anyone have any input on the downey long travel setup?
http://downeyoff-road.com/Suspension...s/1986-95.html

also, any word on when they're going to make it work with coilovers?

 

buy a real LT kit, that kit is not something i would be proud to hav eon my truck.

 

well that's what i was thinking. but i do like the porche axles. i'm still hoping someone else has some input. thanks for the response!

 

Bear80 has that setup and loves it.

Personally, I'm going with TC GenII or JDFab T-1 when I do mine to get rid of the POS torsion bars and get some tuneability in the front suspension.

 

Why so interested in coil overs? There are characteristics to torsion bars that lend themselves to this type of kit. In essence a coil over setup with two springs of different rates is trying to emulate what the torsion bar does naturally: they have the effect of increasing the spring rate as the upper control arm passes parallel with the ground.

I would make sure you get input from people who are running this kit as opposed to those who have not.

Frank

 

well that's what i was thinking..........



but now frank has got me interested in the setup so i think i'll se if i can get bear over here for some input....

thanks TC and elripster!!

 

can you tell me what a "real long travel kit" is? not tryin to be a jerk a/b it, but i always heard good a/b downey systems...

 

he's refering to something like the total chaos or the jd fab systems which use coil-overs. downey is fine and the only reason i started this thread is because i'd like to hear from someone who has a LT kit with t-bars.

 

I find these "kits" very interesting myself, although I get extreme sticker shock when I look at them!

 

yeah, word. that's why i'm looking for input. i hope bear 80 joins the fun at some point!

 

oh okay, i gothca now! yeah, i wish i had the cash to spend on one of those TC kits also...

 

well the thing is, i'm looking for a LT kit that will really be multipurpose. i love to crawl, so i'm looking for good flex but i want the adjustability for prerunning too. so i'm sort of torn........

 

i got a 3 inch body and a 4 inch suspension. do you know how i would go about gettin more lift for my truck? the biggest lift they make for susp is a 4 inch. its a 94 toyota pickup, reg cab, 3L standard. ig ot seven inches under it right now with 36 inch swampers. i want more lift. any ideas?

 

I've been looking at all three kits, TC JD and Downey, and I like the TC and JD kit's better for a couple of reasons. One they both look much beefier than the Downey kit they're both 3" over instead of two so the availability of CV's becomes much greater because stock T100 axles can be used, and both Total Chaos and JD Fab have great reputations. If the break down of the kit shows the actual retail prices of each individual part I would much rather pay $70.00 bucks for CV axles than $800.00. But, this is a new kit so we'll how it turns out. Hopefully Deathrunner and some of the other LT guys will chime in.

 

Unfortunately that is NOT the "kit" I run. I have the older Downey + Rancho arms. It suits my needs, works and rides great but is understandably NOT for everyone. The key with mine was finding the best T-bars to use, which ended up being the OME.

As for Downey build quality, having run an array of their equipment I feel it is above adaquite but not par with excellent.

Their new long arm "kit" for the most part would be a heads and shoulder improvemt over a bracket lift. Is it on par with TC or JD?.....IMO no. For an everyday driver that see's a broad range of trails, I think it would do great. The hypothetical BS about the Porsche joints is just rediculous, they will not let you down. The axle is the problem being it can only be sourced from Downey or by having a shop make one. Hopefuly though it is harder than OEM and can take hard wheeling with 35" tires, which I'd assume Downey has addressed.

My beef with it all, is the wider front track. That is why I tweeked my setup to travel a comparable 12" without widening the track. I'm not trying to get into the alignment argument but I've seen more than once a local TC or JD long travel equiped truck with a HORENDIS alignment. I've wanted to track him down and check it out so I can compair and honestly find out why the heck it's so bad but I haven't seen the truck in the last few weeks.

 

Acutally as for the t-bars, there are two weak areas with them. The a-arm mount and the frame anchor. Usally the issue with the frame anchor is with the older '86-'88 trucks. Downey sells a thick washer type deal to add strength but the anchor bolt could still pull through the frame but not anymore than the '89-'95 style. Either way still a weakness for both. The a-arm mount needs to be checked and re-placed if the teeth show wear, under hard use they will shear. A new mount with good grease should withstand a bomb.

 

hey bear, i really appreciate your input. i didn't think you had this kit....but since your name came up i thought id check in. so thank you for your input.

the wider track width is something i'm looking for, like i said i'll be doing a lot of pre-running. so while i want travel, i'm also looking for a wider stance so i can take corners faster. god only knows the second gen 4runner is a little bit top-heavy (just ask molly ).

i really just wanted some input and i really appreciate what i've read from everyone.

so: the JD kit is not only less expensive than the downey (minus coilovers) but i also like the wider track....so it's pretty much down to the TC or the JD.

i hear a lot about the TC kit, so let's see if we can't get deathrunner in here....eh?

 

dood.....ifs is no longer suiting your needs........if you want more lift, check out some ball joint spacers from elripster (he posted in this thread) that'll get you an extra 1.5".

if you want more than that: SAS time!!!!

 

Deathrunner has the JD Fab kit.

One big advantage to the JDF is that it can run either tbars or coilovers, so you can save the considerable expense for the coilovers for a while.

 

oh really? that's actually very cool. it would appear that the jdf kit is by far the most affordable then if i can do it in stages....i've always loved the deathrunner...