I just got a call from a guy with a GM V6 on his buggy. He allready has 2" longer arms. Tosion is tightened one notch. Says the front end is a little tight. He can't keep his front end down while climbing. He wanted to buy a set of arms from me but I don't think that would solve his problem.
I told him he needed to get his suspension working. I kow the V6 will climb. ky-bc proved that on New Years Day. I have a pretty good idea of what it takes to make the rear work I told him to look at coilovers or airbags.
My question is about the front end. What can you do on a budget to keep a stock front end from throwing you in the air while climbing? I solved my problem with coilovers but thats not cheap. What if you can't afford to spend a bunch of money. Is there a way to get ground clearance and a working stock front suspension?

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It's amazing what you can accomplish when you don't care who gets the credit.-
Harry S. Truman

throw a toolbox in the front

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2332cc Air Cooled Screaming Meanie. Predator Singleseat.

"Lets go get stupid"

I think it's more of a weight balance thing than a suspension thing. Granted, the suspension has to be correct for it to work WELL.

I aggree with Roy. With the additional weight of the V6 and its trim puts more leverage on the rear of the buggy. Extending the rear arms will help by moving that balance point foward however how much depends on the wheel base. I personally like to see a 60/40 weight distribution or close to that. For hills only a 50/50 may be more in line however that tends to make your front end push more and be nose heavy in the rough stuff. Moving heavy parts from the back to the front would be another option. The Battery and fuel cell are the most logical items to move. Other than that moving seats forward helps alot however then you may be into modifing the frame. Setting the front supension on the soft side with less compression and more rebound will also help. doing the opposite in the rear will help to.

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Water cooled Dry Sumped Subaru Powered Turbo Charged Fuel Injected 2500CC Tank. Oh Rah! He who dies with the most Toys not only wins, He also wears them out!

Also softening the front suspension will help. It may sag a little on trails but once you goose it , It will raise up. This absorbs some of the impact instead of bouncing the front up. Bruce knows a lot about this. And Curts buggy with A-arms and airbags does the trick as well.

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If your clutch ain't slippin,, you probably got it adjusted right!!!!!

Never shift weight to the front end of a hill climbing buggy. The front wheels do not pull. Extend the rear trailing arms. This will automatically add front bias weight and provide smoother, longer travel suspension.(See Curts C/D buggy). If a beam type front suspension is not articulating (too stiff). Simply remove 1 or more leaves. IMHO.

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All that really matters is" How many pounds per horsepower ? "

some of us use a x-stended front arm it helps the front end work.

Strong, Bruce ??? 6 inch wider beam cut and turned to the max...stock arms. Bushings all greased, Front will only move maybe 1/4 like a brick. I would like for the front to be really soft. How many leaves should I remove? Also would you remove from the top, bottom, or both? Thanks

Wild Willie is correct. You should change to 2 inch or 4 inch longer arms first. Before removing leaves.

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All that really matters is" How many pounds per horsepower ? "

Change to longer arms. This will add the leverage to turn the leaves without cutting the beam back apart. Could possibly have a nice long travel front end without having to use expensive, heavy coilover shocks.IHMO.

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All that really matters is" How many pounds per horsepower ? "

Yeah, I say use extended front arms, but the only disadvantage to them is all of that leverage on the spring packs inside of the beam causes them to stretch, or to squat and then you will have to cut and turn your beam again.

-Dakotah

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-Dakotah/koko
keep on keepin' on!!

Use travel stops and limit straps (Not the shocks), to keep from over stressing the leaves as Kyjr stated. Curt is also correct. Do not use heavy duty truck shocks on the front end.

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All that really matters is" How many pounds per horsepower ? "

Bruce did you think the same on the 2 seater. i alway thought higher was better but guess i was wrong. always learning. we'll see how my new one ends up.

[quote='davehix']Bruce did you think the same on the 2 seater. i alway thought higher was better but guess i was wrong. always learning. we'll see how my new one ends up.[/quote]

Dave,

It's not really how high the front end is that matters. It's how soft the front suspension is that's important. (spring rate) It is a compromise sometimes. If you are ONLY into climbing hills you would want the front as soft as you can get it and still hold the buggy up. If you do a mixture of