My truck is gonna be parked for 2-3 years while I'm in Japan and I'm still gonna get a set for when I get back, lol.

 

Yeah I should have done some more research on my own and I would've known that, but thanks for clearing it up. I'm hoping between you guys and the coilover madness/sadness thread that someone can come up with a cut cheet/template/scale drawing of the bracket pieces. I can cut and fabricate my own brackets I just need an accurately measured drawing to go by. My main interest is in finding out if this can be set up to provide the same amount of lift as a torsion key swap. I've seen 3" torsion key lifts and I was wondering if the coilovers/brackets could be set up to provide the same amount of lift without damaging things like the ball joints on the control arms. But if it only works at the stock height I guess I could go with a body lift to clear bigger rubber. Keep up the awesome work though!

(If there is any information about how to set up this "coilover lift" scenario and I'm asking this on the worng thread please let me know, and my appologies beforehand)

 

If I was you id go with a body lift and the coilover swap. Honestly you can get alittle bit of height off the front but its basically going to be like maxing out your t bars. So in a sense yes you can get alittle bit of lift off them and MAYBE like the 3 inch torsion key lift when considering it to say having t bars that arent cranked at all. But again dont expect hardly anything above what you could achieve maxing out your stock t bars.

 

The coilover conversion itself actually has little to do with your lift. It is simply replacing the factory shocks and torsion bars, giving better ride quality and a little more suspension travel in lifted applicatons. The thing about the coilovers is that they are adjustable, just as the torsion bars are. A "stock height" setup will still have at least 4" of adjustment up or down. Depending on the springs you get, the lowest point may be stock height, or slightly lower, and the highest setting may be a 3" lift. It's not a simple answer.

As Zach said, you can get just as much lift on a coilover swap as cranking your torsion bars. However, it's going to ride a lot better with the coilovers. You may get a little more life out of ball joints than with a torsion bar crank, but only because the ride is a little softer. The cv joints are still going to wear faster if it's lifted either way, due to the increase in angle the axle shaft sits at.

If you do the coilover swap and set your truck level or even just slightly higher than stock, adding a body lift would be your cheapest route of getting the tire clearance you want. Your other option, definitely more expensive, would be to Superlift it and get the longer coilovers. The Superlift will drop your control arms and differential down about 4", allowing you to have lift while still retaining a near-factory angle to your axles and control arms. The downside is that it puts more stress on your front driveshaft, so upgrading that is highly recommended. It's a personal preference, and it depends on what you want to do with your truck.

Hope this clears up a bit for you.

 

So Ive been subscribed to this thread since page 2. I am darn near dying for these as my sas plan has been put on hold and I more or less am a mortal enemy of torsion bars. Now when you speak of a kit is this just going to be a kit to attach the bracket to the truck or will it even come with a coilover? I dont know much about coilovers, probably just enough to be dangerous. I get the idea that our trucks need a top spring with an extended eyelet. thats easy but as for valving and spring rates I have no idea

 

No, the kit will not come with coilovers. It will have everything to mount them, though.

There is a vast amount of information about the different sizes of coilovers available in the various threads. When the brackets are done, and I have the price of the kit posted up, I plan on running a GP on it. I will gather together as much information on the coilovers and sizes as possible so people will know what to buy. I may also offer the extended rod ends I'm making for mine, as it will open up more options to people. The coilover sadness/madness thread has some good info if you want to browse it.

 

Sounds good, I will search it and see what I come up with

 

[QUOTE=ME00Stepside;1897425]The coilover conversion itself actually has little to do with your lift. It is simply replacing the factory shocks and torsion bars, giving better ride quality and a little more suspension travel in lifted applicatons. The thing about the coilovers is that they are adjustable, just as the torsion bars are. A "stock height" setup will still have at least 4" of adjustment up or down. Depending on the springs you get, the lowest point may be stock height, or slightly lower, and the highest setting may be a 3" lift. It's not a simple answer.

As Zach said, you can get just as much lift on a coilover swap as cranking your torsion bars. However, it's going to ride a lot better with the coilovers. You may get a little more life out of ball joints than with a torsion bar crank, but only because the ride is a little softer. The cv joints are still going to wear faster if it's lifted either way, due to the increase in angle the axle shaft sits at.

If you do the coilover swap and set your truck level or even just slightly higher than stock, adding a body lift would be your cheapest route of getting the tire clearance you want. Your other option, definitely more expensive, would be to Superlift it and get the longer coilovers. The Superlift will drop your control arms and differential down about 4", allowing you to have lift while still retaining a near-factory angle to your axles and control arms. The downside is that it puts more stress on your front driveshaft, so upgrading that is highly recommended. It's a personal preference, and it depends on what you want to do with your truck.

Hope this clears up a bit for you.[/QUOT

Yes that helps a lot. I figured that was the route I'd have to go, thanks for clearing that up, and thanks to Zach too for his help. Yeah definitely going body lift/coilover conversion for Cadillac ride, and mainly cuz adding almost another grand on top of a $2,000 Superlift just seems silly. How did the tweaks to your setup turn out?

