8 inch skyjacker worth it?

[Bent Bolt]

Say whaaa...?

You heard him , it doesn't work !

 

[Surrey]

Say whaaa...?

What is the measured wheel travel on your rig? from what I've read on this site, in the tech library, your axle shaft only have so much room to move through the holes in the axle beam, and after 18" of travel your tierods bind.

For 19" of wheel travel, the Zimmermans had to modify their arms.
http://therangerstation.com/tech_library/zimmerman_ttb.htm

 

[bmob]

you can modify the axle if you look under the zimmerman mods (shaving the square part to allow more travel). I have heard of up to 24" of wheel travel (though that is more then I require)

I won't go with the "K" style steering, I will look into other steering upgrades, but what mods does that truck have in the picture? (what size lift and such)

 

[AgPete139]

If you are looking to get more than 18" of wheel travel, start planning your solid axle swap now, and dont spend money on upgrading your TTB.
its the only reasonable option.

It's not the only reasonable option. Please don't generalize the TTB setup like this.

 

[BlackBII]

you can modify the axle if you look under the zimmerman mods (shaving the square part to allow more travel). I have heard of up to 24" of wheel travel (though that is more then I require)

I won't go with the "K" style steering, I will look into other steering upgrades, but what mods does that truck have in the picture? (what size lift and such)

All the details on junkies rig can be found on his cardomain

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/702959/1990-ford-bronco-ii

 

[Surrey]

It's not the only reasonable option. Please don't generalize the TTB setup like this.

Im not trying to bag on the TTB at all. I have it in my truck, and its not going anywhere... But it is what it is. It still absolutely destroys the newer IFS
4x4Junkie has a 12" travel shock, according to what I just read on his cardomain page... I really dont think that ammounts to more than 18" of wheel travel, even with the leverage effect of the ttb.

My point is that a 6" lift is enough to max out the TTB without major modifications to axle beams, heim-jointed rad arms, and anything bigger means you pretty much need stonecrusher steering or some other custom setup, especially for a DD, because you can only get 4" out of a drop pitman arm.

 

[BlackBII]

There are some pics showing he has what looks to be about 20"

 

[Surrey]

Do you mean the pictures with the measuring tape? That does look to be like 19". Looks very nice, I hope my truck flexes that well... But that is also without a shock installed.

 

[BlackBII]

Yeah, but it looks to be even more in his wheeling pics.

Even with my superstiff springs and short shocks, I have nearly 20" of travel on my BII. It's limited currently by my shocks.

 

[bmob]

the only thing is the difference in price between the 6 inch and 8 inch is not that great, and I figure that with the 8 inch even if i need a custom steering set up I will never have to look back at any more lift and just be able to move forward with other upgrades (like the modded I beams and such) to get more wheel travel.

The way I see it is like this. You want to make your truck go crazy fast, so why turbo it now when you could put a 5.0 in it then turbo the 5.0 later? (again I know people might say the same thing for SAS swap but I answer with a comparison before except now its "I want a fast truck but I don't want to run 9 sec quarters")

So... If anyone can follow my diseased thoughts

 

[Surrey]

The steering isn't the only problem with going 8". Without cutting your beams, you usually cannot attain proper camber again, even with the most extreme bushings available. Your tires will always be like this. \----/ And if it is your daily driver, it will chew through tires. You are also raising your center of gravity even more, not ideal for a daily driver.
What is the actual differences in the two kits? I assume the front is just longer shocks and coils... What about the back? Bigger blocks, or different leafs? Either way, if that is all that changes, upgrading down the road is not too big a cost.

I would suggest getting the 6" lift, and if its just not enough, its not like you have to replace the whole kit. Then add a body lift. Then trim some fenders.

 

[4x4junkie]

4x4Junkie has a 12" travel shock, according to what I just read on his cardomain page... I really dont think that ammounts to more than 18" of wheel travel, even with the leverage effect of the ttb.

All depends on where the shock is mounted. If the shock was mounted inside of the coil spring, you'd be absolutely correct. But it's not, it's mounted behind the spring, which puts it closer to the suspension's pivot axis, which means more wheel travel with said shock travel.

Do you mean the pictures with the measuring tape? That does look to be like 19". Looks very nice, I hope my truck flexes that well... But that is also without a shock installed.

