Torsion Bar Upgrade

[Pwrserg]

http://www.infamousnissan.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=539&pictureid=40802000 Fronty lowered on spindles and blocks..
Pinto shocks done..
T-bars cranked..http://www.infamousnissan.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=539&pictureid=4137

One small problem.... I'm scrubbing the wheel wells every time I take a small hump or dip in the road. I figure I have enough gap, but the T-bars are too soft..
Anyone know of some bars that are alot stiffer??? I finally got it a the height I want, not in the mood to lift it again..
There has to be something out there..
And forget dips in the road...Try taking a corner and hearing that disgusting rough scraping sound..
I've held off on throwing the titan wheels until I resolve this issue.. Dam It looks tough the way it is..
Some one please help..

[estetic]

i have read about "re-keying" the torsions, havent seen it mentioned to much on these boards...maybe someone with some experience can chime in

anyway:

http://www.geocities.com/tim87114/re-keying.html?1046059513936

[Pwrserg]

Funny thing is I've been finding performance torsion bars for every other kind of truck except this one...

[hessianben]

I did these:
https://www.4x4parts.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=435_484&products_id=100

it made a little difference, but not drastic. Bottom line, you cant physically fit wheels of that size that high in the fenders without them rubbing, unless you tub it. You're always going to have some suspension play, so account for it. If you want it that low, tub it, or run smaller wheels/tires. Titans will be worse.
IMHO, bring the back down to level with the front. it will look a heck of a lot better.

[Pwrserg]

So the t-bars made no difference huh? I guess tubbing it is.. BTW, I also carry things in it. that's the reason for the ass being higher..

[mini702]

sway-a-way makes some. 30% stiffer and helped on my pre-runner days. But basically you can't run that low on stock bodywork without clearance issues.

[hessianben]

So the t-bars made no difference huh? I guess tubbing it is.. BTW, I also carry things in it. that's the reason for the ass being higher..

it DID make some difference- i take it autocrossing and it firmed it up overall, but i also run stiffer rear springs and a rear sway bar.

beebani also makes extended shock towers so you can run coilovers, which you could spring as stiff as you like. a soft front won't keep you from carrying loads- just don't pull a leaf spring in the back.

[SkinnyG]

I'm scrubbing the wheel wells every time I take a small hump or dip in the road....

And forget dips in the road...Try taking a corner and hearing that disgusting rough scraping sound...

Oh come now - that is sweetness right there! :)

I've been driving over bumps and taking sharp turns all weekend since I put pintos in on Saturday. Sweet scraping goodness right there. I've even got great big scraping mudflaps for double the acoustic pleasure.

You could slip a bumpstop spacer in there to prevent the tires from hitting the inner fender.

[Pwrserg]

ok so it did make a difference.. That's pretty much the plan. I wanna keep it where it's at. no matter what. As of the rear, no I'm not pulling a leaf out..

[Pwrserg]

scraping frame is one thing G, and scraping tires is another. I don't mind watching sparks fly, It's the chunks of rubber that bother me..

[Pwrserg]

alright then so..
I'll get the torsion bars from https://www.4x4parts.com/catalog/pro...roducts_id=100 (https://www.4x4parts.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=435_484&products_id=100)
for now and cut metal if necessary. just for starters.
And oh yes, there's a set of 6 spoke titans waiting to go on once the rubbing problem's been taken care of..

[ScottXGTR]

do you have drop spindles?

if you dont, then get them. then you can crank the t bars back up a little so it isnt so soft. getting the stiffer ones might be a good idea anyway since your truck is close to 10 years old.

[Pwrserg]

Yes sir spindles are in...
So are the pinto shocks..
I just want that mean looking static drop and everyday reliability.
Know what I mean?

[bamfben]

if you re-key the bars like mentioned probably save you alot of money, all it does is raise the adjusting arm up so it not hanging down so you can tightin it back to the way stock was but also drop the front down. mazdas take about a hour to do them , so a nissan shouldnt take much longer and it cost nothing but only do like 3 teeth at a time and check .

