These are an excellent idea for anyone looking to retain radius arms. Other than ground clearance loss, they are only beneficial for suspension geometry, caster, bushing life, etc. Product looks nice too
eimkeith 80 series front control arm DIY drop brackets. (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter GW Nugget
- Start date
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eimkeith
Supporting Vendor
cool, thanks!
eimkeith
Supporting Vendor
thanks!
Bama4door
Supporting Vendor
- Thread starter
- #25
You would need to correct 2" of caster.
Road Apple
SILVER Star
I’ll be adding Slinky front control arms, which correct caster for their 75mm lift. With these drop brackets, how am I affecting castor? Adding additional castor?
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Road Apple
SILVER Star
@GW Nugget ... I noticed you’re using aftermarket control arms. How has your castor and driving characteristics been affected adding these brackets? What changes to castor have you made after installing these brackets, if any? What is your current castor?
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eimkeith
Supporting Vendor
Right, like @GW Nugget said, the radius arm mounts correct for 50mm/2" of caster - so add that to whatever other caster correction you're employing. In the last quote, it sounds like total caster would be over stock spec, which might not be a bad thing...
One of the nice things about caster correction via lowering the rear mount is that it does not move the steering any closer to the radius arms.
eimkeith
Supporting Vendor
Road Apple
SILVER Star
That’s a good question. Before I ordered your brackets, I gave them a call. Mill Creek Overland said the Slinky arms do not change the wheel base at all. So, no forward movement.
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A little late to this party, but asking some questions non the less:
(ordered a RAM80 yesterday, keith has been awesome to work with so far
1) a well known LC shop here in the Bay Area gave me a bit of grief for wanting to put these on a my rig which is about to get a 1.75' Dobi lift.
said "that's to much correction, just go with OME bushings."
If my math is right, a 1.75" lift is pretty much in the middle between those mounts and dobies bushings. I was reading the slee post on 3 degree bushings, and think I was following along on the calculations.
Lift 1.75 x 1.7= 3 degrees needed
RAM80 bracket 1.96 x 1.7 = 3.4 degrees of correction (this checks out for a 2" lift (as it was designed for right?)
Dobi Bushings are 2.5 degrees (which I also have coming, just in case)
My current castor angles would influence this calculation right? (LF is 2.7 and RF is 2.9)
2) The welding thing is a bit of a barrier for me, but just drove over to East Bay Frame and Axle, showed him the bracket and the where it goes, and he said no problemo. (he was working on someone's sweet FJ40 He's also going push out my old bushings and push in new OEM ones. (just waiting on a quote) assuming it is reasonable...I'm good to go!!
So, am I crazy, is this overkill for a 1.75" lift running 295/75r16 (maybe 315s) (I can't go much bigger since I'm still using the factory spare mount, Joey says 34.25 is max)
(ordered a RAM80 yesterday, keith has been awesome to work with so far
1) a well known LC shop here in the Bay Area gave me a bit of grief for wanting to put these on a my rig which is about to get a 1.75' Dobi lift.
said "that's to much correction, just go with OME bushings."
If my math is right, a 1.75" lift is pretty much in the middle between those mounts and dobies bushings. I was reading the slee post on 3 degree bushings, and think I was following along on the calculations.
Lift 1.75 x 1.7= 3 degrees needed
RAM80 bracket 1.96 x 1.7 = 3.4 degrees of correction (this checks out for a 2" lift (as it was designed for right?)
Dobi Bushings are 2.5 degrees (which I also have coming, just in case)
My current castor angles would influence this calculation right? (LF is 2.7 and RF is 2.9)
2) The welding thing is a bit of a barrier for me, but just drove over to East Bay Frame and Axle, showed him the bracket and the where it goes, and he said no problemo. (he was working on someone's sweet FJ40
He's also going push out my old bushings and push in new OEM ones. (just waiting on a quote) assuming it is reasonable...I'm good to go!!So, am I crazy, is this overkill for a 1.75" lift running 295/75r16 (maybe 315s) (I can't go much bigger since I'm still using the factory spare mount, Joey says 34.25 is max)
Road Apple
SILVER Star
Your 1.75” lift is 44mm. The @eimkeith RAM is designed for a 50mm lift, so I’d assume your close to the castor correction you’ll need. Sounds just right to me.
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Box Rocket
SILVER Star
Yes they are longer than stock radius arms so they will center the axle in the wheel arch and straighten out the coil. So if using them in combination with your drop bracket it may move the the axle enough that the bumpstop doesn't align with the axle pad very well. It would also probably mean that the forward part of the wheel well would need to be cut out. I had to cut 2" off my bumper wing and cut out most of the wheel well under the battery tray for my 37's to clear after moving my axle 1.25" forward.
After a ton of searching around the forum I figured this might be the best place to throw this information. I recently put a 2.5" Dobinsons lift kit on my 95 and put some of the details here. What Did You Do with Your 80 This Weekend? - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/what-did-you-do-with-your-80-this-weekend.586191/post-13709907
Unfortunately, I did not get a pre-lift, saggy-suspension alignment check, but went in this morning to get a post-lift baseline before burning in the @eimkeith RAM mounts this week. I currently have both swaybars connected to the factory locations until I can finish my DIY blocks/bracket extensions. There was also a pretty good amount of bearing play in the front so I tightened those up yesterday before getting the baseline done.
Basic specs of lift/vehicle:
Lift Specs:
C59-166 2.5″ Lift no Load, 2.0″ with up to 220LBS Load - FRONT
GS59-683 - 0-3" Twin Tube Shocks - FRONT
C59-167 2.5″ with up to 220lbs weight - REAR
GS59-682 - 0-3" Twin Tube Shocks - REAR
SD59-824 - Big Bore Steering Damper
Before/After measurements after 150 miles: - My suspension was definitely sagging with the added weight and 25+ year old components.
