Flex without a lift.

[Terry]

I like the height of my truck the way it sits now. I want to get some more flex out it at the "stock" height. I don't mind if I have to cut the fender wells. I am not interested in speed either. I have blm and old ghost towns all around me and plan on using my truck for exploring.

 

[Divh]

sway bar links limit flex

 

[4x4junkie]

Agreed, ditching the swaybars will almost double your articulation.

After that there's not much more you can do simply due to the clearance (or lack thereof) between the axle and the bumpstops on the frame. To get more clearance here requires you raise the height of it (though not a lot is needed, maybe 2-3" or so will almost double again your available articulation, provided you have the right springs on it).

 

[Terry]

Agreed, ditching the swaybars will almost double your articulation.

After that there's not much more you can do simply due to the clearance (or lack thereof) between the axle and the bumpstops on the frame. To get more clearance here requires you raise the height of it (though not a lot is needed, maybe 2-3" or so will almost double again your available articulation, provided you have the right springs on it).

Will longer shocks help much?

 

[Terry]

Will longer shocks help much?

How will disconnected sway bars run on the street?

 

[4x4junkie]

Longer shocks definitely can help if they are limiting your travel. This very often is the case with downtravel, as OEM it was done on purpose to maintain some amount of pressure on the front springs at full droop so that they stay in place. Without that you will want to put retaining clips on the front coil buckets so that they can't pop out when the suspension reaches full droop.

As for running w/o swaybars on the street, this can be pretty subjective... Some people don't mind it, others think it becomes a death-trap. Best is to just try it and see. All you have to do is remove one of the bar's endlinks to defeat it, then after driving it a bit you can decide whether to put the link back on (maybe get quick-disconnect endlinks for it), or just ditch the whole thing entirely.

Something of note, the TTB suspensions do seem to have somewhat better road manners w/o a swaybar than the SLA IFS trucks do, so you do have that in your favor.

 

[SenorNoob]

I still haven't installed a sway bar on my D35 since the swap. With all of the bushings and joints being new, it's more stable on the road than the D28 with worn out bushings everywhere. Results may vary though.

 

[89rangerfun]

Times 3 on the sway bars. I've had mine off for a year and don't notice any difference on the road because its a truck and I don't drive it like its my autocross car. It gave me another inch or 2 of travel up front but is now limited by stock length shocks.
To get more out of the rear I recently did the Chevy 64in leaf swap with shackle flip and I love it! keeps me the exact same ride height with a stock shackle flipped and no re-arch to the leafs. The gain in flex is awesome it maxes out the shocks on up travel and down travel. Plus its cheap!