04 dirt road truck?

[stegomon]

I am getting my first 2wd ranger. I want to set it up so I can hug the corners on tar and have fun with it on dirt roads.
Any ideas on how to set it up? drop spindals and rear flip kit?
I am a bolt on kind of do it your selfer and not a faber.
It is a 2.3 DOHC. I know it wont be fast. But I want to have fun!

 

[superdog299]

Don't go too far dropping it, I went 3" lower up front and I have almost no suspension which is shit on dirt but great on asphalt. As for the rear a flip will do just fine for what you want, maybe upgrade shocks


2002 2.3 flareside mini Ranger

 

[stegomon]

2 inch spindal? Or lowering coils?

Or pre runner?

 

[RonD]

Look at air bag system, expensive but would give you what you want

Google: air bagged ranger

 

[stegomon]

Look at air bag system, expensive but would give you what you want

Google: air bagged ranger

Thank you

 

[stmitch]

To the best of my knowledge, nobody makes a drop spindle for rangers. Your choices up front are 2 or 3 inch drop springs, and 2 inch control arms. You can combine the springs and control arms too, but a 3" drop spring with or without the control arms can be difficult to align properly.

What you're looking for is good performance at different extremes. There's no way to increase travel and lower ride height/stiffen the suspension without a ton of fabbing.
A drop suspension is going to lower your center of gravity, which is good for performance, but it's going to reduce your suspension travel, which is bad for bumps, and off road work.
A purpose built offroad suspension will have a lot more travel to soak up bumps, softer spring rates and probably taller sidewalls on the tires. All of that will negatively impact handling on asphalt.

The most simple compromise might be the stock suspension with nice adjustable shocks and thicker sway bars. Even airbags like RonD suggested tend to be optimized for either on or offroad work, but not both at the same time.