Wheel Base Question

[Bobby Harris]

I was wondering if anyone can tell me the cheapest and most effective way to widen the wheel base on my Sport Trac. As you all know, the Explorer's have a reputation for "rolling" easily. My Sport Trac is great in every way except for not having independant suspension. I hate the fact that it rocks so hard side to side when you hit any holes at an angle. It would cost me way too much to install a whole new independant suspension, so just for safety's sake, (...and to look a bit meaner from the front or back) I would like to widen the wheelbase about two inches per side. I know nothing about axle spacers, and I don't know what my other options would be without putting a lift on it and buying really WIDE rims and tires. Ideally, I would like for my tires to stick out an inch past my wheel well. Can anyone help me out? Thanks!

 

[scott r]

I think you might want to look into suspension upgrades instead of trying to widen the track of the trac.

The EE swaybar supposedly works WONDERS for body roll. If you simply want to lower the center of gravity (which will make the vehicle less likely to tip over), put a lowering kit on it as well.

I think you should talk to Larry Phillips, here on the site. He's got a trac that handles like it's on rails. Many cars would roll easier than his trac. It also looks hella cool.

Widening the wheelbase will get you into more trouble than it's worth...especially when all you really want is a lower center of gravity.

With my unaltered trac, I have taken corners and my G-meter has read nearly up to 0.75 Gs. I'd be willing to bet that Larry's trac will be much closer to 0.9 Gs...which is about what a mustang pulls on the skidpad.

 

[Ben Poche]

the shocks on the trac are bad from the day it was new. i installed rancho RSX'S and that rocking problem went away. with the ee sway bar you will be amazed

 

[Travis Munday]

First, let's get some terms straight. The wheelbase is the measurement from the centerpoint of the front axle to the centerpoint of the rear axle. Track width is the measurement from the ouside of one tire, to the outside of the tire on the opposite side of the vehicle.



baron-

Contrary to popular thought on this site, body roll is created from two things, a high center of gravity and a track width too narrow to contend with the high CG. The BEST way to control body roll is not to stiffen the suspension, it is lowering the center of gravity AND widening the track width. One or the other will help, but both combined will do wonders.



Widening the track width isn't difficult and is more then worth the effort if you're serious about control.



Bobby-

The best way is with new wheels. Getting wheels that are wider and feature a lower offset will make more of the wheel sit outside of the mounting face (where the wheel and brake rotor/drum meet). This will widen the track width and help things a lot. Add the wider rubber needed for wider wheels, and typically the lower sidewall aspect ratio of wider tires, and you'll have a much better handling vehicle.



Lowering the vehicle slightly, even just 1 1/2-2" will help a tremendous amount as well.



Wheel spacers will get the job done, and properly engineered spacers shouldn't cause a whole lot of trouble, however, spacers place a lot more stress on the suspension components which can lead to failures.

 

[scott r]

You should follow my lead and buy a sports car if you want great handling.

 

[Travis Munday]

My truck already handles fairly well for a truck, not my intent, but a pleasant side effect...but if all works out, I'll have a proper sports car (although some wouldn't consider it because it's from Japan, haters) that'll run circles around just about everything. Coil-overs, 10" rear wheels, 8" front wheels, low mass, low CG, and lots of HP.

 

[Andy Szkutak]

SUPRA??????!!!!!!!!!!!!

SKYLINE????????!!!!!!!



HOPE ALL goes well lol i love supras and skylines, i hope to own a supra by age 25!



andy

 

[Ben Poche]

i am looking for a 300ZX TT. the trac is not meant for speed or handling so i will buy something for that

 

[Andy Szkutak]

niceee..basically the same as a supra....prolly just as hard to find...i only know of one nice one here in wny....only seeen 1 supra too, 1 skyline from ontario...all nice cars

 

[Dre L]

skyline for me, I have one on order, and as soon as customs clears it, it should be here for xmas.



Problem is that I spent $123K to have a car made street legal and shipped, just to spend another $20K to make it illegal again. Oh well, it's money well







































Wow, you wouldn't believe the dream I was just having.

 

[Travis Munday]

Nah, not a Skyline, 300ZX, or a Supra. All are quite heavy. It's something else. Although I've considered a Skyline, can't afford the mama-jamma R34 GT-R, but a R33 GT-R, and espically R32 GT-R are quite affordable, but I'm looking at something else. I COULD get a non GT-R R34, but that's like buying a V6 Mustang, just doesn't make any sense.

 

[Tom Schindler]

My brother has a 1999 Explorer. He has it lifted. It handles great.



Replace the front bar with an Addco 1 1/2" front bar and buy an EE rear bar. You will crap your pants going around a corner. It is awesome. Trust me. With his Explorer lifted, it handles WAY better then my Trac ever did.



Maybe in the spring, I will be replacing my front bar with an Addco 1 1/2" bar. At the moment, I am running a 1999 Explorer front bar. It is larger then the Trac's bar is. About 1/8 in larger in diameter. It makes a difference, but nothing compared to the 1 1/2" bar he has.





Tom