In a message dated 96-07-16 00:35:28 EDT, edtrax@dedot.com (Ed Traxler)
writes:
>1) Following your advice, I found an advertisement for AIM products in the
>Aughust 96 issue of
>Trucking magazine, listed under Suspension Pro Techs. Spindles listed ..
>Blueprint $149, Bullett
>$169, .. what's the diff??
>
Supposedly, there's no diff among Blueprint, Bullett, and Bell Tech (material
and construction-wise). AIM makes Blueprint, just distributes the others. I
got the Blueprints -- they worked out great, but I think the others are
powder-coated, which would account for the higher cost.
>2) I see you are using 2" dropped spindles & 1" drop springs. Question is
>where did you come up
>with that combination? (I noticed though, that this ad only had 1" drop
>springs for the Dakota .. I
>suppose that just might enter into the caculation) How would the difference
>in weight between
>your V-8 and my V-6 affect the choice??
>
I came up with the combo like this: 2" wasn't enough, but 4" was too much!
If you go any lower than 3" and don't downsize the front tires, you'll get
restricted steering (Serious tire rub) and god knows the turning radius is
big enough already! I don't know how AIM calculates their spring rates per
engine size; I got my springs from another company that shall remain
nameless! Just call and ask AIM, or better yet, look though your magazine
and call a few other spring makers. There are other places out there that
custom make springs per application. Of course, you could just cut your
stock springs, but I think you'd be playing hit-or-miss with the amount of
drop you're looking for.
>3) With everything, what did you actually end up with .. 2" front/back ???
I ended up with 3" front, 4" back (front hangers & blocks) not counting
shorter tires in front.
>
>4) Did you get a shop to do it, or do it yourself?? (What problems did you
>run into during
>installation .. would I need special equipment for the spindle changeout for
>example)
The spindle replacement looked a bit tricky, so I had that done at a dealer
(minimal cost). Everything else was pretty basic; but if you change the leaf
hangers, you'll need an air chisel (or cut-off wheel) to remove the rivets
that hold 'em on to the frame. The new hangers come with bolts.
>5) About alignment .. I dropped by a WallMart the other day, thought I would
>get my front-end aligned. (I'm
>stationed at an army post in the middle of no where .. I don't have that
many
>choices). They told me that they
>didn't have the specs for my 95 Dakota! Hmm .. any problems aligning your
>lowered truck??
>
Again, my advice would be to go to a decent dealer. If none available, try
to find a suspension/alignment shop that isn't afraid of custom work. My
truck rides great now; much better than factory. Oh yeah, DON"T FORGET
LOWERED SHOCKS! You'll really be sorry if you try to squeeze by with the
factory shocks. My first "slam" was just spindles and 3" blocks. The front
tires bottomed out in the wheelwells, and the backs were constantly whacking
the frame. there are a lot of good slammed shocks out there; I like my
Doetsch Techs (from AIM), but I also hear that Toxics and Ground Force are
good too. If you do any hauling, you might just get some adjustable air
shocks for the rear. Just make sure and tell your salesguy how much you
lowered the truck. I'd also get the low profile bumpstops, too. Good luck!
BTW, I just got some pix scanned of my truck (from about 6 mo. ago -- looked
a little different) Let me know If you want 'em. You can get an Idea of a
comfortable lowering job.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:07:24 EDT