Body roll

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I will say this… my Choptop, back when I first lifted it to a 3” suspension lift and 2” body lift on 33x12.5-15 tires, it was tolerable. I had a set of 31x10.50-15s that I wanted to wear out so I swapped those on once. Made it to the end of the street and turned around, it was scary tippy. The little bit wider tires kept it planted waaay better. It’s still my big spring toy, but the wide tires gave a lot of stability… even though I only run 10-15 psi in them.

 

[SenorNoob]

I will say this… my Choptop, back when I first lifted it to a 3” suspension lift and 2” body lift on 33x12.5-15 tires, it was tolerable. I had a set of 31x10.50-15s that I wanted to wear out so I swapped those on once. Made it to the end of the street and turned around, it was scary tippy. The little bit wider tires kept it planted waaay better. It’s still my big spring toy, but the wide tires gave a lot of stability… even though I only run 10-15 psi in them.

Do you think 285/75R16 (32.8/11.2R16) would be ok with similar lift height? Guessing that was on wheels with the same offset or the same wheels?

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Do you think 285/75R16 (32.8/11.2R16) would be ok with similar lift height? Guessing that was on wheels with the same offset or the same wheels?

A Ranger would probably be a little different too, the Bronco II has a shorter wheelbase.

The 31’s were on stock Ranger rims, specifically the Outlaw II style alloys (round holes with simulated rivets) and the rear was steel. The 33’s and 35’s were on aftermarket steels, 8” wide, but basically a stock wheel for backspacing and offset because I was concerned about how far the tires stuck out from the fenders.

I also had to reduce tire pressure. I run 10-15 psi all the time. That’s what it took for the tread to flatten out to about 90% of tread width in contact with the road. That also immensely improved ride quality, at 35 psi you could feel every pebble on the road and made a pea sized rock feel like it was the size of a watermelon. I did the old chalk a stripe across the tread and take it down the street. Lower pressure and repeat until most/all of the chalk stripe gets worn off driving so you know you have a good contact patch.

Of course, lower tire pressure doesn’t help with roll in corners, but it does help grip on the road…

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

i wonder if you can put a front sway from an explorer, like the rangers can do? their front sway bars are huge and i took it off and went back to a ranger bar because it was so thick it made for a rough ride

I am not sure about BII's but first gen Rangers had the front swaybar in the radius arms.

Thread 'Sway Bar Pictures'

Mar 31, 2021

Sway Bar Options For Your Ford Ranger - The Ranger Station

Looking to add or upgrade the sway bar on your Ford Ranger? Front Bars: If your Ford Ranger didn’t come with a front sway bar, you have an option of adding a factory one, if you can find one in … Continued

www.therangerstation.com

Some exploded views of how various style sway bars fit together. Fronts are 2wd, 4wd is similar.

I have the sway bar colored in gold and the mounting bracketry you may need to go with it for those that are retrofitting it in red.

Behind Axle (83-88)

In Front of Axle (89-97 Ranger, all Bronco II)

The hole where 5D484 brace mounts to the frame is different second gens/BII's (they use the same brace) and mere mortal first gen trucks, it is roughly a quarter inch too high and the brace will...

• 85_Ranger4x4
• Replies: 25
• Forum: Submit A Technical Article (Not a Help Forum)

• 

 

[gaz]

@svtcards
Hello, buying a BII to use as a family vehicle in stock form was seemingly safe. Once the decision to improve it's ability to handle inclement weather (addition of 4" suspension and trail worthy bumpers) was approved, it needed to be as safe as practical.

When I looked into how to stabilize the BII chassis, most of it was straight forward, wider axles and tires; the surprise was the affect of the James Duff LLC dual 70/30 shocks on all four corners.

I installed a limited slip D35/8.8 from a 94 Explorer, this widened the stance approximately 1" front and rear, then Mickey Thompson Baja Belted 33×13.5R15's. These 2 changes made a noticable improvement but with the James Duff (JD) kit, they may not have been necessary.

