Okay, I've been reading some of the threads on lowering your Dakota's and
been saving my comments regarding this system vs. that and cost etc.
Here's some comments I've extracted from some of the digests that I'd like
to address:
>"but with companies, they're all about the same... Coil is a coil"
That comment is VERY overgeneralized and neglects many factors in suspension
design. On one point you're right, the BASIC function of a coil spring is
the same for all springs, BUT, the actual factors that the engineer takes
into consideration will vary widely from company to company. At Hotchkis,
we design our springs for performance, durability and quality. Our springs
are engineered from scratch, not simply duplicating a cut factory coil
spring. Typically, we use larger diameter spring wire and twice the # of
winds as our competitors. This yield a very low stress spring that's
designed to last and not sag. On the performance aspect, we TUNE our spring
rates to give us performance and handling characteristics we want. We
perform slalom, skidpad, autocross and real-world testing on our products to
ensure proper function. We DO NOT drop the ride height simply to make it
look better, and thus sell what we term a 'practical' drop. Also, we offer
a 30 day, money-back guarantee
>"unless if the hotkrist kit came with lower leaf springs, I'd stay away
from it (mainly due to $$$)"
The 'Hotchkis' rear drop for the 97+ Dakotas is performed with engineered
leaf springs, not just de-arched stockers. They typically consist of a main
pack, with an overload leaf to assist when you add some load to the bed.
For the dakotas, we also designed a new shorter bump stop to allow a little
more suspension travel
>"a shackle mount and hanger mount is basically the same thing. "
No, not really. All a shackle and hanger do is relocate the leaf spring up
in the truck, merely dropping it. By palying with the leaf springs, we get
to retune the handling. A factory leaf spring is designed with the stock tr
avel in mind and may bottom out without frame modifications. For warranty
and in some states, DOT concerns, we DO NOT recommend C-Notching your frame.
Another point, It's real easy to return to stock height. Sometimes the shop
might destroy the original hangers when chiseling them off your frame.
>"I have 'Brand C' 2/3 drop, coils and leafs, i hate the leafs, go
with shackles and hangers"
I don't know about their kit, but you shouldn't generalise any suspension
modification based upon the products of one specific company. By buying
product from any company, you're really buying in to the company's ideology.
Research that company and talk to them, not just the sales person, but
technicians etc. You should be able to get an idea how much they really
care about their own product. That directly relates to the quality of
product they are producing.
>"I'm thinking of buying the 'Brand-B' dropped A-arms to lower the
front of my truck, since they correct the suspension geometry......."
The main function of the dropped AArm is to lower your truck. It does this
by lowering the spring pocket in the arm. This changes the loaded height
and lowers your truck. These DO NOT keep the suspension geometry the same
as a factory height truck. Also be concerned with the quality of the
fabrication. Many insurance comapnies do not like these components and will
not honor damage claims resulting from broken ones. We looked into building
arms for the street such as these, and to build them to our quality
standards would make them very cost-prohibitive. Plus, we cannot tune the
handling with them
>"Stay away from the Hotchkis system because it cost too much"
I can only respond by saying, find out what goes into the product you're
thinking of buying and decide for yourself if the cost is worth it to you.
There are people on this list and a lot on the R/T Registry that have the
Hotchkis system and you should ask them their opinion on our product before
you dismiss it based upon one factor. Steven Toomey and Jack Yates are two
and are very willing to talk about their trucks.
Please, if you have any more questions, feel free to post the questions and
make sure you put ATTN: G PINKLEY
There's an awful lot of stuff in these digests and it's easy to miss a
single post that doesn't stand out
Sincerely,
Gary Pinkley
Product Engineer- Hotchkis Performance
and 97 Dakota owner - see DML webpage pictures
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