 

Don't expect too much. It still can't be compared to Cadillac ride quality. The coil-over's will just allow the truck to take bumps and road imperfections better. The ride is stiff, but more refined.

 

Exactly. Better ride quality doesn't mean luxury experience. It's still a truck.

Waiting on the parts. Plates should be done tomorrow, but it probably won't be for a few more days until the rod ends are done. Until I have those, I can't weld up the bottoms (they need to be lined up in place to mark where the uprights will go).

 

how much will you be sellin the brackets for?

 

From a few pages ago & five days back...

 

Ha ha. Thanks for answering that.

Yes, I will get pricing together after they are all done. This first set was done as a one-off, cutting out each piece on a Bridgeport 2-axis mill. That's not an efficient way to make a bunch. Once we're happy with the design, we're going to get a quote from a guy who will laser cut a bunch of the parts, a quote from a good welder, and then a quote on the powdercoating for a large batch. We also have to figure out the costs for making the spacers, and then the hardware. Once I have all that information, I can then price out things. Hopefully it'll be all wrapped up within the next two weeks, but we'll see. I'm psyched to finally have the ball rolling along steady on these after months of waiting and setbacks. I appreciate the patience of the guys who have been following this since last winter.

 

Sounds good man I cant wait. I have a feeling its probably going to be around a grand or so. Thats just an educated guess but thats what id assume the project is going to be around.

 

Are you going to powdercoat all the kits? Just asking because I'd like to powdercoat them myself with something other than black..

 

I kind of like the idea of getting them powder coated a different color too, but I'm happy just to get them.

Thanks again to you guys for doing the leg work and being the guinea pigs. I'm excited and I'm sure this will be a good seller for many on this forum and others.. so hopefully it all works out.

As far as liability goes.. I would check into some kind of legal disclaimer so some retard doesn't try to sue you if the application were to fail for some reason.

 

yeah i just don't wanna send them to get soda blasted if they come pre-powdercoated which is why i asked lol

 

Wirelessly posted (Blackberry 8530)

I'm willing to offer them finished or unfinished, if that's what guys want, or I can have them coated in a color. I planned on going with chassis black (semigloss)

As for price, you can expect the total conversion to be close to a grand, but the kit will not have the shocks and springs. My goal is to get the kit in the range of $200-250, but I won't know until I get all the quotes together.

 

I'm on that. I've dealt with these things before, but I appreciate the concern.

 

alright cool. I have a lot of powder left from something that I'd like to use again

 

Are you planning on offering the kit pre-welded or can it be ordered unassembled? Not wanting to knock anybody's welding skills I would just like to weld them myself so any mistakes would be on me. Hope you can gather all the info for what size/stroke shocks n springs to order as well. I was among the many who read the ORW coilover kit thread too late, so to have another kit on the way is awesome.

 

Yes my guesstimate was right lol. Cant wait.

 

weldoda, I'm not planning on selling an unassembled set of pieces. Rest assured, the welding on these is and will be top notch. In case anyone hasn't caught on, I'm very particular with anything I make and sell. I can't stand inferior quality products. I typically go through multiple prototypes before I'm even happy with the fit. The uppers fitting perfectly to my satisfaction the first time was very unusual.

I know I'm still somewhat of a newbe around here, and most of you don't know me, but I've attached a couple of pictures of parts that I have designed and sold for other vehicles. These happen to be mounts for a V6 conversion in a 95+ Cavalier or Sunfire. The top piece is anodeized billet 6061 aluminum, the bottom is 3/16 cold-rolled steel, powedercoated (incidentally, the first batch of powdercoating was sub-par and chipped during my test fit, as you can see in the last picture on the far right edge of the bracket, and I made the shop do it again with a better pre-process). I don't have a good shot of the welds on the bottom piece, but they are fully welded at all four seams where the yoke is attached to the main plate.


On to updates:
The new bottom plates were cut last night, being bent today. Extended rod ends being machined today. I should have everything back on Sunday, and hopefully Sunday or Monday evening I will try the fitment again. Otherwise it may wait until Wednesday or Friday.

Side note: I will probabaly do another slight redesign on the bottom plates, even if these fit perfectly, to make bending easier. When I redesigned them, I didn't take into account how they would fit into the bending jig. The correction needed for this has zero functional design impact, but will help with the consistency of the final product.

 

I'm 100% fine with having the brackets already welded, like I said not trying to down anyone's fab skills at all. I know you're just striving for ease of installation for everyone and I know we all appreciate it, and for being the test mule too. Glad everything worked out so well though. Can't wait to get in line fo rhe finished product.

 

Wirelessly posted (Blackberry 8530)

Well the bottom plates and rod ends weren't ready Sunday like I'd hoped. Apparently the lathe in his shop blew a fuse in the control unit. Anyway, he messaged me today that he's just about done with the rod ends, and he should have everything done in the next day or so. Shooting for a full test fit on Friday or Saturday, weather permitting.