Looking at doing a coilover swap on my torsion bar ranger 4x4. Heard its not bad. Could i theoretically do it on stock arms? Are they beefy enough? 2.5x8-2.5-10 coilover is preferred, enough to have fun but not go crazy. Not planning on jumping it so would i be good?
Coilover swap?
- Thread starter LoganWC34
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96f-u250
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lol
Famous last words..
I have done this on a Silverado in the past with the stock stamped steel LCA. I did plate and reinforce them in where the shock mounted. I also build UCA to allow for more travel and made shock towers. Workday pretty good for what it was. More of a mid travel. Shouldn't be much different on a ranger. Just remember it isn't a TT lol.
Alr cool, im thinking i may or may not have to reinforce my LCA, ive heard i dont but i might do it just to be safe. Whats a good way to do that? I figured ima order upper control arms and just run a 2.5x10 coilover. Just enough to hsve fun and not hammer whoops like a TT but have fun yk.
ADSRACINGSHOCKS
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it would be a good idea to cycle your suspension to see what actual shock length you will need i highly doubt you will need a 10" travel coil over something closer to 6" is likely to be more appropriate for the suspension travel and packaging that the stock arms will allow.
FENDERFAB
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Agreed.
If your not going with long travel, a 10" coilover is going to be way too tall to fit in there.
Id run a 8" max or a 6" shock.
JACKSONRALLYINC
Well-known member
I have done exactly this, stock arms, good shock. Take it out and learn, see what works and what doesn't. By just adding a proper damper you will see things in a whole new light.
For reference my Sporttrac, I think this was roughly circa 2004 or 2005. FYI this is a 2wd similar to the Edge with torsion bars. 2.5'' King shocks all around, 35'' tires and a boat load of fun.
For reference my Sporttrac, I think this was roughly circa 2004 or 2005. FYI this is a 2wd similar to the Edge with torsion bars. 2.5'' King shocks all around, 35'' tires and a boat load of fun.
preciate all the info, actually was looking at prices and decided to start building my own long travel kit. I finished the mockup and you can checkout pictures and more on my other thread “16 year old ford ranger build”
Installing a good shock will do wonders even with keeping the torsion bar since it's just the spring. You should be able to fit a 2.5 x 8" shock up front with factory arms. You may not cycle the full shock travel but with good valving it'll do wonders on the ride quality. I would hit up @ADSRACINGSHOCKS since they're the experts and could probably ball park you decent valving to start and then help you with re valves in the future based on good video of the truck offroading
Hi-Desert Motorsports
Active member
Youd be surprised how well a properly tuned shock can do on a limited travel truck! Proper weight bias and some strength and I have seen some very mild builds jam through holes that trucks with 50K in them couldn't go through lol. Everything has its limits of course, But in the end being out in the desert logging miles is the goal! The more you can do of that the more you are WINNING IMHO.
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