h1 suspension mod

[Mark]

Reminds me of the time I invented a pump that moved water uphill using only the water's velocity for power.

Turns out a bunch of monks did it first 600 years ago.

LOL...I remember that

[ronb]

ok. I got the shorter limit straps on the truck this morning and adjusted the clevis mounts until the suspension hung at approx the stock extension setting plus maybe .5" to .75". I originally thought it was set up close to this at the shop (I asked for 1" past stock), but in reality the suspension extended nearly 4 inches PAST the stock setting!! No wonder my poor cv boots couldn't hang on! That's what I get for not checking it out myself.

The bad news -- with the shorter straps I lose about 2" of the 5" I gained down the middle. The good news is I'll save my halfshafts until I can get (find, really) longer boots or at least get the diff centering kit from Travis. I've still gained 3 inches above stock and a smoother ride so I'm pretty happy. Now...if I could just find the phantom leak in the front right bag!

here are some more recent height measurments (+/-.25 inch):

ground to front crossmember:
16.5" stock height with 37 iroks
22" with fully inflated bags
20" with fully inflated bags/shorter straps

ground to rear crossmenber:
18.5" stock height with 37 iroks
22.5" with fully inflated bags
21" with shorter straps

looking forward to more testing on LCC next weekend.

rb

[ronb]

here's an update --
since playing around on a few trails and bashing/bending a shock mount and shredding a limit strap on LCC...all the shock/limit strap mounts and are being re-done by Mike Sabrese and his race shop. The first version was a bit too dainty and needed some serious beefing up. Mike is also adding some bumpstops. I'm hoping I'm able to get down to his shop next weekend to check it out...I'm not sure his racer is there, but he's upgrading the suspensions on Robbie Gordon's Dakar chace hummers. I'll post some pictures when I get the truck back.

hopefully my wandering steering issues have been solved as well.

rb

[PhilD]

What's your under body clearance sitting at right now?

[ronb]

What's your under body clearance sitting at right now?

the last time I measured was just before Last Chance Canyon...the truck was 18.5" front/19.5" rear (ground to the ucp).

here's a shot from LCC, looks like I was most all the way up at this point -- look at the tops of the tires in relation to the front edge of the hood:

DSC_0132.jpg (146.07 KiB) Viewed 1730 times

here's a shot of a high centered h1 with 37" gsa's to give you an idea of the stock suspension droop:

high centered.jpg (19.61 KiB) Viewed 1709 times

here's my truck with the same tires (37" iroks) a few months before the mod sitting about 3.5" lower:

IMG_5041_1.jpg (199.36 KiB) Viewed 1729 times

I think me and the truck will be a bit higher when Mike S is done with it...the truck may be back to it's former 22.5 inches of clearance and I'll be dizzy from the bill for all the fab work!

rb

[PhilD]

[the truck may be back to it's former 22.5 inches of clearance

V. cool

[ronb]

got the truck back today. Still working on a bump stop solution that won't involve massive amounts of cutting/hacking/fabbing. The lower shock mounts were all beefed up and the limit strap attachment points were moved so they didn't share the same bolt as the shocks. The original bolts were all slightly bent when we took them out; and it's no wonder, the fully inflated bags are at 5000 lbs each. Mike also beefed up my milemarker winch bumper to hopefully put an end to my wandering steering issue from LCC.

original skid plate (boo!):

bent shockmnt.jpg (160.88 KiB) Viewed 1670 times

new uber-mount + skid (yeah!):

IMG_6409.jpg (170.24 KiB) Viewed 1672 times

IMG_6402.jpg (140.67 KiB) Viewed 1670 times

[PhilD]

Looks good

[ronb]

thanks Phil...I think now my shocks themselves can be used as recovery points.

Now...if I could just find a dual needle guage over 200psi that's not a pos! As weight shifts and the suspension "articulates" when wheeling, the needles bounce all over the place and gets all out of whack and are about as accurate as me sticking my head out the window and guessing the psi. I can't go digital unless I can get the guage to not update as fast/or often (or I'd never be able to read it while driving).

I'm calling the Air-Rock folks tomarrow to see what they do ( http://www.offroadonly.com/products/sus ... k2-2.shtml ).

rb

[PhilD]

I think now my shocks themselves can be used as recovery points.

You may not want to put that to the test though.

Got to be some way of digitally "averaging" the psi, or just taking a reading when you change it.

[ronb]

you are right, there must be a digital guage/processor that can update every few seconds (or at longer intervals) as opposed to several times a second. I was really against digital, but it might be a space saving and accurate solution if I can get it to do what I need.

I have found some decent 300+ psi analog gauges, but only in the single needle variety and larger than what will fit in the dash. I was trying to stay away from a dash pod, but I may have to go that direction. Could you imagine adding 5 gauges to the cockpit (1 tank, 4 bags)?! Might as well throw in tranny temp, t-case temp, pyro, and boost gauges as well, then it would look like a 747!

maybe I'll go crazy and do this:

Lexar_Dakar_033.jpg (131.11 KiB) Viewed 1640 times

or keep it simple and do this:

dashboard_big.jpg (106.91 KiB) Viewed 1638 times

rb

[PhilD]

Are those space shuttle cockpits?

[ronb]

Are those space shuttle cockpits?

exactly what I was trying to stay away from -- I want to simplify, not get more complex (more to screw up).

[JustinOK]

Ron, wow your new mods look awesome!

The lift is sweet! Those new shocks, insane!

[Seth]

Wow, once again Mike came through with the great looking work on your H1 Very nice stuff you got going on there. Now let's hope that the winch mount mod works perfectly