[Pwrserg]

Hmm.. gonna look into it.

[beaver720]

http://www.infamousnissan.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=539&pictureid=4137

:eek: fuckin nice man! lovin your drop, just get the assend down now and you will be good

[Pwrserg]

I still use it for work as well man...thx

[Motorhead]

pwrserg, i use my 97 HB for work too, in fact i just hauled 1200 lbs of sand with it...and its lowered...with belltech springs which are stiffer! so glad i went with springs instead of blocks. anyway, the change in ride height in the rear isnt so drastic loaded/unloaded with the belltech springs. every day i normally carry about 400 lbs of stuff in the back and it doesnt sag as much as the stock springs....

i agree with everyone the rear needs to come down a bit if you want to keep the front where it is. also, that rake is bad for the suspension geometry, alignment, headlights, and your back bc you have to adjust the seat accordingly...

how about an add a leaf or helper springs?

SCOTTXGTR and BAMXBEN: my frontend is soft too static dropped 3 inches, and im going the coilover route. however what difference does it make to rekey the torsion bars vs cranking? i think either adjustment just changes the location of the bar, not the stiffness. maybe skinnyg has some info on this as well

[jdoe44]

Rekeying has the same effect as cranking the adjuster as far as stiffness goes.

[SkinnyG]

There is no way on the face of the earth to stiffen a torsion bar by cranking, re-keying, or other "quick" methods.

A torsion bars' stiffness is based entirely on its metallurgy, length and diameter. That's it. Nothing else.

Your truck's spring rate dictates the suspension travel. Reduce the travel, and you really need to increase the spring rate. Nissan likes to give you SOFT springs. And, sadly, not enough travel.

My truck is spindles and torsioned to 4" up front. Pinto shocks are too short for spindles, and the tire is not happy with the underside of the fender. I can either crank it up, add an appropriately sized bumpstop, or increase the spring rates. The aftermarket torsions are not stiff enough in my opinion. 30% is paltry. I'd like to see 50 to 100% stiffer. I previously had a B13 Sentra where I went 200% stiffer (3 times the factory spring rate), and STILL could only lower it 1" or it bottomed out all the time.

I'd be curious about adding some additional spring rate as a coilover, yet still use the torsion bars. Should be less stress on the upper shock mount, yet still provide the stiffness needed. I haven't done the math to figure out how much, though.

[Motorhead]

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HAL-MS1500/
how about coilovers made to fit in the stock shock location, 7.6 inches compressed 11 extended!

[Motorhead]

id prefer to do this coilover setup and eliminate the torsion bars (lots of weight)if possible. also, skinny g is the geometry of the suspension better at stock height or lowered with the lower a arms parallel for handling? also how can i get a bunch of caster with the dropped front suspension?

btw dont forget calmini for torsion bars and other goodies
http://www.purenissan.com/h_d__torsion_bars.htm

[SkinnyG]

Those coilovers look like they will be more work to retrofit than they are worth. There are some generic "self contained" coilovers that do not require a Pinto-style upper spring mount, and should mount very easily.

For decent handling, you want to shoot for the lower a-arm pivot-to-pivot to be horizontal. Sometimes, though, you have to make compromises.

Caster should be easy with shorter strut rods.

Calmini says 20% stiffer. Not enough for me.

[Motorhead]

k so its either torsion bars or beebani's coilover setup. i didnt notice that those coils use the original coil bucket....

where would one procure shorter strut rods?

[Pwrserg]

dude......... skinnyg was fucking right. I got the "stiffer torsion bars yesterday, installed them later that afternoon and what a fucking joke.. rides pretty much the same.. Dropped the ass another inch. gotta shave the rear bump stop a bit more..
But dam!! what a waste of money..
What makes no sense to me is that the old HB trucks were lowered on bars alone, and yet didn't have a soft ride.. If anything, they were tight as hell.
I guess it's time to relocate the fuse box brake lines and power steering reservoir, and hack the wheel wells. i refuse to lift this fucker up. Any higher and the dam thing will be almost stock looking.