Need to reduce 6" lift to 4", possible?

[KVB-R]

Hey guys, I hope you can help me

So I bought a used ProComp Stage II 6” lift with 10K on it’ish with all the big parts and it's very clean. It was used, designed for 08-10 SD’s, and came with most everything(I think) to lift my truck. I got a steal on it for what I received (I think, again), $550, radius arms, springs, drop pitman arm, track bar drop bracket, bump stops, spacers, carrier bearing drop, and little bits associated. I’d say it’s 98% there from what’s advertised on the procomp websight, but I’m not 100% what truly comes with these kits out of the box.

This said, the guy I purchased from complained of bump stops bottoming out and he said to shave them down an inch or so to prevent bottom. He ran the ES9000 shocks which he sold already. No biggie I thought, I can figure it all out....

I’m thinking a few things at this point:

1) I didn’t really want a full 6” lift and would rather have a 4”, but I could live with it
2) I think his springs may have the rates for a gas engine given the bump stop bottoming comment. I couldn’t confirm that the kit came of a 6.4, but the kid and his father were asking me about my fuel milage/what I had done to my truck/what my tune was, etc... So I think they did indeed pull the kit from a diesel.
3) I could purchase a 4.5” or 4” springs (Carli/Icon), a fresh set of brand shocks matched for the springs (Bilstein/King/whatever) shocks rated for 4” lift, which I need anyways, delete one of the extra rear blocks to lower the rear (I’ve got a few to chose from), and then have myself a nice performing 4” setup that would look awesome with a set of 35’s.


So for roughly the same price of a new lift kit, I think I have the opportunity to have fully customized and great performing setup for the same price and with some high quality parts. Like I said, I’m in for $550 at this point and I'm working with a completely stock truck(suspension wise), I could sell it and start over easily for sure, but I like the head start I have going for me. Again, I’d originally planned on 4” lift, so I really want to make this work, I’m just really green on the mix and match mods and I’m not sure if it’s possible.

Here are the parts I’m thinking of getting:

- 4” front springs from ICON/Carli
- Helwig front sway, possibly rear too
- Matching Shocks from spring maker ICON/Carli

I should be good to go right? What do you guys think? Any issues making this happen?

Thanks for taking you time in reading this! I will truly owe you all big time if this works out for me!

Kevin

[shawnb99]

the one item that i would base my decision on is the radius arms, are they longer than stock..... if so they would match the amount of lift. if plan on using those with a 4" spring, it could be just enough to cause clearence issues with the axle being to far forward. you could potentially make some money, by parting it out to people looking to upgrade their budget lifts.

[OCVeloMan]

None of what you have is compatible with what you're doing. The Carli systems are designed to use the stock steering linkage/pitman arm and an adjustable track bar where you're running a drop pitman wiht track bar drop which will limit the travel of the kit. Further, the radius drops meant for a 6" will not provide proper alignment angles at ride height. What you're thinking of doing would be the equivelant to a spring chop to lower the front end of your truck 2"... it'll get the job done but won't be right.

If you're looking into Icon/Carli then you're already looking into quality suspension. The money you save, you'll make up in headaches trying to make this all work. I would sell the hard-parts you have and grab a back-country system/Pintop system so you know that every piece of the kit was designed/engineered to work together. After all, why re-engineer the wheel when there are great performing suspensions out there?

[ZMANN]

I would leave it as a 6 inch you'd Be surprised how little the dif between 6 and 4 is

it is like 2 inches IIRC LOL

what I am saying in my smart as.s way is

it seems like a waste of money to adjust this lift down I would try to verify your coil type however

[Skyd Ram]

I would either stay at 6" and run it with some decent shocks or sell it and put the $$ towards an engineered 4" system. Like others have pointed out you don't need a drop pitman arm or a track bar drop bracket at 4" and your radius arms have the wrong geometry for a 4" kit. On a 4" kit without a drpo bracket/pitman arm you would also need an adjustable track bar.

Also,
Why are you interested in the Hellwig sway bar?

[KVB-R]

Thanks all for the feedback! That's why I posted this up, so I don't go making a mess of my truck, lol. I guess I'll go with the lift at 6" and go from there. If I absolutely hate the ride, I'll dish out the coin for a better setup. I wish there was a way to test drive lift kits before you purchase and install them...Anyone in Nor Cali, sacramento area with Carli/ICON lifts?

As for the Hellwig sway bar....My friend says just get it and you'll love how flat the truck stay around turns...I know what they do as I've had bigger upgrades on cars, and the results were always positive. So I figured why not, it should work well for trucks too?

