper!!!) suspension lift options...maybe ~1.5 years from now). For now, though, I'm All 's.