My First Two Emergency Stops and The Difference Between Them

[superj]

i haven't had to test anything in an emergency stop but i have lowered my edge 2" in the back and 3 in the front. it sat level at 2/2 and i want the front lower.

i am going to grind the rivets and lower the back 2 more inches, and than do the front 2 more and hopefully its low enough.

i do have a rear sway bar from a bronco2 with the stock edge front bar but once i lower it, the explorer front sway bar will go back on.

then i plan on doing slotted rotors and some larger aluminum wheels with shorter profile tires.

and then i will try some autocross days just to see how she does. it will be a learning experience because all i have ever autocrossed were bmw 3 series cars. and since the ranger and s10 are now classed vehicles, you don't have to worry about meeting the tech requirement of the vehicles being shorter than the rear tire track width (center to center on the rear wheels).

the 3.0 might not be a powerhouse but i bet its still going to be fun.


and if i cannot get the truck low enough with the torsion bars in front, i will go coil overs from ricks rangerz. Coil-Overs and mounts 83-11 (ricksrangerz.com)

 

[Lefty]

Wider tires aren't as important as the rubber compound. They both act together, sometimes not in favor of the change. Wider is not always better. Suspension systems are that, a system. One small adjustment can make a huge difference as applied in different conditions. Every variable has its own dynamics. I do know this however, I never discount the quality of tires & brakes. Usually get the best. Overall, safety is one, and discount is last. (the first loser). The word "best" is a loaded term. Rubber (neoprene) is old at 5 years.

I also saved some $$ (over the stealership) and installed some aftermarket Wilwood 6 piston brakes on my 2013 F-150. This plus a 2 inch lift on the front with a set of Bilstein shocks, which work incredibly well, combined with some "A" temp rated tires. A huge and safe upgrade. But the mall crawlers aren't impressed, oh well.

When you drive a "trophy truck" you know the ones that go 100mph in the desert, fly like superman off the jumps, land on a dime & give you 9 cents change? Dangerous as hell driven on the street. But off road, nothing better. I'd still like to drive one on the street however, I'd figure it out...

In factory trim seems that everything is made to work barely, but it always works in all conditions, barely.

well said

 

[Lefty]

i haven't had to test anything in an emergency stop but i have lowered my edge 2" in the back and 3 in the front. it sat level at 2/2 and i want the front lower.

i am going to grind the rivets and lower the back 2 more inches, and than do the front 2 more and hopefully its low enough.

i do have a rear sway bar from a bronco2 with the stock edge front bar but once i lower it, the explorer front sway bar will go back on.

then i plan on doing slotted rotors and some larger aluminum wheels with shorter profile tires.

and then i will try some autocross days just to see how she does. it will be a learning experience because all i have ever autocrossed were bmw 3 series cars. and since the ranger and s10 are now classed vehicles, you don't have to worry about meeting the tech requirement of the vehicles being shorter than the rear tire track width (center to center on the rear wheels).

the 3.0 might not be a powerhouse but i bet its still going to be fun.


and if i cannot get the truck low enough with the torsion bars in front, i will go coil overs from ricks rangerz. Coil-Overs and mounts 83-11 (ricksrangerz.com)

I don't mind big balloon tires up north here in pot hole country. I like your game plan. I wish I knew more about what I was doing when I first started out. I would like to lower the front by one more inch, but don't know how to do it cheaply

 

[superj]

are your torsion bars already twisted down a bit? mine can go a good deal more but i still need to watch ball joint angle once i get lower, to make sure its not going to cause issues.


i turn one side and count the amount i turn and then go turn the other side the same amount

 

[Lefty]

are your torsion bars already twisted down a bit? mine can go a good deal more but i still need to watch ball joint angle once i get lower, to make sure its not going to cause issues.


i turn one side and count the amount i turn and then go turn the other side the same amount

Mine are turned down all the way, about 3/4 " or just a little less. No ball joint issues that I know of.

 

[superj]

i took my bump stops off and it opened up another two inches of room on the front to lower more. i am not near where they were but i figured i would get there soon so i took them out since i had a lot of room still.


i like that i can get in and out without sliding across the seat now. i can put my foot on the ground so much easier. it is tight to get under and access the oil drain plug though and that will get worse

 

[Lefty]

i took my bump stops off and it opened up another two inches of room on the front to lower more. i am not near where they were but i figured i would get there soon so i took them out since i had a lot of room still.


i like that i can get in and out without sliding across the seat now. i can put my foot on the ground so much easier. it is tight to get under and access the oil drain plug though and that will get worse

YUP. That was one reason why I installed those leather seats. A one inch drop was enough for me

 

[mikkelstuff]

I upgraded my 2002 4WD Ranger XLT with the larger diameter 2004 Ranger front disk brakes. Takes some doing in that the steering knuckles have to be swapped as well. Still it was a good time to change out the ball joints while I was at it.

Better yet, swap to hydroboost brakes. Did so with my '75 Ranchero and amazing difference.

 

[JoshT]

I want the shorter and stiffer sidewalls for performance even though it will ride more like a brick. I’m willing to accept that for what I want out of the truck.

Until you get your ride height sorted and measure for coilovers, then you can have your stance and a decent ride too.

and if i cannot get the truck low enough with the torsion bars in front, i will go coil overs from ricks rangerz. Coil-Overs and mounts 83-11 (ricksrangerz.com)

I don't know if you're still running stock keys. With drop keys you're most likely going to hit the limits of camber adjustment before you run out of torsion bar. The 2wds do seem to respond a little different than the 4wds though, even though the frame and suspension is the same.

