Sy/Ty Ride Height

[tloof]

Can any of you tell me exactly how much lower the stock Sy/Ty ride height is compared to both a stock 2wd & stock 4wd S10 truck? I currently have a V8 powered 4wd S10 truck that I installed a BellTech lowering kit on that drops the ride height 3" lower. It appears to be about 1" lower than a stock 2wd S10 truck at this time. As I understand it the BellTech kit drops a 4wd S10 down to about the same ride height as a Syclone, but i am not totally sure about that?

I'm thinking about installing an RPM or JS coilover setup on my V8 powered 4x4 S10 truck now because the Belltech setup handles & rides so pathetic!!!! The problem is though that both of these coilover kits seem to be designed to lower the Sy/Ty even lower, which is way to extreme for my purposes and for rough roads (I would prefer to have a modified 4wd S10 truck that runs at the stock 2wd S10 ride height if possible). I'm not sure if the RPM or JS coilover kit can be adjusted back up 1"-2" higher than the stock Sy/Ty ride height in order to meet my requirement, does any one know if it can be? Also, which of the two kits (RPM or JS) has the greatest adjustment ability to run at a higher ride height?

 

[TNPhoon]

Re: Sy/Ty Ride Height

From what I have read, the front height from bottom of cladding on the top of the front arc to the ground should be 28" +/- 0.5" and on the rear it should be 30" +/- 0.5"

I guess you could just subtract that off of what your current height is?

 

[tloof]

Re: Sy/Ty Ride Height

I guess I really need to know what the stock tire size is that is used on the Sy/Ty in order to determine the actual difference. I'm currently using Pirelli Scorpian 255/55-16 tires on '01 Camaro 16 x 8 wheels on my conversion (the stock tire & wheel size was 235/75-15's on 15 x 7 wheels). I don't remember what the wheel size & tire size that the Sy/Ty uses?

Also, for a more apples-to-apples comparison, what I really need is the height measurement from the ground to the bottom of the frame since I don't have wheel well cladding like a Sy/Ty has (remember, I have a V8 powered 4x4 S10 truck).

 

[dgoodhue]

Re: Sy/Ty Ride Height

The cladding hangs down in the front about 2", stock tires are 245/50-16

The 3" Bell tech suposedly drop the rear about 1"-1.5" on a Syclone's but different owners have reported different height (age of springs and shocks)

As for the front coilovers, you can definately do stock ride height. I would use JS Manufacturings as I have seen some have to buy adapters just to get the RPM to stock ride height (due the lower shock mount) To get an additional 1"-2" on top of stock, I would use softer springs, because it will be difficult to get the 600# springs compress much past 28.5" ride height. Also I would get the real QA1 tool for adjusting springs (you can't do it in the truck, but it work fine in a vice.) I am not sure how about the range of motion for the shock at the additional height.

 

[tloof]

Re: Sy/Ty Ride Height

I talked to JS Manufacturing late yesterday, and they say their coilover setup is NOT recommended for use at any amount above the stock Sy/Ty ride height since the ball joint would then be stressed at its max allowable angularity limit (sort of the same thing that is experienced when lowering the Sy/Ty with stock swingarms, but in the opposite direction).

Perhaps maybe using RPM's coilover setup would be better for raising the ride height in my application since they retain the same ball joint angularity geometry as the stock GM swingarms do, but there is still the issue of the lower shock mount apparently being moved farther outboard on their lower swingarm thus lowering the overall ride height when the same length shock/coilover assembly is used as JS uses.

This brings up an interesting idea of using a JS lower swingarm in conjunction with an RPM upper swingarm and the QA1 shock/coilover unit that they both use. Would that allow a 2" higher ride height over the stock Sy/Ty suspension while at the same time keeping the ball joint angularity within acceptable limits? (of course then i would have to buy TWO expensive coilover kits!!!!!! Damn)

Also, I note that the difference in tire heights between the stock 245/50-16's used on the Sy/Ty and the 255/55-16's I'm using is 1.4", so the difference in ride height will be close to 3/4" in itself. This would seem to imply that I really only need to raise the ride height of the front coilover setup about 1"- 1 1/4" over what the stock Sy/Ty ride height is to match the 2wd S10 truck ride height. In addition since the BellTech rear springs drop a Syclone ride height by 1" - 1 1/2" and I already recover 3/4" back due to the taller tires I'm using; and since I need to raise my rear back up again about 1" to match a 2wd S10 truck (along with the raising of the front coilover setup to 1" higher than stock), then it would appear that I need to replace my rear Belltech springs with stock Syclone springs...is that true?
I noticed somewhere that there are rear coilover shocks available for the Syclone with progressive springs on them. Would those be good to use in conjunction with stock Syclone rear leafs to get my ride height set correctly and at the same time maintain the capability to carry 1000 lbs vs the lowered rate of 500 lbs that the Syclone springs are only good for?