Wanted some opinions weighing out the pros and cons of cranking the torsion bars up on an H3T.... Have heard it is bad for joints and whatnot, as well as making it a rougher ride and give your shocks less travel. But i know it SURE does look good! Let me know what you think!

 

I'm kinda torn on this too.. I keep hearing about the ride going south when the bars are cranked so I think I'll be leaving my alone for now..

 

Same here for the time being. SO MANY guys do it and love it, but my cousin owns an off roading company and when I texted him about it he simply replied, "DO NOT TOUCH THEM. We'll talk later." So I am definitely worried about messing with them. Just want to know the good the bad and the ugly before I decide what to do for sure.

 

the manual gives exact dimensions for factory specification adjustment. this is so the truck will handle the way it is designed too.
ANY deviation takes it out of design specs,,into "mod land"

if you read about suspension design it gets very complex. the engineers actually have reasons for what they do!

you can mess with their design and change settings,and pay the price ,,SOMEWHERE!!

any change affect the way the tire contacts the road as the vehicle "jounces"or moves up and down as it travels

probably not a big thing in a slow moving truck used for fun.
these things even get good tire mileage,,when stock,but tire wear is one thing affected.

im lucky,i like the rake look so i dont mess!

i would like to know why the bump stops give no room for travel up??

 

I cranked mine and the look was dramatic however the ride went from great to ok. I rather have ride quality.

 

Wow -- I'm also in the same boat as you all but with as much as this subject has been discussed, I'm wondering why there has not been a real quality answer to the "cranking up the bars" question.

Now I would love to just crank the torsion bars up a couple of inches (cheap and easy way to lift the front end) -- but I want to just end the debate of whether this will affect the ride quality or not.

Here's what I get out of this:

1. Cranking the T-bars does nothing to hurt the ride quality of "this" particular vehicle and there is no difference from paying good money for "Lift kits or Keys" to level the front end. In fact, die hard enthusiasts say the "Keys" just re-index the torsion bars which puts the same additional load on the torsion bars and the ride is the same as cranking the bars without the keys.

2. Use a "Torsion Key kit" because it is better for the overall ride quality and re-indexes the torsion bars to return the "factory" ride quality to your lifted truck.

3. Avoid both # 1 and # 2 and install a $ 1,500 dollar lift kit from a reputable lift company

4. Do nothing -- live with the front end pointing down and enjoy the soft factory ride.

What to do ---- What to do ?

 

I am on my second H3. First was purchased in July of 2005. I cranked the torsion bars a total of 3 turns per each side. There was no difference in the ride quality. Further, it does not place any greater load on the torsion bar itself. It simply rotates the bar, which has two hex shaped ends. The load placed on the bar is the weight of the vehicle...nothing else. Think of it in the same manner of adding a coil spring spacer. The load on the coil spring does not change. However, cranking the t-bars will affect the front suspension geometry. The operating angles of the cv joints on the axle shafts will become greater. Further, the steering geometry will change with a greater angle on the steering link ends attached to the sterring knuckles. This increase for the steering parts will likely NOT affect the wear. However, it will affect the "toe in" of the front wheels. This can be easily corrected with an alignment. My first h3 had 80k miles on it when I traded it in. There were no repairs to any of the front suspension components. My new 2009 has 11k on it with cranked t-bars. No issues what-so-ever.

 

Thanks for all the input, I decided to leave it as is for the time being seeing as how I am going to lift it before too long. I would rather not risk it since I don't really need it and it will probably be lifted by the end of the year.
Speaking of which, any tips on lifts? I love the way a 5 or 6 inch looks with 37's but am very worried about the power loss from the 37's. Any advice?

 

It will entirely depend on your engine. If you have the 5.3...I wouldn't worry about it. The 3.7 could be a different story. These vehicles are not meant for speed.

 

5.3... its the Alpha