 

[superj]

i am on stock keys currently. i was wondering if i would hit the limits with them

 

[MaicoDoug]

General Grabbers, these are something different. Well made. Handle on the paved road like glue. Rotate & wear on 100Kmi truck no issues past 38Kmi. with half of the tread left rotated every 5Kmi. For weekend excursions off road and most of the time on paved road, these are like no other tire. They work, not much to say negative. Any other tire for the most part fails early with rotations every 5Kmi. I've tried most all of the more popular off-road / on road combo treads. Maybe not the safest tire when the paved roads are wet, but in this class what is? The Generals have always felt behind the wheel (on road) to handle the best with a positive sidewall response.

3 series BMW? Texas World Speedway finally was closed due to the city anexication and HOA natizs, a good friend who ran a 3 series beamer & I used to tear around that place. Loved my 530 M Sport on some plain pilot tires. Great car.

 

[superj]

yup, i won d street prepared in my 89 325i two years in a row and won d stock in my wife's automatic 88 325is two years in a row.

and i actually ran in csp and c modified too because those classes are where all my friends ran since they all had newer, "faster" cars. my little 325k mile 2.5 liter inline 6 sure separated the good c class drivers from the ok drivers though. anyone above me knew their cars and anyone below just had the car and not enough time to know what it did.

my last year in that 89 325i had me in d race prepared because it had wide tires and rims, adjustable coil overs, adjustable shocks and struts, sway bars and strut tower bars, limited slip diff, shorter shift, exhaust, oversized air flow meter, larger injectors, tuned ecu, no ps or ac stuff in the engine bay, most interior removed.

it was a ton of fun and i have never found another chassis that seemed so made for racing. the older 3 series, a 79 320i set up similarly had a hard time turning and sticking, no matter what i did. you really had to put money in those old shark nose bmws to make them stick in the turns.

and i never tried driving any fwd vehicles in autocross. my oldest son took it up about 6 years ago and we did work on his supercharged mini cooper. it did well, really well, but was so old that it was classed down low, something like g or h class.

cars now a days are so powerful that the historically great autocross models now are so underpowered, they seem like kid's cars. my 89 325i only had 180hp, if i was lucky.

 

[Lefty]

I've never really raced although I would love to!

I have read a few race drivers who said that driving on the street can be more dangerous, that other drivers and conditions are unpredictable, Challenges are different for daily drivers. There's construction, junk on the road, stalled cars, sudden slow downs, and even stops. Aggressive drivers are awful and so are the timid. We have to drive on the worst of days and cope with rain, snow, fog, and ice.

Sometimes daily driving can be reduced to a game of inches. It's why I posted this. It's happened to me twice in three years.

The things I've done were meant to protect me and my investment, a kind of insurance policy. I suppose I could insure my Ranger for more than it's worth, but I would rather spend the money on upgrades which will get me home okay. These are simple, inexpensive, and mostly done for safety. That's the payback.

A arms coil overs, rear disks, larger rotors, bigger wheels, wider tires are wonderful, but expensive. They might save another few inches nest time I face the unforseen. But then again, if I ever have that big fender bender, my insurance will pay only blue book value. IMy pride and joy is just an old truck to them. Those improvements would be just money down the drain.

Mine is restomod that's for every day driving. It's made for the street

 

[Lefty]

Do traction bars also help with braking? I'm just thinking out loud here. We know they prevent axle wrap under hard acceleration, a racing trick that buys the driver an extra fraction of a second and better acceleration response.

Perhaps the opposite occurs during sharp decelration, The axle wraps the other way shifting the brake load to the front wheel for a fraction of a second. That may not sound like much but accident avoidance can sometimes be a game of inches.

Anyone know if this is correct?

 

[MaicoDoug]

One thing I'm still enjoying is the difference in the 3 piston / side of the 6 piston (Wilwood) caliper, some of the pistons are larger & some smaller. Both sizes work together to actuate force on the turning rotor during different foot movements. In other words, they help GREATLY in the modulation of the braking pressure & thus the stopping time. Lefty if you only could feel the difference. Small pedal pressure really shows up at the speed reduction as more force quickly stops you, my point being is that I have never had Cadillac brakes on any P/U truck before. The Ranger is designed for being loaded for work, not the safest empty vehicle to drive around. But the parts last a long when it's on vacation.

My Ranger brakes work fairly well as designed. A little on the pedal-nothing, allot on the pedal- allot of breaking. There is hardly any modulation with stock Ranger brakes. There is a huge gain moving away from the stock 2 or maybe single piston caliper as compared to the Willwood, Brembo or any upgraded caliper-rotor combination. That improve the quality of driving in both casual & emergency response style of driving. Rarely does a "racing" type upgrade work in both situations. That is my point. What is available is not much. As Raceranger did was fab custom hardware and adaptors to run F350 calipers on his Ranger.

As far as the traction bars are concerned during braking, they are designed to stop the rear axle housing from spinning the opposite direction during a spring loaded acceleration event. During braking, the bar would separate away from placing pressure against the lower/forward section of the leaf spring controlling the rotation during acceleration. So and only if the bar was inverted would the axle housing rotation be kept in check. The traction bar works by stopping the housing rotation from mechanical oscillation. A three or four link type rear end axle support will also control rotation during the time when the pinion snout (input shaft) angle needs to be kept up about 2 degrees to allow for movement in the downward direction during both braking & acceleration events.
-Doug