npreo1

i have a 90' toyota pick up 4x4 with 31/10/5 BFG M/T and was thinkin of crankin up the torsion bars gettin shackles and new shocks all around and was wonderin what the outcome would be if I did all this. so If you can give me some feed back that would be awesome.. THANX

NICK!!

tc

Welcome to YT Nick. There are a wide variety of opinions on the subject, so you might want to search to get a flavor of different people's experiences. In general, the following happen:

You have increased ride height, but not really more room for bigger tires because the compression bumpstop is unchanged. (Tire still goes to same place fully stuffed)

You have increased preload, so it takes a bigger bump to activate the suspension, making it ride stiffer. The argument seems to be whether that is undesirable or not.

With the increased preload, you generally lose flex.

You will need an alignment after cranking the bars because your camber will likely be off.

MudHippy

I've have mine cranked till just touching the upper bumpstops, first with 2" lift blocks and now 2" aals. Both ways set my truck nearly perfectly level, front to back. The torsion bars are nearly gone (stretched out/twisted) on both sides, can't adjust any more up. This is because the are over-stressed by both my 35's and the extra tension involved when adjusted for that much lift. I don't mind the stiffness, it feels perfect to me with stock(soft) rear leafs. I like to do some high-speed rally type driving on old logging roads, which I feel my truck needs to do as well as trails. Meaning she don't flex up front hardly, the trade off there for sure. No sway bar, no matter, still no flex to speak of. I may try the thicker bars on my next go.

Shocks, I got Rancho RS5000 rear, and ? brand gas-charged after-market front. Polyurethane bushings all shocks and rear leafs.

mastacox

Cranking your t-bars until the a-arm is touching the upper (droop) bump-stop is pretty much the worst thing you can do for suspension flex and ride quality. Sorry MudHippy.

It's a much better option to get ball-joint spacers and leave your bars at the approximately stock crank. This way you retain flex, gain wheel travel, and don't stiffen yor ride. My '92 4Runner has BJ spacers, Downey 26mm torsion bars, and longer shocks. It has turned out to be an excellent combination. Soft in the dunes, good feel off-road (with the swaybar disconnected), excellent flex for stock a-arms.

nathan751

Mine was so low it would bottom out on expansion joints on the highway. Really dangerous. I guess the guy before me abused this truck quite a bit. I readjusted them to about a half inch over stock and it still 'flexes' pretty well.