93 Mighty Max lowering options

[Yuta]

Recently I have been thinking of lowering my stock 1993 mighty max... I am wondering how you guys do it and what are the pros can cons of each options... So there will be a lot of questions. I will highly appreciate your input..

1. How much to drop?
I am wondering what is the realistic amount of drop for the front and rear respectively..
I just measure my stock truck, front tire is 3-3/4" away to the fender, and rear is 6-1/4" to the fender...(Why rear is so much higher than front? My truck should be stock)
Should I go with 3"? Or should I go with 4"? Will 4" be too much? Will the tire rubbing fender when truck run over bumps or is loaded with heavy stuff in the bed (like a motorcycle)

For the front, I guess 2 - 2.5 in drop will be enough?


2. How to drop in the front?
Should I use lowering springs or drop spindles? Lowering springs are about 100 cheaper than drop spindles...
I don't like cutting springs...
Anyway to find cheap spring with the right force and height?
Will dropping 2.5 in causing big enough camber change and thus causing premature tire wear?
What is the handling difference between two trucks, one has lowering spring, the other has drop spindle?

3. Steel drop block or aluminum?
I feel like the steel ones will be stronger than aluminum ones... Maybe aluminum is strong enough already?

4. Handling after drop
Will dropping the truck benefit the handling? I would imagine a lower center of mass will definitely help.


Thank you in advance~

[geezer101]

-The rear ride height is to compensate for load (it is a light commercial vehicle after all).

-Die cast alu lowering blocks are perfectly good for rear leaf spring set ups. I recently bought a wrecked Gen 1 that had been lowered 2.5" all round (die cast blocks were installed and I don't know if solid steel blocks are even available). The front tires didn't show any signs of uneven wear and I can't see any shims on the control arm shafts to indicate it had been adjusted for camber so I think it's safe to say it won't radically alter front end geometry. There were no signs of tire to fender fouling and the wheels had been swapped for 14x6".

-Don't cut springs - just stupid and ruins the ride (plus they are illegal - springs must remain captive in their mounts)

-You don't need dropped spindles unless you're planning on a radical ride height drop. I doubt there will be a direct difference in handling with spindles vs springs but I'm not an expert on dropped spindles (or much else for that matter lol)

-Lowering a car or in this case a truck does change the centre of gravity which is the whole purpose of the process (unless you're into cooked rice and like to see an expensive bodykit get turned to confetti every time yo drive over a kerb )

-If you want to improve handling add bigger wheels and low profile tires - the most effective way to get grip. A decent wheel and tire package makes a massive difference.

-Guys have installed rear stabiliser bars on these trucks to improve lateral load shift between front and rear. Looks like a worth while upgrade.

[t97]

I recommend the belltech kits really you get the coil springs shocks and lowering blocks all in one. If you go that route spend the extra money to get the street performance shocks. Im running them on my truck and it rides better now than it did before but that may just be because my shocks needed to be replaced anyway. You can also use a mono lowering leaf in the back but i wouldnt if you are still trying to haul decent sized loads.

The mono leaf and spindles are both produced by AIM industries be aware that they dont have the best reputation but i have both and the quality seems on them but im only running the leafs right now.

If you lower your truck i strongly suggest you replace all the front end joints and get a proper alignment afterwards just to ensure safety.