ACE and 2"+ Front Springs

**RRT** · 5th November 2020, 07:14 AM

Originally Posted by Slunnie

In terms of maximising droop, spring rates wont really alter this as the shock will top out. As you up the spring rate, its more the uptravel that you will lose when articulating. I don't know what the lengths are on the 3+ Terrafirma shocks, but my assumption is that they have a longer open length and if they're plus 3" then I'm also assuming that they needed longer brake and ABS line and needed the Xmember under the front proshaft spaced down or removed also. A harder spring wont give better traction for offroading, unlike on a race track where this has more to do with body control and weight transfer, offroading the softer springs will maintain more even weight on all of the wheels which will give better traction. The comfort however is largely controlled by the shocks rather than the springs. What you will feel in harshness (or not) has more to do with the bump shock rate. With all of the weight up front you really need to be in the territory of about 220-230lb/in otherwise despite spring scragging they wont maintain ride height and you will lose your lift after a year or so - this is beyond normal spring settling. There are a few spring manufacturers that make progressive rate springs, normally just for the rear though, where the spring at empty ride height will have a lower spring rate and it ramps up as load is added. Not always, but generally you can see a progressive spring by the pitch of the coils getting closer towards the top of the coil.

Suppose where I am coming from is that the 'soft' spring is less of a concern as to body roll etc. with ACE, but certainly the point about the loss of lift over time is a concern. (Somewhere) Reading about lifting a D2 specially with SLS was to ensure the relative height of front against the back was to ensure in road mode the front was higher than the rear. Sure this could be reset by the Nanocom somewhat but for mine should be set by the hardware.

The Xmember lift blocks were cheap enough and not too much hassle to fit if needed and I ordered some 2" plus brake lines, should I also extend the ABS?

**RRT** · 5th November 2020, 07:37 AM

Originally Posted by twr7cx

Just wire up a switch to turn the ACE off.

I run, and recommend the Les Richmond Automotive White Tiger springs, you can exchange them until you have the perfect height - I suggest selecting springs after everything else is done so that you have your intended weight and distribution there to work with.
I also run custom 1" front spring spacers and 2.75" rear spacers to achieve an overall 3" suspension lift. There's a number of other components also altered to suit this setup too though so that it all works properly without issue.

Get rid of and get some decent shock absorbers.

HA HA, the old Terrafirma problem, just read and reread the LRA site and the information is most interesting. Especially re the soft not necessary better in real world. My 'thinking' therefore which was to allow the wheel to fall easily has a detrimental effect when the vehicle is actually in motion, ahhhh the reason to ask the question is vindicated!!!

**twr7cx** · 5th November 2020, 08:18 AM

Originally Posted by Slunnie

Also, only use genuine parts here for strength and durability.

I think the Meyle HD product line is at least equal to the genuine/OEM swaybar/ace link pins, if not even superior.

**twr7cx** · 5th November 2020, 08:24 AM

Originally Posted by RRT

(Somewhere) Reading about lifting a D2 specially with SLS was to ensure the relative height of front against the back was to ensure in road mode the front was higher than the rear. Sure this could be reset by the Nanocom somewhat but for mine should be set by the hardware.

Rear SLS height can be calibrated through a compatible diagnostic device (e.g. Blackbox Nanocom). If you rear Rave it provides the measurement specs to be achieved (there's a discussion thread of mine about it in here) and you can use this to determine what you should get.
For example, I think the ideal bump stop gap may be 61mm, so for a 3" lift this would increase to approximately 136mm, but then if I run 2" longer bump stops it would reduce down to 86mm - so this is what I would then calibrate my SLS gap to be.
As you adjust the SLS heights it may have minor impacts on the front heights too with the weight transfer, but I don't recall it being of much significance.

Originally Posted by RRT

S...and I ordered some 2" plus brake lines, should I also extend the ABS?

Yes.

**Slunnie** · 5th November 2020, 05:58 PM

Originally Posted by twr7cx

I think the Meyle HD product line is at least equal to the genuine/OEM swaybar/ace link pins, if not even superior.

Cool, thats good to know! Where are they bought from because the last time I bought, I think I got the last factory front links.

**d2dave** · 6th November 2020, 01:58 PM

Originally Posted by twr7cx

Just wire up a switch to turn the ACE off.

I run, and recommend the Les Richmond Automotive White Tiger springs, you can exchange them until you have the perfect height - I suggest selecting springs after everything else is done so that you have your intended weight and distribution there to work with.
I also run custom 1" front spring spacers and 2.75" rear spacers to achieve an overall 3" suspension lift. There's a number of other components also altered to suit this setup too though so that it all works properly without issue.

Get rid of and get some decent shock absorbers.

I went to Les Richmond to get my gear as I know Andrew is very Knowledgeable on suspensions.

He asked what I was putting on the front, eg bar and winch etc.

He sold me four extended Bilsteins, two front springs and rear SLS spacers with extensions for the height sensors.

All in all, I could not be happier with the height, ride and cornering.

**onebob** · 6th November 2020, 08:41 PM

Originally Posted by d2dave

I went to Les Richmond to get my gear as I know Andrew is very Knowledgeable on suspensions.

He asked what I was putting on the front, eg bar and winch etc.

He sold me four extended Bilsteins, two front springs and rear SLS spacers with extensions for the height sensors.

All in all, I could not be happier with the height, ride and cornering.

That’s his way, 9 years ago when I went to him, he questioned me all about my anticipated and actual use of the vehicle (back then it was my ‘toy’ not my daily driver) and I offered “what if that I load it up as if I was going away on a long weekend camping trip when I bring it back in for you to do the work?”.... Andrew agreed, saying it would assist greatly in getting the vehicle set up to optimum stance. I was perfect... and still is

Thread: ACE and 2"+ Front Springs

Thread Tools