It rides like a tank

I just installed the Calmini 3" susp lift. I had to crank torsion bars to get the front even with the rear. But now my front end rides like a tank. It's stiff and bounces all over. I'm guessing I'm going to have to loosen the torsion bars. How should I adjust them so I can get the most lift and a softer ride? Did I install something wrong? What should I do?

If you cranked the torsion bars to the point that the upper control arms are sitting on their bump (droop) stops at rest, then yes, you will get a crappy ride. Let 'em down a bit, give yourself at least 1/2" space between 'em and see if that makes a difference. It will still ride a tad nose-down as it did before you lifted, it's not supposed to be "level" anyway.

Of course, you'll need an alignment anytime you fiddle with the torsion bar settings.

Brent

If you literally just installed the susp. lift, it will take some time for the new torsion bars to "break in."

As Brent stated, you might have set the front too high, but once you set the front heigh correctly and give the bars some time to settle, the ride wouldn't be that bad...:rolleyes:

You should be able to stick your index finger between the upper control arm and your bumpstop. Like OffroadX said if your truck is level you probably have the torsion bars too tight.

BTW which shocks do you have?

Put 5/8" between the upper bumpstop and the control arm. The torsion bars will settle for awhile so you will have to keep turning them up a bit. ALso, the rear springs will settle and the back will come down. The truck is designed to ride a little bit higher in the back. By cranking up the torsion bars all the way tot he bumpstop you will make an alignment impossible, make for a very bad ride (as you indicate), and you will have excessive driveshaft angles all the time.

As others mentioned, the torsion bars will also soften up a bit once they've been driven on. I run my front between 3/4" and 5/8" fromt he upper bumpstop and the ride is great!