Do 4wd Lowering Kits Exist? I know with enough money you can lower anything but I want to know do lowering kits or guides on lowering a 4wd Pickup exist? I looked around and only see stuff for 2wd. The reason I ask is because I need a car I can drive in the winter and cruise in in the warmer months without the STI price tag. Any help would be appreciated.
Why do you want to lower a 4X4? DROP 2X4 LIFT 4X4 Either way depending on the year of the pickup you could go lower it with the torsion bars as well as switching the rear blocks around. That would lower you a smidge! Unless your looking to build a low ass pickup to perform like the AWD STI like you mentioned??
I'm not expecting STI performance. I just want to be able to drive the car in the winter at stock height and lower it in the summer. Ideally coilovers would work best for me but I haven't seen any offered.
Gotcha! So torsion bars and swap the rear blocks and a set of 16" wheels with low profile tires! Reverse all that for winter!
There are MANY things that would have to be done and obstacles to overcome to get a 4x4 to even stock 2wd hight. This has been talked about on here and on Yotatech in the past and no one ever seems to do it because its just not worth the hassle. Your best bet would be to buy a 2WD to lower for a summer driver and have the 4x4 for a winter driver. Extra points if you get matching trucks so people don't know you have 2.
Would having shorter springs and shocks help in lowering the vehicle or just cause more strain on other suspension parts.
You've piqued my curiosity with this statement and just thinking out loud... First of all, if this is even possible, I am thinking you would have to start with an IFS 4X4. If you change the tires to standard 2X4 sizes (e.g., 205/60-16), that should drop it 2~3 inches. But then you'll have monster gap between tire and fenders. So then you need to install a rear axle flip kit. That will drop it another 2~3 inches and get rid of some of the gap. So now you have to lower the front 6 inches just to match what you've done so far. Most 4X4 front arms appear to be pointing downward so loosening the torsion bars will lower it. But how far can you go? Would re-indexing the torsion bars work? I dunno... OTOH, if it was this easy somebody would have done it by now (I've never seen it) and the one Forum member (forgot his name at the moment) would not have had to go through all the trouble of dropping a 1st gen Four Runner body on a 2X4 frame...
On the rear, doing a spring under conversion will lower it probably a little more then 3''. All said and done, you would be closer to 4'' with new spring pads. This biggest issues you will have to deal with on the front end if you lower it enough to match the 4'' rear drop with the torsions is the CVs will be close to bind. So then you decide to take them out (there goes the 4x4) but, then you need to plug the holes in the hubs so you don't fill them with sand/dirt/water. Then, If you are able to work around that, the lower crossmember will be plowing the road. Last is to align the front end so you dont eat tires off in a few hundred miles from the negative camber. If you some how get all that figured out, you are still only at about stock 2wd body height.
Going spring under will drop the back about 6" since you have to calculate the axle height including perches and the thickness of the spring packs. The front is a big giant cluster fawk of not going to happen if there ever was one. The lower A arms are close to level as are the cv axles at stock ride height. Lowering the front with the welded in crossmembers in place and not to mention the differential that is already crammed up nearly touching the oil pan already is another big fat not going to happen. My suggestion is to learn to drive in the snow like a man should know how to and just run a lowered 2 wheel drive with weight in the back year around.
Huh! In my "mind's eye" I thought the arms and axles were pointing down a few inches. But, thinking about it, you're right. That front differential has to sit somewhere low and the arms aren't going to go much lower. So, yes: LOL
What about swapping in an already low (ride height) front end from another car? Guys here do IRS swaps. What about the old AMC Eagle wagons (I think thats the name). I think they were all wheel drive. It's probably not do-able, but by thinking outside the box, it may be possible. Once its lowered, a hydrolics system or airbags or series of bottle jacks welded to the frame (my red-neck is showing.) could be used as a sort of moveable body lift to jack the truck up to 4x4 ride height and allow larger tires without actually changing the suspension geometry back from the previous lowered height. Extended wires, longer cables for brake, clutch, gas, shifter and swapping out a longer steering shaft would be all thats needed.
Too much work to lift and lower it just for seasonal changes. Just move to Cali where the weather is nice and everything is overpriced
I don't have have any problems driving in the snow. If you don't believe me ask your mother how I kept her warm during the last blizzard.
People that don't have trouble driving in the snow don't need 4 wheel drive in the winter. All I've driven the last 10 winters or so is lowered 2 wheel drive toyota trucks. The closest I've come to wrecking on the snow and ice is due to laughing as I drive by all the idiots in the ditch in 4 wheel drive trucks and all wheel drive cars. Douchebags each and every one of them. They remind me of someone that'd lower a 4 wheel drive.