Factory Lift Questions

Driven5

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U-bolts, blocks, and shackles? That's all leaf spring stuff. The DeDion tube has a welded bracket that bolts to the rear of the trailing arm (which holds the coil spring) in front of the axle and to the bottom of the shock behind the axle.

slate_7642-jpg.jpg


It will certainly be interesting to see how and where they're doing the lift/drop though. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense that they're using spacers for the lift, and planning something else (more labor and/or parts intensive) for the drop. The lift solution was set very early on, and is obviously very quick/easy to change, but they still seem to be figuring out the drop. I doubt they're putting 1.5" spacers on every Slate and bumping them up to 3.5" for the 2" lift.

Conventional drop solutions all are an even bigger compromise in one way or another. Some less conventional thoughts I've had include Koni style circlip grooves on the strut bodyfor the spring perch, and perhaps different 'hub carriers' (part that bolts to the end of the DeDion tube) that move the wheel position relative to the DeDion tube.
 
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Dorbiman

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U-bolts, blocks, and shackles? That's all leaf spring stuff. The DeDion tube has a welded bracket that bolts to the rear of the trailing arm (which holds the coil spring) in front of the axle and to the bottom of the shock behind the axle.

slate_7642-jpg.jpg


It will certainly be interesting to see how and where they're doing the lift/drop though. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense that they're using spacers for the lift, and planning something else (more labor and/or parts intensive) for the drop. The lift solution was set very early on, and is obviously very quick/easy to change, but they still seem to be figuring out the drop. I doubt they're putting 1.5" spacers on every Slate and bumping them up to 3.5" for the 2" lift.

Conventional drop solutions all are an even bigger compromise in one way or another. Some less conventional thoughts I've had include Koni style circlip grooves on the strut bodyfor the spring perch, and perhaps different 'hub carriers' (part that bolts to the end of the DeDion tube) that move the wheel position relative to the DeDion tube.
I know, my point is that I doubt they will be doing suspension overhauls for the lift or drop kits. My Z71 Silverado has 2” factory spacers, whereas the 2WD version doesn’t have the spacers at all. I imagine Slate has designed their suspension to easily accommodate the kits without hours of work in a shop
 

AZFox

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For the front, at least, replacement coilover spacers that are smaller (shorter) and bigger (taller) than stock spacers wold get the job done.

Spacers can be inexpensive. I bought some for $41.46 in 2020.

Shock_Spacers_Ebay.png
 

Garbone

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Carolina squat option?
 

Trace26

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DIY Spring Replaement...
What could go wrong?!
¯⁠\⁠_⁠ʘ⁠‿⁠ʘ⁠_⁠/⁠¯
Oh rear springs are really easy, just a jack. The front strut could be more dangerous, but I've done several (lowering and lift). It's a pretty normal DIY repair.
 

Ewwgas

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My guess is that they will have different springs. Although some people will not want to deal with a spring swap, I just think thats what they will do.
 

AZFox

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What we're calling "drop spindles" (re-located hubs) changes ride height and leaves the suspension with it's same range of movement.

Example:
If you start with 3" of downward travel and lift 2" with a spring, now you have only 1".

Compare that to a 2" lift by relocating the hub so available downward travel at stays 3".

The engineering team has an opportunity to make sure different ride heights work properly. That overcomes some drawbacks that aftermarket height-changing spindles have because those are an afterthought, not something designed-in.

Conclusion: I would expect relocatable hubs to be a superior alternative compared to spring-swapping.

Not predicting here, just commenting...
 
 
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