> Now that my Dak is paid for, its time to have a little fun. I want to do a
mild suspension lift so's larger (31x10.5r15) tires will fit properly. My
shopping list right now has: Sway-a-way torsion bars, Bilstien shocks, and
some sort of add a leaf for the rear (recommendations?). What is the maximum
I can lift with the torsion bars without severely shortening the life of my
CVs? My plan is to go an inch, but if the after market bars, CVs and
steering linkage can handle more I'll do that.
> I'm assuming this or something like it has been done before, so any tips
or pointers would be welcome.
Mike,
I was under the impression that Sway-A-Way didnt make torsion bars for our
Daks because they are hex shaped and not splined like others? Do you have
info that they do indeed make tbars for our Dakotas????????? I think not,
but please prove me wrong. I would love to put a set of those on my Dakota.
My plan is to just swap in some tbars meant for the V8, which means they
will be 'more heavy duty' and should be able to handle and actually hold a
tbar lift better than the 'stock V6' tbars. If you even want, you could pull
a set off of a Dak in the junk yard to save alot of money. Just make sure
they arent bent. Rear add-a-leaf springs should give you an additional 1.5"
of lift in the rear, and you can crank up the front tbars 1" or so and
should be able to fit 31s with no problem. From the measurements I took on
my Dakota relating to the wheel well diameter, bumpstops, and front/rear
axle compression, I can fit 31's with nothing other than a mild tbar crank
adjustment; and the 31s wont even come close to hitting the body at or
during full suspension compression. You can put on a 2" body lift(or even a
3" body lift) relatively cheap if you dont want to do the tbar crnak/rear
add-a-leaf lift, and should also be able to clear 31s with no problem. For
the Bilsteins, the cheapest I have found is Autozone for $49.99. Most likely
they will have to order them, which took my Autozone 3 days to get in and
there isnt and special ordering fees involved. I know a guy with a 90ish
Nissan 4x4 pickup, which came with the LT235 tires(same stock size as out
Daks) and he did the tbar crank lift and the add-a-leafs like you want, and
was able to clear 32's with minor rubbing on the frame, only when turning.
He had no body rubbing problems at all. Best of off, he only spent like $60
for the add-a-leaf kit and was able to clear 32s! Good Luck. Hope this
helps.
Kyle
93 Dakota 4x4 V6
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