Improving ride quality and handling via lowering? '03 B3000, Std Cab+Short Bed.

[superj]

i say lower yours and be sure to take pics when your done because lowered trucks look awesome

 

[bhgl]

@Lefty and i have 2wd ranger edges. ours are torsion bar front ends, not springs like normal 2wd rangers. all those super easy lowering kits don;t work for us because our trucks basically are 4wd models with no 4x4 driveline stuff on them.

i would love my truck to be a normal 2wd ranger because i would lower it just like you want to do. i previously owned a red single cab 5 speed 98 gmc sonoma stepside with the zq8 sport package on it. the zq8 sport package means it came from the factory lowered and had front and rear sway bars on it. it also came with the wide camaro wheels on it. it was exactly what a sport truck should be and i thought i was going to make my little red 04 single cab stepside 5 speed ranger into the exact thing but turns out i got an edge. the way cool looks of the edge hide the difference in suspension meaning us edge guys have limited stuff we can do versus the regular cool ranger guys.

normally lowering springs are stiffer than stock springs. lower profile tires do indeed make rough roads feel rough. and incorrect shocks, or bad shocks, can make rough rouads feel rougher too.

but, if i had a regular 2wd ranger with coil springs up front, mine would have been lowered last year sometime and i would have put nice wide wheels on the back with lower profile tires and probably wide wheels up front with lower profile tires so i could go autocross my truck.

Gotcha, that explains why he was able to lower by just replacing some blocks that I was otherwise pretty sure didn't exist on mine.

The tires I'm going for will be effectively MAX possible sidewall with 15 inch rims (215or 205/75r15), 15 inch being the smallest that would fit on my truck, so hopefully that'll give me some extra comfort.

 

[bhgl]

i say lower yours and be sure to take pics when your done because lowered trucks looks awesome

Absolutely! My truck is never going to be a beauty queen by any means, I'm all about utility and practicality so lowering is gonna help with both of those. Hopefully with some newer components that'll help with the ride. I actually don't think I would mind a stiffer set up, it's the insane rebound and crashing that drives me nuts.

 

[Ranger850]

From your post it sounds like you didn't lower it too much, did you have a lift in there previously and then reduced it?

Yes. The Edge Package come with lift blocks in the rear and torsion bars for front springs, giving the truck a Lifted stance. IIRC, it's very Similar to the "Dual Sport" Mazda B3000.
So He just put in smaller blocks, lowering his truck about an inch in the rear, but making it still slightly taller than a regular 2wd ranger.

 

[bhgl]

Yes. The Edge Package come with lift blocks in the rear and torsion bars for front springs, giving the truck a Lifted stance. IIRC, it's very Similar to the "Dual Sport" Mazda B3000.
So He just put in smaller blocks, lowering his truck about an inch in the rear, but making it still slightly taller than a regular 2wd ranger.

Interesting, I'll have to see if those blocks are on my current set up. The rear end does seem to sit higher than the front but I just assumed that was from having an empty bed.

Do you know if lowering kits, like the one I linked to in the original post, will work with those blocks in place or deleted?

 

[Ranger850]

Do you know if lowering kits, like the one I linked to in the original post, will work with those blocks in place or deleted?

I don't know. I would assume that IF you have lift blocks, removing them will definately be part of the process to lower your ride height

 

[bhgl]

I don't know. I would assume that IF you have lift blocks, removing them will definately be part of the process to lower your ride height

Your knowledge is greatly appreciated my friend! Thanks again!

 

[rubydist]

The Edge models cannot be lowered very much in the front, because the torsion bar suspension does not have a lot of travel, and even normal ride height has the bump stops in play way more often than I think they should. I lowered my 03 FX4 a bit and took out the big lift blocks in the rear axle to level it, but the front only went down 1/2" to 1" because otherwise one is just riding on the bump stops all the time.

 

[superj]

I read you have to cut the metal stops off the frame to lower an edge more

 

[Lefty]

@Lefty and i have 2wd ranger edges. ours are torsion bar front ends, not springs like normal 2wd rangers. all those super easy lowering kits don;t work for us because our trucks basically are 4wd models with no 4x4 driveline stuff on them.

i would love my truck to be a normal 2wd ranger because i would lower it just like you want to do. i previously owned a red single cab 5 speed 98 gmc sonoma stepside with the zq8 sport package on it. the zq8 sport package means it came from the factory lowered and had front and rear sway bars on it. it also came with the wide camaro wheels on it. it was exactly what a sport truck should be and i thought i was going to make my little red 04 single cab stepside 5 speed ranger into the exact thing but turns out i got an edge. the way cool looks of the edge hide the difference in suspension meaning us edge guys have limited stuff we can do versus the regular cool ranger guys.

normally lowering springs are stiffer than stock springs. lower profile tires do indeed make rough roads feel rough. and incorrect shocks, or bad shocks, can make rough rouads feel rougher too.

but, if i had a regular 2wd ranger with coil springs up front, mine would have been lowered last year sometime and i would have put nice wide wheels on the back with lower profile tires and probably wide wheels up front with lower profile tires so i could go autocross my truck.

One can easily lower the Edge by replacing the 2" lift blocks in the rear end with 1". The front can be lowered almost 3/4" just by cranking down the keys on the front. The change might be subtle, but it is enough to make a difference in handling. I can't remember what the new lift blocks cost but they were less than $50.00.

 

[Lefty]

I read you have to cut the metal stops off the frame to lower an edge more

Maybe so, but a 1" drop is good. If I were to do more, I would get new keys for the front. Mine is not exactly level. The front is slightly lower than the back, but a little lower might not only look better, but handle better too.

 

[superj]

I would like to lower mine like my sonoma was lowered. The ranger would probablynhave to go down 3 or 4 inches to get that low though

 

[Lefty]

I would like to lower mine like my sonoma was lowered. The ranger would probablynhave to go down 3 or 4 inches to get that low though

Yeah, that's a lot of work and a lot of money. There are certain rewards, of course.

I still like to go out on the farm. I also like to hop over curbs,

But do try my cheaper tricks. especially an explorer 1" sway bar in the front and spring packs clamps in the rear. You will certainly reduce sway and for cheap. The rule of thumb is to get an Explorer bar from the same year as your Ranger. I didn't, but it fit anyway. And BTW some Explorer bars are smaller in diameter. Go 7/8" to 1". These will improve the handling even if you lower yours.

If I had the skills I would love to go crazy and chop the top by an inch or more.

 

[rubydist]

I read you have to cut the metal stops off the frame to lower an edge more

There are rubber bump stops, which I did trim down, but you need to make sure you don't go past the compression length of the shock, or else find a different shock.

 

[superj]

i always forget to look for the explorer bumper when i go to the junkyard. maybe i should just look on ebay or marketplace instead

i am a fan of huge swaybars. i add rear swybars when vehicles are missing them and try to go larger on both when possible