bullcrew

Just a couple of ?s that passed through my dome today! I ordered BJ spacers again, did the 2" 4crawler BL (for auto), and planned on going Junk Yard shopping tomorrow for parts specifically fj80 coils.

1: do you gain any articulation or travel from BJ spacers?

2: Is running forced articulaton in front on IFS worth it (airshocks common line between to so 1 goes up forces other side down)

3: which side on a FJ80 is the shortside coils?

4: are there any better years for the coils for a little less lift?

Thanks in advance for the info I do appreciate it guys!

Here it is whith BL only:

Heres in the snow, not a ton but still a good family fun day:

iamsuperbleeder

1: you wont gain any articulation or travel so to speak, but after installing them if you relax the t-bars a little and bring it back close to stock ride height, the springs will be far easier to move, there for it'll flex a little easier

2: I can honestly say I've never seen that installed, but it sounds intersting...

couldn't tell ya about the other 2 Q's though, have no idea...

slosurfer

You do gain more travel! If you get 1.5" bj spacers, then you will gain 1.5" of travel.

Don't know about the air shocks thing

I believe the short side will be on the passenger side, not sure. I do know that it is on the side opposite the gas tank.

Not sure.... probably not '97's as they seem to give a good lift.

scuba

Good to know

Im going to be putting mine in as soon as I get some rear springs

slosurfer

Sounds good Scuba! Just make sure to not crank anymore into your tbars to get more lift. Leave them alone or relax them a little. I just left mine alone.

You already have manual hubs so no need to worry about that (just make sure you give them a good cleanin' and replace those gaskets)

jason191918

How does that work? I thought the only way to increase travel is to increase your pivot arm (longer CA's or SFA). I thought the BJ's/bracket lift/Torsion Bar lift will only increase height, not travel. Correct me if I am wrong.

bullcrew

more spce between bump stops! Or when the arms hit the upper or lower allowing more movement to the size of BJ spacer! Sorry I had some answers fly through my dome!!!!

bullcrew

Thanks!
Are both the passenger side springs the same as each other but different length than the drivers side,and the drivers side springs the same as each other? Kind of confusing! But 4 springs 2 from psngr side x length and 2 from drivers side x1 length but different lengths from side to side not front to back?

Either way Ill have my springs tomorrow, shocks and installed then friday the BJ spacers and panhard drop bracket get here!

slosurfer

Common misconception.

Torsion crank does nothing with your travel, other than which way you go, it makes it harder or easier to use the travel you have.

Bracket lifts do not generally increase travel unless you mess with the bumpstop. They merely move everything down to make room for bigger tires.

BJ Spacers were originally designed to be used in conjunction with the bracket lifts to increase wheel travel.

BJ spacers increase travel by increasing the distance between the ends of your upper and lower a-arms. It would be the same as putting on a 1.5" taller spindle on. You're spreading the a-arms apart, therefore they travel farther before hitting the bumpstops.

slosurfer

bullcrew, you can only use the rear springs. The front springs don't fit ours but will fit the 3rd gens. So if you want two shortside springs, then you will have to get two rear passenger coils(or whichever side doesn't have the gas tank. I just put in a set off a '97 and put the longer coil on the side with the gas tank. It was not noticeable that that side was longer unless you got out the tape. Now you definately can't tell.

scuba

I was planning on relaxing them a bit actually, and doing a zuk mod

If you havent seen, which im sure you have....http://gearinstalls.com/

But yeah, thats what i want to do.

Matt16

Air shocks for increased articulation is an interesting idea. I wonder if there are any made that are the right size for BJ spacers.

I've thought about this and I think that it would be cool to plumb a electric "dump solenoid" between the two shocks. This solenoid is used in air bag suspension to dump the extra air if you want to soften the ride. Wire in a switch that controls the valve. For on road, keep the valve closed (so the truck doesn't lean in corners), for off road (when you need more flex), open the passage up between the two shocks. Almost like an electronic disconnecting swaybar, but way cooler.

iamsuperbleeder

you may be onto something there Matt... with onboard air, you could route a line right to it with a solenoid and be able to stiffen and soften the ride on the fly!

Matt16

The idea was more along the lines of allowing or not allowing air to travel between the shocks. Let me give two examples:

• Solid axle has the advantage that when one side compresses, the other side has a tendency to droop. IFS doesn't have this tendency. By interconnecting the shocks, the air that leaves one shock must travel to the other shock. (Think of a see-saw). Thus you increase your suspension's willingness to flex.
• If you're on the street, you don't want leaning/ swaying etc. You defeat this air transfer between shocks to stop the leaning tendency by blocking off the air passage with the "dump solenoid". You stop the flow of air between your shocks and they act like regular shocks. Air can't leave one shock to go to the other (as would happen when more weight was placed on a particular side), so the air in the shock compresses instead ( like a normal shock).

iamsuperbleeder

right, I understand that completely

I was just adding that being able to change the stiffness on the fly would be an add-on for peeps with on-board air if they please to do so...

bullcrew

well now to do a parts search for the length based on part # for front shocks and see if they make a basic air shock with those measurements droop/collapse i2i etc.... I would think it would work as long as the torsion bars arent cranked.

Jay351

Well an airbag system like that would be interesting. But I would assume it would need to be able to withstand alot of pressure. Like when you hit a bump at 50mph. Both wheels fully compressing.

Matt16

Exactly, and with a 22RE, is isn't hard to add a York compressor which gives you all the air you could ever want.

Considering I've seen dump trucks with air bags, I think they're tough enough for our trucks.

Besides, that's the what air shocks are meant for, so I'm sure they'll be as durable as any other shocks. Presumably the air lines are built for the load as well.

Matt16

One potential flaw with this is that in order to have enough air pressure to make it so one shock has a effect on the other, the air pressure inside the shock is going to have to be pretty high which might translate into a harsh front suspension.

bullcrew

searched forced articulation and came up ith this.
http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/tech/air_shocks/