2wd suspension set up

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bones

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ok guys what are your opinions on setting up a 2wd truck for the dragstrip. the truck is an 06 reg cab long bed 2wd dodge.i have considered full back half and going short bed,however after talking with my suspension man he thinks the long bed is better.what do you guys think?any 2wd racers here? run springs or coil overs?...thanks...
 
I think the shorter wheel base will help get more weight transfer to the rear end since i'll bet the stock weight bias is 70% front 30% rear on a single cab longbed.

How quick do you want this 06' to go? I think target ET will determine a lot on the suspension setup. You can run deep into the 11's with stock suspension if you run slicks. If money is not an issue, I think a full four-link setup in the rear is the most tuneable setup. If you go four-link, you should probably look into a lighter weight rear end like a custom Ford 9".
 
i plan to run 9s. dont want to go to a ford 9 inch.i want to keep it streetable and useable if i choose to do so.lol... i realize i may be asking for too much.
 
caltracs, as for a 9" dont be so against them. when my 70 breaks im going 9", more gear options, and easy to swap gears, also the supply of parts.
 
dana 80, coil overs & ladder bars. Chop the frame....its only 2K cheaper than a back half kit.
 
c12h26 said:
why a dana 80
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just a little tougher than a D70....besides it came in my truck from the factory.

Im far from a suspension guru. I've been told by a couple truck racers that when your putting your 2X4 on a weight loss program and you loose to much weight in the rear by swapping in a really light weight ford 9" that its possible to have traction issues with such a light rear end. Im sure a lot of other things will be issues long before that but its just what i've been told.
 
SWB would be better for weight transfer as stated. I just recently swb my single cab dually and removed all but two leafs and installed a set of caltracs.
I talked with a local fabricator today that built a custom 4 link on his dually he builds custom rock crawlers and he said he could build me a 4 link setup with airbags for around $1k I think I am going to pull the trigger on it for now and also I am keeping the dana 80 for the time being but as soon as it breaks I am going with a ford 9". Only problem I am having with the dana 80 is finding a wheel that is 14" wide to mount a mt sportsman sr on for one super single so it looks like I am going to have to pony up some cash for some custom wheels. If I were to go with ford 9" I would already have a set on there way to me but a wheel 8 lug that wide is one in a million.
 
stock frame rails front to back with ladder bars and coil overs. ford 9'' will hold any thing you can throw at it and works great on the street too.
this pics is with 33/16/15 goodyears on 15x15 weld wheels.
 

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CREED1 said:
SWB would be better for weight transfer as stated. I just recently swb my single cab dually and removed all but two leafs and installed a set of caltracs.
I talked with a local fabricator today that built a custom 4 link on his dually he builds custom rock crawlers and he said he could build me a 4 link setup with airbags for around $1k I think I am going to pull the trigger on it for now and also I am keeping the dana 80 for the time being but as soon as it breaks I am going with a ford 9". Only problem I am having with the dana 80 is finding a wheel that is 14" wide to mount a mt sportsman sr on for one super single so it looks like I am going to have to pony up some cash for some custom wheels. If I were to go with ford 9" I would already have a set on there way to me but a wheel 8 lug that wide is one in a million.
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I don't think you will break a dana 80 at the strip. If you manage to break the 80, it's going to cost a lot of money to build a 9" stronger than an 80. The truck needs to lose weight if it breaks an 80, plain and simple. Although I don't think you will get enough traction to break one.
 
The nice thing about a 4 link is you don't need to be so aggressive with your pinion angle to get a good launch. Easier on parts if you street drive it lots. I didn't try to lose to much weight as much as relocate it. Also like stated before you have more wheel options with a 9".
 
Big Blue24 said:
I don't think you will break a dana 80 at the strip. If you manage to break the 80, it's going to cost a lot of money to build a 9" stronger than an 80. The truck needs to lose weight if it breaks an 80, plain and simple. Although I don't think you will get enough traction to break one.
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If I had the money for a ford 9" I would jump on it in a heartbeat just for weight reasons but right now the pocketbook is more suited to keeping the dana 80. I did some research of my own last night and found a 4 link setup that I am going to jump on here in the near future. Its a full 4 link setup with airbags instead of coilovers and also comes with airbags for the front, controller, compressor etc. The kit will be custom made for my swb dually using a 4 link kit for a ram 1500 swb and the airbag attachments for a dana 80. This kit I am going to link is very similar but with different bags etc. Here is a link ;et me know what you guys think. This will more then likely be my project for after the first of the year when the truck is torn down for an auto swap, so for now 2 leafs and caltracs it is.

AirBagIt.com - Air Suspension Kits, Mini-Truck Parts, Sport Compact Parts! Airride, Airsprings, Towing Kits, Lambo Vertical Doors, Airbags.
 
BigDodge said:
stock frame rails front to back with ladder bars and coil overs. ford 9'' will hold any thing you can throw at it and works great on the street too.
this pics is with 33/16/15 goodyears on 15x15 weld wheels.
Click to expand...

what coil overs are you using
 
I run a ladder bar setup on the street on my back-halfed Nova, and so far it has been very streetable. For how fast you want to go I'd say tub it.
 
BigDodge said:
stock frame rails front to back with ladder bars and coil overs. ford 9'' will hold any thing you can throw at it and works great on the street too.
this pics is with 33/16/15 goodyears on 15x15 weld wheels.
Click to expand...

running the same set up on the ramcharger and it works good on the street and im still working out the bugs on the drag strip but i did break a pinion and had to go to pro gears by the time i was done with the 9" the only thing factory is the housing. My tires are 31 / 16.5/15 with stock frame rails too. I went ladder bar because of floor clearance and the ET I plan on running I could do it with them and they are a little less money and easier to set up.
 
Ladder bar and coil overs is a great way to go, they typicaly will fit in a tighter area and still very adjustable. I would tell anyone thats planning to run a 9" behind a cummins to never even give the factory 28 spline gear sets a try, it will cost you more money to do so, thier hard and break way easy and 2 out 4 that I broke it took some something in the tranny with it from all the shock. Also min. of 35 spline axles 40's being even better. Oh and to the OP Id def. plan to do a short bed truck. JMO
Ryan
 
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