Well who has seen the new drop brackets from man-a-free looks pretty good has any one picked one up yet .. what do you think? 
man- a- free lift (1 Viewer)
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yellowchaosfj80 said:Well who has seen the new drop brackets from man-a-free looks pretty good has any one picked one up yet .. what do you think?
In My HONEST Opinion, those drop kits are WAYY overpriced for what they do.
For what is trying to be accomplished with those, you can buy all the proper and adjustable parts from slee and keep your ground clearance AND fine tune it for your specifici rig/suspension setup. That "KIT" to drop everything is $1400 and some of it says it will only work with lifts up to 4"!
Seems kind of silly to install a nice big (and expensive) lift and then lower every part of it to make it work properly, meanwhile loosing some ground clearance you just paid $$ for!
Am i way off base here? Will be interesting to see other views on this!
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more pics
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Ya I was not sure what I thought the Idea is good ..?
So what does that do exacty, return a lifted 80 to stock driving?
Boston Mangler said:
My thoughts exactly mangler.
well, it's arguable that lowering the back of the front control arms will affect much practical ground clearance, given that the front part of these arms is much lower.
I like the idea that their caster correction will work with 3" per their ad. That would cover Js, whereas Christo's plate apparently are for 4" and up IIUC. OTOH, I was surprised to see the cost of the caster drop bracket. That does seem high on the face of it for the complexity of the part. But if one thinks in term of development effort and likely small number sold, that is more understandable. Kind of a catch 22, though, if they price them high, they won't sell many, so they have to be high to recover costs. And v.v. So a marketing decision I guess. If it had been priced lower, I would have gone for it to avoid messing with either bushings or grind/weld plates. But it's a lot of $$ to avoid the above.
It seems that some serious thinking and good understanding of suspension principles went into this design. Seems like it covers a lot of aspects.
As I mentioned in the earlier thread that was moved (why?) I would have liked to see the caster brackets with more holes to make them "adjustable" for different lift heights...
Again, it's easy to criticize this effort after the fact, but let's be thankful that somebody took the risk to develop and offer more goodies for us.
(Interestingly, it does strike me, though, that this is the perfect forum for somebody with an idea to present it and ask for feedback before the design phase is completed, since there is so much expertise here.)
I like the idea that their caster correction will work with 3" per their ad. That would cover Js, whereas Christo's plate apparently are for 4" and up IIUC. OTOH, I was surprised to see the cost of the caster drop bracket. That does seem high on the face of it for the complexity of the part. But if one thinks in term of development effort and likely small number sold, that is more understandable. Kind of a catch 22, though, if they price them high, they won't sell many, so they have to be high to recover costs. And v.v. So a marketing decision I guess. If it had been priced lower, I would have gone for it to avoid messing with either bushings or grind/weld plates. But it's a lot of $$ to avoid the above.
It seems that some serious thinking and good understanding of suspension principles went into this design. Seems like it covers a lot of aspects.
As I mentioned in the earlier thread that was moved (why?) I would have liked to see the caster brackets with more holes to make them "adjustable" for different lift heights...
Again, it's easy to criticize this effort after the fact, but let's be thankful that somebody took the risk to develop and offer more goodies for us.
(Interestingly, it does strike me, though, that this is the perfect forum for somebody with an idea to present it and ask for feedback before the design phase is completed, since there is so much expertise here.)
Glad to see the kit stirring up so much contreversy! I do appreciate everyones outlook on it, the number one concern for people so far seems to be the ground clearance. We have been testing this kit (mainly with 6 inches of lift) for over a year now. The lost ground clearance doesnt seem to be an issue so far. We look at it is as more protection for other accesories. So far every time we hit an obstacle, the brackets just slide right over.
Just so everyone knows, the kit will work all the way up to 6 inches of lift, greatly improving the handleing of the vehicle. As for the cost, the kit is costing us quite a penny to make, if anyone looks real closely at the quality and design of the brackets, you will know very quickly that you are getting what you paid for. Although a picture is worth a thousand words, seeing them in person is a jaw dropper.
Just so everyone knows, the kit will work all the way up to 6 inches of lift, greatly improving the handleing of the vehicle. As for the cost, the kit is costing us quite a penny to make, if anyone looks real closely at the quality and design of the brackets, you will know very quickly that you are getting what you paid for. Although a picture is worth a thousand words, seeing them in person is a jaw dropper.
Steve, got to give you credit for hangin in there and coming back with a very good sales pitch without stepping on anyone's toes. Great job.
Another thing to think about, suspension geometry will be better. This means not only a better ride on road, but better use of articulation (i.e. no binding or "bad" pinion angle changes) off-road.
You also need to look at where you are loosing ground clearance. If it was in the center of the rig and messing up my breakover angle, I would be upset, but I don't think this will be an issue 95% of the time.