I measured the shock mount distance when it was extended down like that, it was 29.5", which is ¼" less than the shock's full extension length, so even if the shock were there, it would not have changed anything.
The tape measure pics show right about a 20" difference between the two sides (kindof hard to see the top of the tire in the one pic). The "stuffed" side still was about ½" short of resting on the bumpstop.

the only thing is the difference in price between the 6 inch and 8 inch is not that great, and I figure that with the 8 inch even if i need a custom steering set up I will never have to look back at any more lift and just be able to move forward with other upgrades (like the modded I beams and such) to get more wheel travel.

The way I see it is like this. You want to make your truck go crazy fast, so why turbo it now when you could put a 5.0 in it then turbo the 5.0 later? (again I know people might say the same thing for SAS swap but I answer with a comparison before except now its "I want a fast truck but I don't want to run 9 sec quarters")

So... If anyone can follow my diseased thoughts

I still would say get the 6" kit. If you want to maximize the lift, get the 8" coils (if you click on that pic, there's a white Ranger behind my BII which is setup on a SJ 6" lift using 8" coils... Just to maybe get an idea), but I kindof have to agree that above that, a SAS really does become more practical. Sure, it's possible to go a true 8" or even higher with the TTB, but be prepared to do a good amount of fabricating of your own on it (bracing those very long drop brackets, and of course a from-the-ground-up custom steering setup).

And like Surrey mentioned above, don't forget about body lifts. They can save a lot of headaches with trying to get so much height out of the suspension alone.
Note the 8" lift also comes only in a Class1 version (Class II is available in a 6").


BlackBII posted the link to my Cardomain page, most of the details on my setup are there (I also have a Supermotors page too)

The steering isn't the only problem with going 8". Without cutting your beams, you usually cannot attain proper camber again, even with the most extreme bushings available. Your tires will always be like this. \----/ And if it is your daily driver, it will chew through tires. You are also raising your center of gravity even more, not ideal for a daily driver.
What is the actual differences in the two kits? I assume the front is just longer shocks and coils... What about the back? Bigger blocks, or different leafs? Either way, if that is all that changes, upgrading down the road is not too big a cost.

The 8" kit has 2" longer brackets than the 6", There would be no camber problem... Just the steering.
If anything, the 8" kit would actually be likely to throw the camber negative to some extent on a Supercab truck just due to the truck's weight.



bmob,
My suggestion is to really think this through what it is you want in the end before you start sinking a bunch of coin into this. You want lots of lift, and lots of travel... A full-width SAS really seems like the more practical option than messing with a TTB at the heights you're asking about (if you do stick with the TTB, at least use a full-width D44 TTB).

 

[Surrey]

The 8" kit has 2" longer brackets than the 6", There would be no camber problem... Just the steering.
If anything, the 8" kit would actually be likely to throw the camber negative to some extent on a Supercab truck just due to the truck's weight.

Are you sure about that? Jim only sells one size of drop bracket, and I haven't seen larger drop brackets listed anywhere online. They all seem to do about 4" of actual drop, and everything else is dependent on springs. If larger ones do exist please enlighten me, but I haven't seen or heard of them.

 

[bmob]

Are you sure about that? Jim only sells one size of drop bracket, and I haven't seen larger drop brackets listed anywhere online. They all seem to do about 4" of actual drop, and everything else is dependent on springs. If larger ones do exist please enlighten me, but I haven't seen or heard of them.

what if i made my own drop bracket? Would it be worth it then or still not worth the trouble? and how is the performance rating on the 6 in kit? Can i crawl pretty good with it?

 

[4x4junkie]

Are you sure about that? Jim only sells one size of drop bracket, and I haven't seen larger drop brackets listed anywhere online. They all seem to do about 4" of actual drop, and everything else is dependent on springs. If larger ones do exist please enlighten me, but I haven't seen or heard of them.

Well, they are definitely different. I tried to look them up on SJ's website but I can't seem to bring anything up on it regarding the 8" lift... I wonder if they discontinued it

what if i made my own drop bracket? Would it be worth it then or still not worth the trouble? and how is the performance rating on the 6 in kit? Can i crawl pretty good with it?

There's no issue with the drop brackets, the issue is the geometry of the steering linkage with having so much lift.

You want good crawling performance, you'd be best off getting a 3-4" lift and trimming fenders if needed (that, or wider axles). Low CoG is best for crawling.
I really think you need to do some thinking still and deciding on what it is you really want. Big tall trucks and crawling do not go together well.




.