The dual JD 70/30 shocks eliminate nearly all body roll because each bank of shocks performs different depending on which way the vehicle turns. Turning to the left the driver's side shocks each offer 30% resistance against extending while the passenger side shocks each provide 70% resistance to retract; the two shocks at 30% each are a little more resistance than a normal 50/50 shock so that bank floats very smooth, the two 70% shock work like three 50/50 shocks and present an appreciable reduction in piston retract...this keeps the vehicle from being able to lean outward during the turn. Turning to the right the roles are swapped, no button pushing, buzzers, bell dings, emails or infotainment system required.

While I am not certain how this will perform on a lowered SUV, I can only imagine it working better.

I found that the in front of the axle front sway bar works better than the radius arm bar, I prefer urethane bushings over rubber and though my department of motor vehicles lists it as a SUV, it feels like a truck, so I drive it like a truck. Had lowered it, I would definitely of use an Explorer 8.8" rear but kept the springs under the axle; aside from widening the axles, that was Ford's main change to stabilize the Explorer, verses the Bronco II setup.

 

[SenorNoob]

For a lowered vehicle, would it end up too stiff if you used both styles of front sway bar?

 

[svtcards]

For a lowered vehicle, would it end up too stiff if you used both styles of front sway bar?

You would think! But for some reason it isn't. Not sure its because of these things being to top heavy or what ever issues they have may be causing it not to be as tight as i would like it to be. Going to have to look at stiffer shocks or coil overs and maybe adding a leaf on each side.see if that helps it out at all. Don't feel like the new leafs have enough of a load rating either.as well as the body roll.

 

[svtcards]

I am not sure about BII's but first gen Rangers had the front swaybar in the radius arms.

Thread 'Sway Bar Pictures'

Mar 31, 2021

Sway Bar Options For Your Ford Ranger - The Ranger Station

Looking to add or upgrade the sway bar on your Ford Ranger? Front Bars: If your Ford Ranger didn’t come with a front sway bar, you have an option of adding a factory one, if you can find one in … Continued

www.therangerstation.com

Some exploded views of how various style sway bars fit together. Fronts are 2wd, 4wd is similar.

I have the sway bar colored in gold and the mounting bracketry you may need to go with it for those that are retrofitting it in red.

Behind Axle (83-88)

In Front of Axle (89-97 Ranger, all Bronco II)

The hole where 5D484 brace mounts to the frame is different second gens/BII's (they use the same brace) and mere mortal first gen trucks, it is roughly a quarter inch too high and the brace will...

• 85_Ranger4x4
• Replies: 25
• Forum: Submit A Technical Article (Not a Help Forum)

• 

They do but I put a behind the axle swaybar on the bronco because I didn't think the front of axle one was going to clear the steering components for how low I lowered it. Surprisingly I found 1 and it fit no problem.

 

[901wd#2]

For a lowered vehicle, would it end up too stiff if you used both styles of front sway bar?

I ran both front sway bars on a lazily lowered B2, cut explorer coils, & rear flip kit with no C notch. Didn’t really notice it being stiffer. I had an inch of uptravel till it hit the bump stops.

 

[Blmpkn]

You would think! But for some reason it isn't. Not sure its because of these things being to top heavy or what ever issues they have may be causing it not to be as tight as i would like it to be. Going to have to look at stiffer shocks or coil overs and maybe adding a leaf on each side.see if that helps it out at all. Don't feel like the new leafs have enough of a load rating either.as well as the body roll.

Did you mess with the leaf packs at all between the time it was stock and when you dumped it? Springs are simply to support the weight of the vehicle... Shocks control the ride quality.

Adjustable shocks ain't cheap... But you have a nice rig... It's deserving of them. You can achieve the ride you want without coilovers as well... Just get some nice double adjustables.

 

[svtcards]

Did you mess with the leaf packs at all between the time it was stock and when you dumped it? Springs are simply to support the weight of the vehicle... Shocks control the ride quality.

Adjustable shocks ain't cheap... But you have a nice rig... It's deserving of them. You can achieve the ride you want without coilovers as well... Just get some nice double adjustables.

Besides replacing the old OEM springs ones with new dorman ones. I know how shocks work and I know when a load rated spring doesn't feel like enough either as in support I mean. I also agree that adjustable shocks sounds like the best scenario for the ride im trying to achieve. Just trying to find the right ones may take more time and money. Will keep you posted on which ones I decide on.