Long Travel AHC (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter TeCKis300
- Start date
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nwfl4runner
GOLD Star
Yup - I retrofitted it into my 2010
Just thought I would post here in search of a little clarity regarding brake lines:
So the consensus is (?):
Please and thank you!
So the consensus is (?):
- Extended brake lines are not necessary for the front
- Extended brake lines are necessary or at least a good idea for the rear (Toytec tundra lines linked earlier in the thread work for this purpose)
- Only those two lines to the rear axle need to be replaced (?)
Please and thank you!
I am right in the thick of it right now.
I wanted to go steel lines for all the soft lines and ended up going with the SDHQ set.
I have the E&E bracket installed and I’m getting a 1.75in additional droop.
I’m going to lose some up travel with Perry bump stops but necessary as mine will bottom out the strut.
That rear shock tube bolt is a beast.
If I do it again I’m getting one of these,
I used the extra deep box end wrench from HF and cut the other end off. It worked but at a rate of 1/12 a turn at a time. 15 threads means I did that 180 times, blind, feel only.
For the front I went with the 20mm TEMA spacer from eBay,
Comes with the elusive longer studs to press in, stock threads and reused the nuts.
You also will need to lengthen the rear diff breather.
I got some cheap vacuum hose and ran it up to the AHC breathers, just under the gas cap. I used the stock bracket and just gave it an extra 2in.
I wanted to go steel lines for all the soft lines and ended up going with the SDHQ set.
I have the E&E bracket installed and I’m getting a 1.75in additional droop.
I’m going to lose some up travel with Perry bump stops but necessary as mine will bottom out the strut.
That rear shock tube bolt is a beast.
If I do it again I’m getting one of these,
I used the extra deep box end wrench from HF and cut the other end off. It worked but at a rate of 1/12 a turn at a time. 15 threads means I did that 180 times, blind, feel only.
For the front I went with the 20mm TEMA spacer from eBay,
Comes with the elusive longer studs to press in, stock threads and reused the nuts.
You also will need to lengthen the rear diff breather.
I got some cheap vacuum hose and ran it up to the AHC breathers, just under the gas cap. I used the stock bracket and just gave it an extra 2in.
I think you outlined that correctly regarding brake lines. I have now swapped my front brake lines also because of the Tundra front conversion I did. Which then requires a little custom bracket as @TeCKis300 outlined.
Decided to grab some Tema 20mm spacers myself. Here they are with the 6 extended studs they sent 
They are a rather soft rubber, I can bend them in my hands. not sure how I feel about that
They are a rather soft rubber, I can bend them in my hands. not sure how I feel about that
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Any thoughts on the Tema spacers being such a soft rubber?
They are going to send me two more studs but still not super excited about the spacers themselves.
I did find these aluminum spacers after the fact that come with studs, they have, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30mm options it looks like.
Problem is they come from Ukraine so its late july before they get here.
They are going to send me two more studs but still not super excited about the spacers themselves.
I did find these aluminum spacers after the fact that come with studs, they have, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30mm options it looks like.
Problem is they come from Ukraine so its late july before they get here.
- Thread starter
- #568
Yeah, doesn't quite compute for me either.
This component carries the weight of the vehicle. The way it's designed, looks like most of the force will be on the thin-walled metal sleeves. Unless they are designed to crush putting the weight on the rubber. It'll probably work, but sure seems to be a funny design that probably won't last if put to any serious off-roading like corrugations that will create cyclic loading on the studs.
nwfl4runner
GOLD Star
Honestly I think I'd avoid both of those. If you're still rocking a swaybar, I would just use the OEM spacer and be done with it. With a larger top hat spacer, you worry about bumpstop location and endlinks binding as you're going to add way too much droop (unusable too)
The page on ebay says they are polyurethane, which I guess would make sense if it were a high durometer, but its quite soft. I can literally twist them in my hands.
Is it the endlink ball joint that binds?
