Hello DAKsters,
I've wanted to lower my '98 R/T since I first looked at it, so earlier
this week, I had a local company, Beaumont Frame & Front End, make up a
2" lowering block kit for the rear. The U-bolts (3 1/2"), nuts, and
blocks were $68.00.
When I measured, it appeared that the rear could be dropped 2" and
still remain 1/2" higher that the front. Hewever, after lowering the
rear 2", the front end is now 3/4" higher (someone on the list alluded
to this "weight transfer effect" a few weeks ago). The rear is at the
"perfect" height now, so I ordered a pair of GroundForce #1038 (2" drop)
front springs. According to Dan @ GF, these should drop my R/T's
front-end from 1 3/8" to 1 1/2", putting the proper stance back in
(front ~ 1" lower). Right now, my rear axle is hitting the bump-stops,
with 1" travel. Dan explained how to properly trim the bump-stop for
more travel. The front also has 1" of travel with the stock springs,
but I haven't felt it bottom out yet. I'll wait on the new springs and
do my bump-stop trimming then.
Dan Sumey at GroundForce (724.430.2068 ext #63) had some light to shed
on this situation. He claims to have spent some time studying the
differences between the standard Dakota and the R/T suspension.
Accordingly, the R/T has been dropped 5/8" in front and 1" in back.
They manufacture two 2" drop kits for the rear of our Dak's: #91123 for
the standard 3" axle tubes and #91122 for R/T's and the few Daks that
came with the bigger 3 1/2" axle tubes (if only I'd known...). They
also have front springs: #1038 is a 2" drop, and #1037 is a 3" drop.
They do not sell direct, but I ordered my springs from Salesco:
http://www.salesco.com/low/parts.htm The springs were $88 ea. The 2"
block kit shows at $35 - half what I paid :(
The usual disclaimers apply, I'm not getting anything but an education
and a lighter wallet. I told Dan about the DML - he said he didn't mind
me posting is number, so if you have questions, give him a call.
Special thanks to Will WM96@aol.com, who took time to take some
measurements for me on his '97. By the way, Will, my front fender is
now 31 1/4" to ground and the rear is 30 1/2".
Later,
Russ
-- '96 Black Impala SS '85 Silver Monte SS '98 Amethyst Dakota RC R/T - Port Neches,Texas ================================= NOTE: Anti-Spam Address! Please reply to: RAS002@worldnet.att.net =================================
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:13:27 EDT