Here’s another relatively commonly asked question. Enjoy.
Why doesn’t my leveling kit strut spacer measure the same as the advertised lift height? Another variation to theme is why is my 2″ strut spacer only 1-1/8″ tall?
This may be obvious to some, but others who are not as familiar with the geometry of an IFS suspension system may ask their selves these questions once they open their brand new leveling kit. On the other hand, maybe you will read on because you are looking for a good way of explaining your new purchase to your significant other in an attempt for forgiveness. I don’t care, in either case read on.
It’s really quite simple once you look at a simplified line drawing of how the suspension assembly works:
The strut mounts towards the center of the lower A-arm. The tire is mounted to the knuckle assembly mounted at the end of the A-arms via the ball joints. Simply put, the difference in the mounting positions on the A-arm of the knuckle vs. the strut is the reason for the difference in ride height change vs. spacer height necessary when designing a basic leveling kit on an IFS system. The farther out (towards the tire) on the arm, the strut is mounted, the taller the spacer needs to be. Any questions?
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PRESS RELEASE #22
Fits: 2001-2009 2500HD 4WD & 2001-2009 3500 4WD
Price: $99.95
Coldwater, MI—February 24, 2010—Give your Chevy or GM a much needed facelift with a torsion key leveling kit available now from Zone Offroad Products. Zone Offroad torsion keys are made in the USA and UNLIKE MANY IMPORT KEYS ON THE MARKET are 100% resonant frequency tested to ensure a solid casting. A solid casting means you can put your mind at ease that Zone keys won’t fail over the lifetime of your vehicle. Once tested the keys are CNC machined to achieve a consistent 2” of lift with the adjustment bolts in the factory position.
These keys give you the ability to clear up to 33” tires and more adjustment for a plow or added weight. Shock relocation brackets or longer shocks are recommended and also available through Zone Offroad. Zone torsion keys are engineered and manufactured in the USA and sold at competitive prices. Go to zoneoffroad.com to order or for information on a more comprehensive list of leveling kits available.
Chevy 2" Torsion Keys
Zone Offroad Chevrolet/GMC PR, Chevy Chevy, torsion keys
Pitman arm for Zone 4” Suspension System
A frequent question I receive about this suspension system is if a pitman arm is necessary. The simple answer is no, if it needed it, we would include it, but here’s a shot at the explanation why.
A major part of the steering geometry is the working relationship between the track bar and the drag link. Through suspension travel these both travel in an arc based on their fixed pivot locations. The length of these components, as well as the installed angles will determine the radius of the arc and what portion of the arc they move through.
In a perfect world, we would make these components travel in the exact same angle and radius relationship. Due to clearance problems and really the design of the steering system, these are not perfect from the factory. When lifting these vehicles, it is best to try to keep the moving relationship between them as close as possible.
We list in our instructions to drill a new hole in the factory axle mount to re-center the axle by mounting the track bar to the new hole. This will get it close. If you want it perfectly centered, we offer the adjustable track bar upgrade and you can re-use the factory hole.
Since our lift does not relocate the track bar vertically in any manner, there is no reason to include a pitman arm with our suspension system. If we did so, the angle of the drag link would be reduced and now be more mismatched to the angle of the track bar. As the axle is travels in an arc controlled by the track bar, the steering will be pushed or pulled to match the travel of the axle. This is what most commonly people refer to as bump steer.
Please feel free to post your comments or further questions on this blog.
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A few frequently asked questions I get about Zone JK lifts go something like this: Do I need the cam locks with a 3” JK lift? Why doesn’t your 4” system have new control arms? I’ve heard alignment cams are not very good for offroading, why?
All of these questions are related to the effects lifting your JK has on the alignment and how our engineers account for it with our suspension lifts. What am I talking about here? Keep reading.
First off, one of the answers is we do recommend our cam locks to regain caster on our 3” lift. The alignment specification that is adjusted with our cam locks is the caster angle. The caster angle is determined by the angle made if a line was drawn through the upper and lower ball joint in relationship to vertical as viewed from the side. Here’s a diagram that should help.
When a JK is lifted, the geometry of the stock control arms inherently reduces the caster angle. This can affect handling and tire wear depending on how significant the change. The geometry of the JK suspension is an improvement over the TJ and can handle more lift with minimal change to the caster. 3″ of lift approaches the limit where it becomes time to consider adding something to compensate for caster loss. Having said that, we do have numerous customers daily driving our 3″ lifts without the addition of these cam locks. You may notice, some other companies we are competing with don’t include them, so we offer them as an option. The Zone 4” system includes the cam locks necessary to regain most of the caster lost from 4” of lift, hence why control arms are not necessary at this level on your JK.
Finally, to address the final question - what about cam bolts? Chances are you won’t have to search long to find people complaining about JK cam bolts slipping when they went wheeling and hence threw off their alignment. The contact surface on a typical cam bolt is small because it is round for more infinite adjustment. So what is different about our cam locks? Our cam locks are square, with much greater contact surface that cannot slip. They are also made to fit more tightly between the stops on the control arm mount. Granted, you do compromise some adjustability with only 3 positions, but most guys will turn a cam bolt all the way back to minimize the chance of slippage and maximize the caster gain. Here is a picture of the difference so you can see for yourself.
If this sparks any questions, feel free to comment and start some further discussion here.
Dave FAQ, Jeep, Suspension JK alignment, JK alignment cams
Now through the end of February, buy any set of 4 Dick Cepek or Mickey Thompson tires or wheels from our website and get them shipped for a flat rate of $19.95. Yes, this even includes the 54″ claws we have in stock when shipped freight to a business! We have a large inventory and ship same day. Check our website for live availability and pricing!
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