can you lower a 4x4 ST?

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Patrick Pierobon

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i have a friend of mine that has an 2004 sport trac and it is 4x4. he is thinking of lowering it and is thinking of putting 20in rims on it. i know you can put 20in rims on as mine has them but can you lower a 4x4? i know i sounds dumb but he only drives it in the summer and uses 4x4 only when it snows on the road. that is it. no off roading.



thx in advance.

patrick pierobon

 
Yes. Lowering blocks in the back and TT the front. Just seems a waste of a 4x4 to me though. Here where I grew up, the 4x4's go up and the 2 wheel drives go down.;)
 
Soitanly(Three stooges reference): <a href="http://www.mysporttrac.com/shared/profile.asp?MemberID=1493"target=top>Michelle Widell</a>





 
he only drives it in the summer and uses 4x4 only when it snows on the road
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That's a contradiction; he either drive it year 'round and uses 4x4 only when it snows, or he just drives it in the summer.



My $0.02 is that it is not only dumb, but a total waste. Put the 20" rims on with bigger tires and raise it, don't lower it. I suppose you could lower it, someone here will know how. :D
 
Lowering any vehicle may look cool BUT, the lower your vehicle- the worse it does in a head on crash w/another vehicle. Just a couple of inches can mean the diff between surviving or not.:( If possible, you want your ST to go over the vehicle that strikes you head on. That way you have the best chance of surviving. Of course the height will work against you if youlike cornering your ST"fast and furious" style.:wacko::wacko:
 
*sigh* what a waste

Just seems a waste of a 4x4 to me though

Why???
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How's that? Just because it's a 4x4 doesn't mean it HAS to go off-road or be set up to. Mine's lowered, and I wish it was a 4x4 for snowy conditions.



Patrick, yes it can be lowered. As Spaceman Spiff indicated, Michell Widell did it, and so did Jerry Pollen. Michelle dropped 2 inches, Jerry dropped 3.
 
Lowering any vehicle may look cool BUT, the lower your vehicle- the worse it does in a head on crash w/another vehicle. Just a couple of inches can mean the diff between surviving or not. If possible, you want your ST to go over the vehicle that strikes you head on. That way you have the best chance of surviving. Of course the height will work against you if youlike cornering your ST"fast and furious" style.
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Umm What?!



I'm 3 inches dropped, and I'm still higher than my Ranger, and comparable height to most stock midsize trucks.



And honestly, I'd rather have the better handling capability to try to miss a head-on than height advantage, because it makes it less prone to roll overs, and lets face it, if you're in a head-on collision with something big enough to kill you in a Sport Trac, or comparable sized vehicle, 2 to 3 inches of ride height isn't going to matter.
 
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not sure if couple inches matters in lowering, but wouldnt that hurt the transfercase or the front driveshaft for a 4x4? i dont fully understand the factor of lowering down a 4x4 either, eventhough i did do it in my samurai. but for those who dont know, the lower i go, the more she likes it. those of us not agreeing with lowering a 4x4, is just the redneck in us.
 
It can harm the CV joints if taken down too far, but from previous member's experience, 3" is about the limit you should go and still expect decent CV life. Of course, you'll almost never get 3" of lift or lowering via the torsion bar tension bolts.
 
Larry, I was just wondering why anyone would want to diminish their off road capabilities after they spent extra $$$ on a 4x4. If it was me, I would like to have the option even if I don't use it everyday. I'm not mad at him! a little jealous maybe:D by the way, thats a nice looking truck Patrick.



ED
 
Doesn't lowering a 4x4 just make it like the Syclones and Typhoons GM made back in the 80's (or was it 90's)? It's just too bad that you can't leave the 4wd on all the time.



If you want ridiculous, how about the lowered dually's I've seen around? Now all I need to see is a lowered Peterbilt!
 
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I would think that the CV joint life would be equally affected by either lowering or raising. You would be taking them out of factory specs by going up or down hence why you really can't do more the TT/Shackles for a lift on a 4x4 w/o doing some work on the cv's/shafts. Why exactly does a 4x4 HAVE to be an off-road vehicle? And to add to Larry's comment, I've lowered as well and am still at about stock height.
 
I think a 4x4 lowered is even sweeter than a 2WD lowered... its like having AWD on a car... its very simple to do too btw, cost is about $100 from start to finish, including an alignment.



Go low, or go home ;)



Peace out!
 

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