80 Series Caster Advice (1 Viewer)

[landtank]

I offer caster plates that would keep you within the factory specs for caster, they won’t contact your tie rod, will run with a stock drive shaft and won’t break the bank.

I can ship tomorrow morning.

 

[Octanejunkie]

I offer caster plates that would keep you within the factory specs for caster, they won’t contact your tie rod, will run with a stock drive shaft and won’t break the bank.

I can ship tomorrow morning.

Looking at your site now, I assume you mean the 2.5" plates. I'm curious how much caster adjustment they provide?

Also, I plan to swap to synthetic winch line soon, saves like 50#, and "maybe" swap front bumpers in the future, favoring something lighter with a better approach angle; how will those changes affect my choice of caster correction method/amount?

Appreciate the info!

 

[AcroSteve]

Interesting thread, I'm looking at caster correction, again - currently running Slee plates but my steering link hits the radius arms at droop - so I am considering other options for caster correction. My current setup feels good on the road; no vibration, no strange steering behavior, but I will be changing out the front axle in the future (going to locking axles) so I GET to make a caster decision, again, lol

I'm lifted around 3"(2850 springs with 30mm spacer) and am looking at frame drop options, which are not really discussed here specifically, but look like a reasonable option especially when combined with offset trunnion bearings if additional caster is required after the addition of a particular frame-side bracket. So those are an option, too. Realistically, I could just move my Slee plates over, but I have found a few frame mount bracket kits that are interesting:

Eimkeith RAM (radius arm mount)
View attachment 3459964
This is a weld on kit that drops the frame-side radius arm mount 50MM and moves the front wheel 25mm forward to help clear larger tires (37"+) AND keeps both caster and anti-dive at factory specs. There are no options for fine-tuning.
$100~ purchase price, requires welding, etc. and is reversable (bring vehicle back to stock) when you cut them off.

Ironman 4x4 Radius Arm Drop Brackets
View attachment 3459971
This is a bolt on kit that claims to drop the frame-side radius arm mount 80mm, and moves the front wheel 15mm forward, again to help clear larger tires. There are no options for fine-tuning.
This is a $300~ investment and is reversable via unbolt and remove.

Man A Fre Front Control Arm Drop Brackets
View attachment 3459983
This is also a bolt on kit that drops the frame-side radius arm mount but DOES NOT move the arm forward. There are purchase options for mounts that drop the arms 2" through 6" in 1-inch increments. Link to 3" bracket provided.
This is a $250 investment and is reversable via unbolt and remove.

Not sure if there are other products out there but these are the 3 I found "readily available" in the US market.

Anyone have any specific experience with these caster correction options and can share any practical opinions other than "well you have to weld that one" or this one is 3x the price of that one...

FWIW, I have spoken to a few folks that run these and no one has griped about them snagging rocks, etc. so the old "frame hooks" comments seem to be limited to the most hardcore drivers.

I will say the eimkeith.com brackets fit like a glove.

 

[landtank]

Looking at your site now, I assume you mean the 2.5" plates. I'm curious how much caster adjustment they provide?

Also, I plan to swap to synthetic winch line soon, saves like 50#, and "maybe" swap front bumpers in the future, favoring something lighter with a better approach angle; how will those changes affect my choice of caster correction method/amount?

Appreciate the info!

The taller the truck the more caster you need. The caster needs of these trucks are really consistent to their ride height. So my 2.5” plates will provide factory caster in a range of 2”-3” of lift and my 4” plates are 3.5”-4.5” of lift. Going for a certain amount of caster can lead you to situation where you have uncontrollable vibrations. You want to avoid that.

 

[Octanejunkie]

I will say the eimkeith.com brackets fit like a glove.

I have a wheeling friend that runs these, he researched all the options (at the time he was looking) and decided these were the best for his needs.

The taller the truck the more caster you need. The caster needs of these trucks are really consistent to their ride height. So my 2.5” plates will provide factory caster in a range of 2”-3” of lift and my 4” plates are 3.5”-4.5” of lift. Going for a certain amount of caster can lead you to situation where you have uncontrollable vibrations. You want to avoid that.

Makes sense and yes, I want to avoid safety risks and drive-ability issues.