so heres my my question
i have a 95 single cab pickup with a marlin front bumper and factory everything suspension wise including shocks. anyways once i put the bumper on it dropped my front end about a inch im guessing due to the extra weight and i want it to be level all the way around for the most part you can really tell with the one inch. so should i be looking at a thicker torsion bar such as sway a way's or crank the tbars? but ive heard that makes the truck ride like poop or should i go with ball joint spacers?, my worry about the spacers is what it does to the idler arm and that from what ive heard the braces dont do much. or would just a good shock help this sagging issue? considering i know for sure i need new shocks.

thanks in advance

 

dont crank the t bar, your travel will suffer. id say get bj spacers and relax your torsion bar and call it good!

 

Get new bars, once I put a set of downey's on mine, with a Ramsey 8000 and homemade mount, it rode way better. What is mostly needed is a high spring rate not just more space. After I cranked mine to level, the front would still bottom out witha big enough bump. After I put the tbars on it rides and handles like it should.

 

I run a large TJM bumper and winch and found that the stock t-bars (with BJ spacers) ride much better than either Downeys or SAWs (both of which I tried!)

 

Torsion bars will stiffen up your ride, but the extra weight of the bumper will offfset that to some degree. You almost need the extra spring rate to support that bumper. Tough call on this one, but I would go with the torsion bars, and adjust them down as much as possible. My Downey bars are still pretty flexible when adjusted all the way down.

 

thats what i was thinking, i know i cant get downeys but the 25mm sway a ways should be good right? and like i said im just a little sketchy on the bj spacer thing with how it eats through idler arms. i know this is prolly a dumb question but i wont need extended shocks with a thicker tbar right?

 

Not if you are only going to lift it back to stock to compensate for the bumper. If you cank in any actual lift you will need longer shocks. I would not recomend cranking in lift, If you want lift then use BJ spacers.

 

before you spend money on new t-bars, why not crank up your stock ones to see if you like the ride or not.

 

Putting bigger/heavier tires on it alone will eat up idler arms.

 

oh i know that bigger heavier tires will but ive only got 32s and i may go back down to 31s once they wear down cause they are so much cheaper than 32s or 33s.
robertm: thats actually what im going to do sometime here soon once it stops raining, i have pleanty of money to spend so 225 dollars isnt gonna kill my walet if i do end up going with new bars,

thank you all for all the quick replies

 

If he tightens his torsions back to regular ride height, then travel won't suffer..

All he would be doing would be putting his front suspension back in the stock ride height range :/

 

Thats why he was suggesting the BJ spacers with the relaxed T-bars giving him a lift as well as the softer ride

 

but the front suspension would be much stiffer, making it not want to travel.

 

I would crank the stock tbars a tad and see how you like it. I'd even go further and choose bj spacers over the new tbars for now. OEM tbars are going to give the most flex due to their spring rate. The bj spacers will give you additional articulation offroad which is always good. Dunno if you've got a winch in your bumper but if you do then that may make the difference in the tbars. Tube bumper by itself is different then tube bumper + winch or a plate bumper + winch (even heavier).

As for the new shocks unnecessary unless you've added more lift or more travel or need new shocks. Not a bad idea for all of us to start carrying a spare idler arm if you even consider going offroad. You can still bend one with 31s but heavier tires will have a bigger effect on it than anything.

I vote bj spacers and adjust stock tbars until you're ready to do more to the truck.

 

well one day im gonna weld on some light tabs and throw on some hella 500s prolly and possibly a winch but for now once i get some time im gonna see how i like cranking the tbars.

 

Huh? No.. He put the weight back in the front, the weight counteracts the torsion effect.. I highly doubt it'd be stiffer. Maybe a little springier.

The extra weight of his bumper would basically make it be like stock..
If he got stiffer torsion bars, they'd just be stiffer and hold the front up, but because they're stiffer, THEN the suspension wouldnt want to flex.

If he put the BJ spacers on it, and then relaxed them, he'd get no lift AND an even softer ride. Which, i don't know if the OP would want an even softer ride.

 

i do want a softer ride but i dont wanna be replacing my idler arm all the time? ive heard mixed opinions on that subject with and without the idler arm brace