THanks guys,
Kevin

[OCVeloMan]

Originally Posted by KVB-R

Thanks all for the feedback! That's why I posted this up, so I don't go making a mess of my truck, lol. I guess I'll go with the lift at 6" and go from there. If I absolutely hate the ride, I'll dish out the coin for a better setup. I wish there was a way to test drive lift kits before you purchase and install them...Anyone in Nor Cali, sacramento area with Carli/ICON lifts?

As for the Hellwig sway bar....My friend says just get it and you'll love how flat the truck stay around turns...I know what they do as I've had bigger upgrades on cars, and the results were always positive. So I figured why not, it should work well for trucks too?

THanks guys,
Kevin

Carli is in so cal, take your kids to disneyland and shoot down for the weekend. We have an array of trucks for you to ride in

Front stock sway bar is bad enough... cars don't have enough ground clearance to take bad terrain fast. I had huge sways and coilovers on my old sti and you could set your coffee cup on the roof around a hairpin but I wouldn't hit a dirt road in it. You need to lighten the link between the axle and frame if anything when looking for a better on/off road ride. Yes there's more body roll but that's part of driving an 8500lb. truck with a high center of gravity. A larger sway bar would feel great around a corner until your tires lost grip and your high center of gravity took you right off the road.

[KVB-R]

Yeah, maybe I should start probing around to see how these lifts ride. I live in lifted truck city out here where I'm at. I'll just have to start asking folks when I see them about their lifts. Not that, I'll get an unbiased answer...nobody is going to say their truck rides like **** and they hate it, although I may be surprised, lol.

I'm single, so the drive to SoCal isn't justified right now. I may try to make some work plans to see if I can get down there, but that is a crap shoot. It sucks because I have what I think is a pretty good lift already, I just need to add shocks, and it could be an awesome ride...I'm still a little unsure about going 6" though....

Another poster makes a good point in saying it's only 2" difference, and it's not really much difference at all. I say true true, I think I just gotta do it and see how I like it. Hell, I may like perfectly as it is.

The good part is I can do all the work myself, so like it or not, it's still on the cheap side. Plus, if I pull the lift, and purchase ICON or Carli shocks, I could possibly keep them and just purchase the rest of the kit.

Hmmm... I think it's time to pull the trigger on some shocks and see what I have.

Also, noted about the sway bar. I never put much thought into what it would actually do for a 4 ton truck. I'm still on the fence. For off roading it would hurt for sure because you want the softer bar for flexibility, I'm mainly on street, it could still have a benefit, I think you would still improve the handling of the truck buy keeping the inside tire more planted to the ground and improving steering response. BUt like you said, it's a 4 ton truck.

I gotta get in my friends truck and see what the deal is....

Thanks again for all the responses! They are definitely appreciated!!

Kevin

[Skyd Ram]

Also, noted about the sway bar. I never put much thought into what it would actually do for a 4 ton truck. I'm still on the fence. For off roading it would hurt for sure because you want the softer bar for flexibility, I'm mainly on street, it could still have a benefit, I think you would still improve the handling of the truck buy keeping the inside tire more planted to the ground and improving steering response. BUt like you said, it's a 4 ton truck.

I personally like the less aggressive stock Ford sway bar and I hope that Carli does some testing on a torsion sway bar like they offer for the Dodges. The less aggressive Carli Torsion Sway bar makes quite a difference on the street ride as well as off road. It allows the one wheel that hits a pothole/speedbump/curb/etc. to absorb the hit without transfering as much of that impact into the frame and over to the other side. I takes out some of that rocking back and forth when you pull onto another surface and the truck tries to slap your head into the side window. Alhtough it does increase the body roll a bit it is still very manageable when couple with a good set of progressive rate coils and properly valved shocks.

The benefit of a stiffer sway bar like the Hellwig would mostly be for those who tow extremely heavy or carry one of those 3000 lb campers in the rear. It seems to be counter productive to use one to improve the flat pavement handling of a 8000lb truck with 6" of lift.

[KVB-R]

OK folks, it all finally clicked after much thought. I'm just going to go with a Carli/ICON set up. I just have this strange feeling if I put the procomp on, I'd still like the look, but hate the ride. Especially when I have to drive cross country. I just see it now that the first month or so with the lift I won't mind the harshness or bounce of the pro comp, but after that I'd probably be wishing i"d bought a better all around setup. Plus the work of having to find a good shock to put under it; I'd probably go through a couple or three before I found one that is good.

Then all said and I'm into it for $2+...forget it, I don't want the headache.

Carli it is...now which one....hmmmm....maybe ICON????

Thanks for the info and the great website that powerstroke.org is! You guys always rock!!!

Kevin