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Thread: lowering my truck?

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    Question lowering my truck?

    i am new to this site and i think it is great. i have very limited knowledge of what to do for lowering my truck so i was hoping u guys could help me out. I wanted to put a 2" 4" drop on my 03 black harley just enough to take the frame to the wheels. I want to make sure it doesnt change the smoothness of the ride at all. I was hoping u guys could assist me on what i need to do this. Also a rough estimate of price and any other info like if i need new shocks or what brands are best would be very helpful. thanks!!!

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    Everything you ever wanted to know can be found searching this forum.

    ...and I do mean everything.

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    thanks for the reply. just hoping to get an answer to everything on one post. guess i have some reading ahead of me.

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    World's Fastest Street HD
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    concensus on the board seems to be your best bet for a suspension setup is probably hotchkis TVS and bilstein shocks. wont break the bank, wont ride to harsh, will handle awesome, lower it a nice amount, look killer, ride great, etc. etc.

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    Im looking to do a 2" 4" drop so do i need a whole kit or just the shackles and springs or what. i see people writing about shock extenders. do i need those. also, will this change the smoothness of the ride at all. thanks a lot for the reply.

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    World's Fastest Street HD
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    shock extenders are must have if you drop more than 2"
    front drop...hotchkis springs will get you around 1.5-2" depending if you keep the isolators or not
    shocks....bilstens are a MUST DO. stock shocks plain out blow
    rear...shackles will get you 2"...hangers are a major PITA and not worth the 6-8 hours to swap out. spend a little bit more for some hotchkis leafs.


    on my truck, i have bilstein shocks, so-cal shock extenders, hellwig rear swaybar, energy suspension shorter bumpstops and endlinks, ruslow 1000 lb front coils with no isolators (2" front drop), and hotchkis rear leafs & belltech shackles on 1" setting (3.5" rear drop on my truck).


    do a search for hotchkis, or 2002GreyHD150 he's had a ton of suspension setups, and check out the stickies. lots of threads, but tons of good info.

    if you have AIM, hit me up harley0356 and i can answer most of your questions real quick over that

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    i cut my front springs and they ride just like stock because they are a linear rate spring and anything after a full coil (that you cut off) it will ride like crap so i cut 1 coil off and it dropped me 2in up front

    for the back i would do Hotchkiss leafs and some JLP 234 in shackles with some bilsteins all around and shock extenders of course

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    first off u guys have been more than helpful. so im looking at the hotchkis leafs for sure in the back but mixed answers on the shackles (is there a big difference in jlp and belltech?). sounds like the front is hotchkis springs . i will definitely do the bilstein shocks and of course the shock extenders (does brand matter here?). are the shorter bumpstops necessary? How much money am i looking at here (roughly) and where can i pick up all this stuff. also, (just wondering) does this void the warranty?
    thanks for everything and harley#356 im sure i will hit up ur aim soon.

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    World's Fastest Street HD
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    Shackles...belltech vs JLP:
    -belltech 2" shackles will get you 1.5-1.75" of drop
    www.LightningForcePerformance.com ($50 shipped)
    -JLP 2-3-4" shacklies will get you rougly 3" of drop ($115)
    www.JohnnyLightningPerf.com ($115 shipped)
    JLP's are more expensive, but if you just want a 3" rear drop and dont want to do leafs or hangers they are a good deal. Otherwise i'd go for hotchkis leafs and belltech shackles on the 1" setting (will require minor grinding of the shackles)

    Front Springs:
    If you go with cut OEM springs like BNB did, i have a set for sale. $75, 1/2 coil cut off for 1" front drop. had them in my truck til i went with ruslow coils for a 2" front drop. but they rode great and perfect for a 1" drop.

    Shock Extenders:
    only company i know of that sells shock extenders is So-Cal Speed Shop. just search them up and you'll find the info about how to order them

    Bumpstops:
    new ones arent necessary, i opted to put in shorter polyurethane bump stops from energy suspension though. or you can cut down your stock rubber ones. If you dont get shorter ones or cut your stock ones though you'll have a bumpy ride. you can get Energy Suspension products at Advanced Auto, Pepboys, etc.

    Cost will vary depending on what particular setup you go with.

    your best bet for hotchkis products and bilstein shocks are from LFP (www.lightningforceperformance.com) they have the best prices there last i've checked around.

    warranty...anytime you change or modify a part on your truck it'll void the warranty on the part you changed or a part that interacts with that. So with all the new suspension mods, your suspension's warranty will be bye-bye for the most part, but ford would have to prove that your shackles or springs caused whatever to fail or break if they were to deny a warranty claim on a suspension item. so obviously your new shocks wont be covered under warranty if one blows, but your radio, etc. everything non-suspension related is still fine

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    See with the JLP shackels you can use it like belltech or if its not low enough then put it another notch up

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    i cut my bumpstops in half with a saw zaw and the rear leafs will cost you 298 i tihnk from www.lightningforceperformance.com

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    my friend has a lightning and he told me that he just used eibach hangers and shackles in the back and springs in the front. he has it lowered to the frame and he said it rides as smooth as it used to. this all costed him $200 and he said he couldnt be happier. is there anything wrong with doing it this way. thanks again for all the help.
    Last edited by sdharley03; 05-29-2005 at 12:26 AM.

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    World's Fastest Street HD
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    i haven't heard many good things at all about Eibach springs for our trucks. there's quite a few who have had the springs fail and coils end up touching each other since they try to do progressive rate coils. i'd stay away from them if i were you.

    also, yes hangers are a cheap way to drop the rear 2" more, but unless you want to spend a good 8 hours trying to get the rear hanger rivits out with an air chisel, probably having to remove the bed for easier access, and messing all day with that, its worth a hundred or two more bucks for a set of leafs that will do the same amount of drop and improve handling over stock.


    $.02

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    ok so it sounds like the leafs are the way to go. thanks for all the input, u guys have been very helpful with everything. ill let u know how it goes and what i went with. thanks again!!!

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    ok still trying to decide on front coils. i want the same smooth ride but am still not sure on coils after searching the site. i like the look of the western chassis coils but havnt really heard much about them. i know the hotchkis r a favorite but do they keep the same smooth ride. any info about these 2 or any other coils would be great. thanks!!!

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