Aight ... so I leave for iraq next week sometime... and I am wondering if anyone can answer this. When I come back from Iraq i want to bag my xB but I want it to sit on the "frame" or have it sitting like 1/2" away from the side skirts touching... other than my dcsports exhaust hitting the ground, how can i get that damn thing to get down? does it all depend on the type of bags *rear* and strutbag/cylinder *front* you run? or would i have to have something custom done? PLEASE HELP !!!!

 

all depends on the size rim you are using as well the bigger the rim the less drop you will get the smaller you run the closer to the ground you can be

 

also with a truck, you C-notch the frame right above the rear axle, so that the rear axle actually sits level or even slightly above the frame when the bags are deflated. makes layin frame simple in a truck. the xB being the way it is (sorry i thought unibody and indipendant were pretty much the same) makes layin frame a little more difficult, but it can be done.

 

xB doesn't have IRS in the rear.

The car is unibody, so it doesn't technically sit on a frame. But basically if ya running a decent size wheel and tire, thats not too tall, you can lay out pretty hard with a simple air set up.

 

trucks have empty or easily modifiable fender wells and their suspensios are easier to modify...

not to mention as stated above xB's have no frame... the lowest part of the car will be the body kit

 

To lay the kit on the ground with 18's you'll have run shorter shocks in the rear. You'll also have to cut some of the rear door jamb/rear wheel well out to clear the wheels. (The green xb in mini trucking did this.) Also need to reroute the brake lines in the rear, since they will get pinched between the rear trailing arm, and the sub frame. That should have the rear damn close to touching the kit on the ground.

The front is going to be alot easier; you need the front face of the wheels to clear the fenders. High offset wheels(42-45) and negative camber(see cusco camber plates) will do the trick on most 18x7.5 wheels. Then you need to dump the sway bar, or notch the sub frame so that the sway bar can go up further. That should have the front damn near putting the kit on the ground. Only problem I've never taken the time to figure out how to solve is..........

Half shaft and power steering pump belt clearance. If you run airlift struts most likely your half shaft just barely touches the belt. Mine will actually smoke if I leave it running with the front in dumped all the way out. I am sure getting this belt out of the way wouldn't be a major big deal. Since its not a major rub, a under drive pulley may do the trick in moving it up just enough not to rub, but without a sway bar that may not work. You may also be able to have another bracket made to hold the PS pump up another 1/2 or and inch to clear the belt too.

This all assumes that your using airlift front struts and either airlift in the rear or FBI in the rear.

Or you could always buy some little wheels with little tires, and save your self alot of trouble......

 

Some great information there Spider. I have a question for you. It seems like you have looked at the suspension, and all of the components that would conflict with laying an xB out. Do the Airlift struts have enough travel in them to lay the xB all the way down barring any clearance issues?

When I bag the wife's car I am only going to do the standard bolt on fair, save for the custom air tanks we build. If we end up keeping the car after she gets something new, it will probably end up my daily driver. If that is the case, it will end up dropped all the way down. It would be nice if the Airlift Struts would drop all of the way down. If not, I will have to do something a bit more custom. Probably either a set of Airlift's Universal Struts with custom fabricated mounts, or a set of Air Ride Air Struts with custom fabricated mounts.

 

yeah too bad theres the belt rubbing

with trucks they have a actual frame to cut which usually hangs lower than the body of the truck, unless bodydropped with our cars, its a unibody chassis so there really isnt a frame to bodydrop

 

No frame = no body drop is actually a good thing if you are wanting to go low.

I haven't taken a very good look at the xB, but on most unibody cars just laying out is dang near as low as a truck that has been body dropped.

And I have seen those rare instances where people have "body dropped" unibody cars. Essentially they raise the front and rear sub-frames (where applicable) and the floor pan. I would probably never do this on a daily driver, as cutting the body on a unibody plays far more into the structural characteristics of the car than it does in doing a traditional body drop or channeling on a standard "body on frame" vehicle.

 

The airlift struts would get damn close; my front lip is about 1 1/2 to 2 inches max from the ground now, the strut looks like it has about an inch left in it, I am not really sure how flat it will go though. My front sits hard on the sway bar, and has caused little dents in the sub frame. Should be just about right for leaving the plastic about 1/2 inch or so from the ground in the front, if you actually want to drag plastic, you'll most likely have to redo the strut towers, or custom made struts. The back should drag plastic all day long with what I said in the first post, especially if you have front end up when you do it. (You’ll slam the crap out of your exhaust first though, if you have an aftermarket, which will bust up the rear lip).

Only other clearance issue I have is minor, the swing arm touches the exhaust going over it, with short shocks it just barely touches(causes a rattle), but if you cut the wheel wells you'll have to rework it somehow with a BFH.

If the struts don't have enough travel, I don't see why moving the lower strut mounts up an inch would cause problems, it would take some lift out of it, but that’s exactly opposite from what you want to achieve anyway.

 

I am not sure how the mini truckn car dealt with the PS belt. I've never seen it close up, but I belt it was left rubbing. That car never was registered or driven on the street to my knowledge, it was a pure trailer queen. I've seen tons of pics of it and it never ever had a tag on it. Boxzilla may have some idea how they dealt with it, if they did.

 

thanks for the info.... I am still a Noob when it comes to suspension and airride so I think i'll have plenty of time in iraq to figure this out...LOL... I am running 17's now (axis maglite rims damn them not comming in a bigger size) with 35 series tires.. sounds like with that i could probably be damn close... am I mistaken?

 

Are you reffering to the Ptap Scion? The one of the subs fiberglassed on the ceiling

If thats the one it is registered. they drive it to the shows it goes to. We went to pebble pushers with them and it drove the whole way :D

 

http://www.minitruckinweb.com/features/0405mt_xb/

heres the link to the green one i was reffering to.. The air kit on this was is totally custom from and back. they pretty much got rid of and moved anything that was in the way lol

 

my scion isn't anywhere as close to being just as low as my S-10 thats body dropped.

My car



Compared to my S-10



Its still low enuf and i'm not worried about getting it any lower. but I still have to put in my shorter shocks on the box.

 

Thats the one I am talking about, I didn't know they ever drove it. Every pic I've seen of it at shows it never had a tag, that and when it was on ebay it had almost no miles on it. Glad to know they drove it. I know the whole suspension was a one off, but I'd really like to know what thye did with the ps belt. Still a damn nice car, especially when it was built, there was hardly any aftermarket stuff out for them. Its diffently one of my favorites.

 

spider put up some good points. I had airlift and EAI cylinders on my car. The cylinders went lower than Airlift stuff did but eai is now out of business. You can still buy their cylinders from the people who bought them out though...

 

I don't know anything about your question.

But stay safe in Iraq.

 

thanks man! I appreciate it!

 

The PTAP xB also had the strut towers cut and raised to get more drop. I cant find it now, but I have pic of under the hood that shows what they did..