I have a '98 ranger. It leans a pretty good bit in the curves, any suggestions on how to help correct this? I am a volunteer firefighter and it can get a lttle hairy taking some of the curves on the back roads when I am in a hurry.

 

just get a stiffer set of shocks, dont know what kind you should get but like i tell every one with shock questions im a rancho man, so check out the ranchos.

 

Normal shocks don't affect body roll, "stiff" or not. That's just a myth. They are resonant damping devices.

Edelbrock's IAS shocks claim to reduce body roll, but they are the only ones I have heard of that claim to do that, and the reduction in body roll is minimal.

The best way to eliminate body roll is to install front and rear sway bars, or if you already have them, install ones with a higher spring rate (larger diameter).

Hellwig, Addco, Sportech, and Eibach make sway bar kits to fit your Ranger.

 

Actually, it isn't totally a myth - shocks do reduce body roll in some situations, and not in others. The best way I can explain it is to say that good shocks reduce roll when you first make the transition into a corner - because they reduce the speed at which the vehicle starts to lean, which prevents it from overshooting its "target" amount of body lean (the amount it'd lean taking that same corner at a steady speed). This gives cars/trucks with good shocks much better and more predictable real-world handling, and is also why vehicles that are prone to rolling (like the Bronco II) are much less likely do to it if equipped with good shocks.

However, after you are partway through the corner and are cornering at a steady rate, the car will lean the same amount no matter what shocks it's using. So, in a steady turn the truck would measure about the same G-force no matter what shocks it used.

Okay, I still didn't make it all that clear. Another way to put it is that both vehicles will *eventually* lean the same amount in a corner, but the one with good shocks does it a lot more slowly and won't overshoot (lean too far right at first and take too much weight off the inside tires).

Anyway, to address the original question I think going to better shocks - like the Performer IAS, or Ranchos - would make a big difference and make your handling a lot more predictable in emergencies. Also, they would work without compromising your off-road performance like swaybars would - though I don't know if your truck is a 4x4 or not. If your truck is 2wd and/or you don't go off-road, then the swaybar is another good option...though you'd still want to couple it with good shocks. If you want to keep your suspension flex, you could always put disconnects on your swaybar links...though those tend to be fairly loud and annoying, because most of them rattle all the time.

I recently helped someone put Performer IAS shocks on a lifted 4x4 (a little Jeep), and they made a night-and-day difference in handling. But, they aren't cheap - can't remember what he paid exactly, but I remember being surprised by how expensive they were.

LK

 

Ok, I should have qualified that statement about the shocks... I was thinking of body roll in a steady turn. LK's statements are correct. Good explanation, by the way.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 13-Feb-02 AT 11:15 AM (EST)]I agree that shocks aren't the way to go - unless you've got some leaking or cheap ones on there now. If you still have the stock shocks on it then I'd suggest changing them out anyway.

The best mod I can suggest, if you already have a front swaybar, is to use Energy Suspension's polyurethane bushings to replace your stock rubber ones. (of course this means if you don't have a front sway bar then that's what you really need).

I've not had an experience where adding Energy Suspension bushings did not improve the vehicle's handling. The bushings make stock swaybars work the way they were supposed to, any many times there is little reason to look for an aftermarket swaybar after using polyurethane on stock equipment.

First, get under your truck and see what you've got, then call Summit Racing and see what they have for your truck.