Originally posted by sweet46:
I know of many first gen Lightnings (F0rds full-size sport truck) that are lowered. Not only do they look better (in my opinion), they are proven to handle better, which lets the driver have more control over the vehicle.
Drew
don't forget about the gen 2 lightnings (my daily driver) that come from the factory with a lowered suspension and much wider tires. handling is greatly improved, and all of the drop spring kits for the front of those trucks have higher springs rates, as opposed to the lower than stock spring rates of the "heated" coils.
cutting a coil spring down actually increases the spring rate, but has to be cut properly to avoid ruining the spring, and even if done right cutting the spring can lead to unprdictable spring rates. lowering the rear suspension, especially a solid axel/leaf spring setup would have only 2 adverse effects that are correctable (or avoidable) first is the driveshaft angle, lowering will alter this, but is easily corrected with shims. second is groung clearance and suspension travel clearance. many that are dropped very low, have to put in a "c-channel" which is a piece of the frame cut out, with a plate welded in to help support the frame in this spot to allow clearance for the axle to have enough upward travel without bottoming out.
the biggest problem i can see with lowering the front of an IFS equipped vehicle is bump-steer. this is when you hit a bump, and it jerks the wheel to one side or another. this gets worse the lower you go. this is caused by the tie rods being at an angle due to lowering the front of the vehicle. this is correctable too, but often requires some fabrication of new/altered rods to level them out.
so i guess to answer your question, as long as all bases are covered with proper spring rates, damping, and clearance issues (don't forget to trim your bumpstops) and the drop is not so dramatic that it severely limits suspension travel, they are safe.