So I was thinking I would just disconnect one end link off the swaybar when I offroad like I did with my F150, so I messed with it today to see what it did. I put the suspension in Lo mode and put opposite tires on ramps to articulate everything, and then use jacks to finish the job.
Unfortunately, if you let the front suspension fully articulate in opposite directions, the end of the sway bar hits either the tie rod or LCA depending on which way you flex.
So without additional mods(move the swaybar forward so it clears) just disconnecting doesn’t work.
nwfl4runner
GOLD Star
Yup, I should have clarified, I meant yank the entire bar. If you increase the droop too much, the endlink binds in the control arm, and limits travel. I run no swaybar when im hitting trails and the flex is awesome
OEM spacer and no swaybar gives you the safest and most useable travel you need on AHC, while keeping the stock bump location.
- Thread starter
- #573
Don't bother with a manual disconnecting setup. AHC does that just fine and will out wheel any F150 for days.
To @nwfl4runner 's point, It might be worthwhile to space the sway bar frame mount down or get extended links when pairing with thicker than ~17mm of coilover spacer. This is also an opportunity for @PerryParts sway bar tuning bushing.
The truck sat noticeably flatter to me with the sway disconnected than with it connected?
My only point in bringing up the F150 was that I could disconnect one link and leave the other side connected and got no interference with the bar. It smoothed out the ride dramatically.
Will the AHC actually reduce pressure on one side and increase it on the other?
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- Thread starter
- #575
If this was tested in AHC low, that's not representative of its articulation performance. In real use, AHC is pressurized and will be pushing down on the opposite corner flexing the sway bar.
When I tested In AHC high I could not even get close to the bump stops even when I pushed up on the opposite side of the rear axle with a jack.
- Thread starter
- #577
That wouldn't be unexpected either. You're asking AHC to prioritize height and clearance over articulation when in high mode. AHC N is where you'll get its best articulation performance.
I wish I could measure RTI. With AHC long travel, it's a solid improvement over stock.
Yeah i see what you mean, but that’s exactly why I was using Lo. I wanted to see the cross articulation to figure out the bar clearance. Not to actually measure flex.
I’ll retest with the suspension at N and Hi with the bar connected and disconnected to see if it flattens out. My ramps are not that tall so I’m sure it’s not reflective of extreme situations. Eventually the front suspension will run out of travel before the rear does and start controlling the truck.
So I did mess around more with the sway bar disconnected. This time I disconnected both sides of the front bar so I could move it around and avoid contact with the tie rods and LCA's. There is a position in the middle at full cross flex where its got about 1" of clearance from either interference, so you could tie the bar out of the way if you really wanted.
As far as the roll of the truck, I was getting about double the lean with the sway bar connected as with it disconnected in both Hi and N. So if it was leaning 3* with the bar connected, I was getting 1.5* with it disconnected.
While that doesnt seem significant, it means there would be about 1/2 of the side to side tossing over rougher terrain. It also means there is a degree of imbalance between the IFS and rear axle in terms of willingness to flex even without the bar connected.
As far as the roll of the truck, I was getting about double the lean with the sway bar connected as with it disconnected in both Hi and N. So if it was leaning 3* with the bar connected, I was getting 1.5* with it disconnected.
While that doesnt seem significant, it means there would be about 1/2 of the side to side tossing over rougher terrain. It also means there is a degree of imbalance between the IFS and rear axle in terms of willingness to flex even without the bar connected.
Sorry, going back to this, why do you say the droop is unusable assuming you removed the sawy bar or addressed the links? Everyone in this thread seems to think 18-20mm seems to be about what you can run.
On the link binding, wouldnt an easy solution be to drop the whole bar down 15 or 20mm at the frame mounts so that its still in line with the throw of the suspension?
And the bump stops, I probably need to extend them anyways because when I fully stuff my 315/70's they hit the fender lip when turned. They tuck fine straight.