LF - 19"/22.5"
RF - 19.25"/22.5"
LR - 19"/22.75"
RR - 19/22.5"
Wheels/Tires:
285/75/16 BFG A/T with stock rims
Other notes:
I will say that even with around -2 degrees of caster, it's not THAT horrible to drive. Sure, it's a little twitchy, but it's not like I'm fighting it all over the place. That being said, I definitely notice it the most going around sweeping corners with a crown in the road. From my understanding, these brackets *should* add about +3.45 degrees of caster to bring my rig very close to the +2 to +4 degree range. I will also be replacing the bushings in the radius arm with OEM.
Feel free to ask any questions or add comments and I'll update the numbers after the brackets are welded in.
Alignment 3/9/21:
Unfortunately, I did not get a pre-lift, saggy-suspension alignment check, but went in this morning to get a post-lift baseline before burning in the @eimkeith RAM mounts this week. I currently have both swaybars connected to the factory locations until I can finish my DIY blocks/bracket extensions. There was also a pretty good amount of bearing play in the front so I tightened those up yesterday before getting the baseline done.
Basic specs of lift/vehicle:
Lift Specs:
C59-166 2.5″ Lift no Load, 2.0″ with up to 220LBS Load - FRONT
GS59-683 - 0-3" Twin Tube Shocks - FRONT
C59-167 2.5″ with up to 220lbs weight - REAR
GS59-682 - 0-3" Twin Tube Shocks - REAR
SD59-824 - Big Bore Steering Damper
Before/After measurements after 150 miles: - My suspension was definitely sagging with the added weight and 25+ year old components.
LF - 19"/22.5"
RF - 19.25"/22.5"
LR - 19"/22.75"
RR - 19/22.5"
Wheels/Tires:
285/75/16 BFG A/T with stock rims
Other notes:
I will say that even with around -2 degrees of caster, it's not THAT horrible to drive. Sure, it's a little twitchy, but it's not like I'm fighting it all over the place. That being said, I definitely notice it the most going around sweeping corners with a crown in the road. From my understanding, these brackets *should* add about +3.45 degrees of caster to bring my rig very close to the +2 to +4 degree range. I will also be replacing the bushings in the radius arm with OEM.
Feel free to ask any questions or add comments and I'll update the numbers after the brackets are welded in.
Alignment 3/9/21:
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Well, I've now installed the Eimkeith RAM drop brackets, rear panhard correction kit, and Slee DIY front adjustable panhard kit. Overall, I'm VERY pleased with (and appreciate) the engineering involved with these items. I'm attaching the updated alignment specs to show the correction pre/post RAM install.
I am having a slight "drift" to the left after installing the drop brackets. It's not terrible, but enough to be a little annoying. I'm sure I will get used to it, but I'll see if I can pinpoint the cause at some point.
Thanks again @eimkeith! I'll probably order a PCK for my 3rd Gen 4Runner soon.
I am having a slight "drift" to the left after installing the drop brackets. It's not terrible, but enough to be a little annoying. I'm sure I will get used to it, but I'll see if I can pinpoint the cause at some point.
Thanks again @eimkeith! I'll probably order a PCK for my 3rd Gen 4Runner soon.
80/105 Landcruiser - Rear Long Arm Kit | Rampt Customs
Here at Rampt we know suspension! And can admit, the 80s have pretty damn good suspension geometry from factory. But like all things "factory" it can be improved.So we've designed a long arm kit, to help bring your rear suspension to the next level! Without needing to sacrifice the main fuel...
I got the idea from the upper control arm drop brackets that Rampt sells with their long arm kit. I don’t see how the long lowers make sense with the super short uppers, but if you are willing to accept the ground clearance loss at the factory lower mounts, you could fab new brackets that are 2” lower with generous wedge skids to grind them on the rocks. If you flatten the lower arms the suspension won’t jack and lift the truck anymore (like factory ride height doesn’t).
Drop brackets get a lot of hate but if the factory suspension works they just correct back to that handling plus lift
. -Bucket
I'm not seeing the advantage.80/105 Landcruiser - Rear Long Arm Kit | Rampt Customs
Here at Rampt we know suspension! And can admit, the 80s have pretty damn good suspension geometry from factory. But like all things "factory" it can be improved.So we've designed a long arm kit, to help bring your rear suspension to the next level! Without needing to sacrifice the main fuel...www.ramptcustoms.com.au
I got the idea from the upper control arm drop brackets that Rampt sells with their long arm kit. I don’t see how the long lowers make sense with the super short uppers, but if you are willing to accept the ground clearance loss at the factory lower mounts, you could fab new brackets that are 2” lower with generous wedge skids to grind them on the rocks. If you flatten the lower arms the suspension won’t jack and lift the truck anymore (like factory ride height doesn’t).
Drop brackets get a lot of hate but if the factory suspension works they just correct back to that handling plus lift
-Bucket
View attachment 3579117
View attachment 3579118
I prefer to run a lower lift (under 3") and bigger tires This work really well for me.
A lot of heavily modified vehicles were struggling with this obstacle, with a 2" lift (netting 23/4" lift) and 39s I walked right one shot no drama.
If you don’t have excessive anti-squat and excessive roll steer at your ride height then you wouldn’t need to change your rear suspension geometry. Roll steer will do funny things, especially in places like Moab where you have great traction and steep off camber climbs. The rear end will drive under the truck sometimes and jack up one side of the truck.
Just watched your Soup Bowl video. On that obstacle the roll steer jacking effect actually helps, since it’s trying to lift the right side of the truck just as the right front tire needs to climb. On other obstacles it can try to roll you over.
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