Hi, What is the ride height that you have ? Mine is about 7.5 inches from the bottom of the lower frame rail to the floor . It looks low too me ,any thoughts ?

 

It's adjustable so you can make it whatever you desire. That's the beauty of the torsion bar suspension. As I recall, I set mine at about 9-10" but just do whatever floats your boat. But if you change it remember to get a new alignment.

 

yeah the torsion bars are the way to go . mine isn't ready to see the road quite yet but it is getting close . i was interested in finding out where the guys on here had set theirs and how it handles at their setting . at the setting that yours is are you happy ? do you bottom out on curbs , potholes etc ?

 

Got any pics? i haven't been on the street with mine yet.

 

I set my panel up higher than many, about 10 inches from bottom of bumper, but, as mentioned, the beauty is the adjustability....I would guess about 5 inches worth?

Fatman Fabrications also sells lowering spindles, if you want it lower but not bottoming out, which affects everything.

Paul

 

The proper way to adjust ride height is to measure from the rubber bump stop to the lower control arm. 1.5"-2" clearence is correct. Basically the upper control arm should sit close to level from shaft to balljoint. Ride height will depend on how deep you notched the frame. Rich.

 

Got the 2" space between the bump stop and lower control arm. Like the stance and ride, just need to becareful exiting driveways.

 

"Down & Dirty" as they say, I like the attitude of your truck!

 

I have mine about where I want it but I haven't got it aligned yet...

 

Just know that if you relax the t-bar tension, you WILL affect front end ride and handling quality. The front becomes very soft and mushy. Also know that backing off on the left side tension nut effects the right side, and vise-versa. My truck is done via the torsion bars, and I do not like the front handling. I am going to buy some dropped spindles from Fatman and crank the tension back up. My $.02.

 

Dropped spindels are the way to go. They are a little pricey and need more mods then I think they should but you can have it low and still have a fairly good ride. I did add heavy duty shocks also.

Chuck

 

Raerjim is right. We had an indepth thread on ride quality about two years ago concerning the torsion bar adjustments. It seems that many people complain that their volare IFS is too soft. On the other hand, mine feels too hard. (I'm in the minority) My conclusion is that many people adjust the torsion bar way down for the in-the-weeds look. Mine is adjusted way up (about 8 3/4"). It seems that as the angle of the short end on the torsion bar becomes more verticle, the ride stiffens considerably. So it seems to me that the original decision on placing the Volare IFS in the frame high or low dictates the proper stance more than the torsion bar adjustments. The PO of my truck placed the unit high in the frame for a very low final stance. For me me though, I need the higher clearance just to get in the driveway. If you want to try my theory I even have an experiment that resembles the situation I'm talking about:

Take a popsicle stick. Hold one end between you thumb and forefinger. Holding it horizontal, put the other end on the edge of a table. Then apply pressure STRAIGHT down to bend the stick. Note resistance to the bending motion and distance that the stick bends. Now, repeat the procedure except that the popsicle stick should be held at 45* angle. Be sure that you are applying the pressure straight down. You should notice that it is much harder to bend the stick the same distance as in the horizontal position. Jag

 

Got the 2" space between the bump stop and lower control arm. Like the stance and ride, just need to becareful exiting driveways
Ed, what size tire do you have on the front. I think the stance on your truck looks just right. I also cranked my bars up a bit but I lowered the Vol up into the frame all I could. I run 215/70R15 in front and can't fit a soda can under the front bumper. It rides real good, no mushy at all. Sorta like a sport tuned susp feel to it. I suppose a pair of DS's would put this boy in the weeds. Jon

 

As I recall ,fenders added a lot of info to these threads during that time Jag. We don't seem to hear much since his return from the sand box. Have I just missed his posts?

 

Here I am Joe. You are right, I haven't been around near enough for sure.

IMO, the guys that are talking distances measured at the bump stop have it exactly right. Any other ride height measurement really can't be compared to another Effie owner. You can have a difference of as much as an inch simply by how far you sink the Volare K-member into the F100 frame at install.

The stiffer shocks Chuck mentions make a HUGE difference. KYB sells some very reasonably priced performance shocks. Thought I had a new truck the day I installed them.