In addition, ground clearance is gained by TIRE not lift. It is still going to be better than stock or (depending on the tire) 2.5" OME.
You also need to look at where you are loosing ground clearance. If it was in the center of the rig and messing up my breakover angle, I would be upset, but I don't think this will be an issue 95% of the time.
In addition, ground clearance is gained by TIRE not lift. It is still going to be better than stock or (depending on the tire) 2.5" OME.
This has been covered already in chat last week. I'm not retyping all that stuff again 
Basically, I like it
Basically, I like it
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Cool I do to, Its nice to more kits for us out thier .. keep up the good work Boys
80 drop brackets
I see there is confusion as to the theory behind the drop brackets.
With a four link you run into certain problems when simply sticking larger springs under the truck to lift it. As you raise the truck the
angle of the links (upper, lower, panhard) all become steeper. The effect of steeper control arms is the trucks tendency to rise and drop under acceleration and deceleration. A steeper panhard angle results in excessive "yaw" . Yaw refers to the reaction the body hes in relation to the axles and wheels during compression and rebound of the suspension. This gives a seat of the pants feeling that you just hit hit an ice patch when you hit a big dip in the road. the front end shifts left
while the rear shifts right. a longer panhard will not correct this. all it will do is relocate the axle back under the truck , right to left ,
making the truck look good standing still.
I see there is confusion as to the theory behind the drop brackets.
With a four link you run into certain problems when simply sticking larger springs under the truck to lift it. As you raise the truck the
angle of the links (upper, lower, panhard) all become steeper. The effect of steeper control arms is the trucks tendency to rise and drop under acceleration and deceleration. A steeper panhard angle results in excessive "yaw" . Yaw refers to the reaction the body hes in relation to the axles and wheels during compression and rebound of the suspension. This gives a seat of the pants feeling that you just hit hit an ice patch when you hit a big dip in the road. the front end shifts left
while the rear shifts right. a longer panhard will not correct this. all it will do is relocate the axle back under the truck , right to left ,
making the truck look good standing still.
80 drop continued
The reaction of a four link to steeper link angles is more apparent as the trail obstacles toughen. When you apply torque to the rear wheels of a four linked vehicle the chassis wants to lift . The steeper the links the greater the tendency to lift and drive the axle right under your truck and take off without you. The flatter the link the more torque gets transmitted to the chassis in a forward direction. As an exagerated example, imagine if some installed the links perpendicular to the frame, pointing straight down. If you stepped on the gas the body would stay put ( if the front wasn't driven) and the rear would run into the front axle.
I realize the drop brackets appear to reduce clearance, however, the
long ramp design i hope will cause the least amount of hangup points.
like the sliders they are strong enough to drag anywhere
The reaction of a four link to steeper link angles is more apparent as the trail obstacles toughen. When you apply torque to the rear wheels of a four linked vehicle the chassis wants to lift . The steeper the links the greater the tendency to lift and drive the axle right under your truck and take off without you. The flatter the link the more torque gets transmitted to the chassis in a forward direction. As an exagerated example, imagine if some installed the links perpendicular to the frame, pointing straight down. If you stepped on the gas the body would stay put ( if the front wasn't driven) and the rear would run into the front axle.
I realize the drop brackets appear to reduce clearance, however, the
long ramp design i hope will cause the least amount of hangup points.
like the sliders they are strong enough to drag anywhere
coming next
longer front radius arms. but they will come with drop brackets.
don't know i anyone noticed , but trying to achieve to much front articulation only tears off the front axle radius mounts. I'll bet a number of you will find the holes already ovaled out
longer front radius arms. but they will come with drop brackets.
don't know i anyone noticed , but trying to achieve to much front articulation only tears off the front axle radius mounts. I'll bet a number of you will find the holes already ovaled out
I'm currently using drop brackets and they do catch on some things off road, however I'm pretty sure they are at least partly responsible for how nicely my rig drives on road even when driven fast. My bushings on the control arms are stock as far as I can see without taking them out, so I'm pretty sure they are helping me maintain a tolerable caster even up to a 4" lift.
The only drawback I can see for the drop brackets is that they are easy to copy once you have the measurements. I like them because they are easy to mount and dismount.
Kalawang
The only drawback I can see for the drop brackets is that they are easy to copy once you have the measurements. I like them because they are easy to mount and dismount.
Kalawang
concretejungle said:
Thank you, I appreciate that.
Steve, have you any experience with airbag suspensions? If I understand, with your 6" kit for instance..you address the geometry with the kit, and clients provide the shocks and coils? Would airbags work well with your kit? Any thoughts in general on this ?
TY
PS: I'm referring to the in-cab adjustable airbag suspension setups.
TY
PS: I'm referring to the in-cab adjustable airbag suspension setups.
T Y L E R said:
Hey TY, check it out, I learned how to post pictures finally. If you have air-bags tall enough, should work just fine.
