EB Coils - think I found the unicorn

littleredrangerhood · Sep 25, 2007

After about 8+ months of researching, giving up, and then researching again I think I have found coils that will work for my 88 ext cab ranger. BC Broncos part # 51-17200. Here are the details. They are 6.5" w/ winch lift coils for 66-77 EB. They are 23.5" free length and the owner of the company finally figured out that they are 249 # rating. Only downside is that they are $160 ($195 w/ shipping) a pair.

I know the 249 # is not the 300-320 which is optimal for an normal supercab ranger but I took the bed off my truck and am in the process of moving the rear axle forward by 16" and removing a total of 24" of frame. So, in my head, there isn't much different between my truck and a B2 besides that little extra bit of cab. I know Todd is running XJ coils which are even softer in his B2. Also, this is a trail only rig so streetability isn't important.

I currently have about 4.5" susp lift and a 3" body lift. However, I am going to cut the BL down to about 1/2" (just enough room for my doubler I am putting in). I am hoping these springs will give me anywhere from 6-9" of lift.

Part of me wants to go for it despite the significant financial risk. You know, the whole "no guts, no glory" thing. Anyway, what do you more experienced guys think about the chances of these springs working?

4x4junkie · Sep 26, 2007

I wouldn't run more than 4" of lift on the suspension unless you're prepared to do some pretty major steering fab (and even at that, 6" is about the practical limit). I would keep the bodylift on it. The extra space a body lift gives between the frame & body can come in handy for the t-case doubler, and even for little things like extended shock mounts too. (I have a 2" BL on my BII and I still had to beat up the floor a bit to make room for my doubler. The rear floor on a S/C Ranger doesn't seem like it'd be any better for clearance, but not sure).

249 sounds a little soft, but I think it could work if you get your steering setup correctly (especially with shortening your WB a bit).
That price doesn't seem unreasonable either (the way steel prices have shot up, I'm kindof surprised coil springs aren't normally over $200 now).

I would say give 'em a try and see how it goes. :icon_welder:

CopyKat · Sep 26, 2007

Yes they will give you about 9" of lift. The coils will sit at 19" loaded.

I've done too much calculation work with EB coils. However those springs would work perfect for me. So if they don't work out for you let me know.

BTW I have WH 5.5" EB coils on right now. They work good and flex well but They are too short for my TTB's design

Todd · Sep 26, 2007

Yes the coils im running are stupid soft. I believe softer then Junkie and Will but not sure. Maybe the fact that they are 4.5" coils not 3" has something to do with it.

As for saying only a trail rig, are you talking about mine or yours? Mine is trail only and yes for the way I have it set up I would never want to DD it, it would just suck! Are you planning on making yours a trail only rig? If so then who cares about street ability right.

The Rangers floor has more room compared to that of the BII for the doubler. After making the BTR I put about the same amount of body lift on the Ranger cab as I had on the BII thinking I was going to have to munch the floor a little as I had to on the BII to make the doubler fit. Wasnt the case, had way more room to work with. As it is right now I have a few inches of space between the floor and doubler. Maybe an Ext cab is differant from a standerd cab on this though?

CopyKat · Sep 26, 2007

I'd have no Problems DDing them. Since the Canadain Dollar is so strong now I may just get a set of the coils and get that much closer to my goal.

littleredrangerhood · Sep 26, 2007

To answer some questions:

1. My truck is a trail rig only.
2. I have the superrunner steering system already and was thinking of modding it (extending it downward) like you did Junkie.
3. I already have F250 shock towers and RS5012 shocks up front
4. I have a friend with an Ex w/ a doubler in it and he has NO BL, but he did have to beat the floor a little bit so I think I will be good by going down to a 1/2" BL for that little extra bit of clearance. However, I would wait until after the doubler is installed to determine how much BL I can take out.
5. I am making front and rear square tube steel driveshafts since I am putting the doubler in anyway, so whatever the lift I get from the coils doesn't matter. Ideally I am shooting for 7.5-8". I would move down to the 6" drop bracket holes at that point.
6. If I get too much lift for my liking I can always throw in some EB coil buckets to take some off.

I am shooting for a little less lift than is on my other Ranger (see pic). I bought it for a $1000 off of a guy in my offroad club. I am happy to list the specs on that if anyone is interested.

CopyKat · Sep 26, 2007

My recomendation is to get the EB coil buckets off the bat. 9" lift is WAY too much. More than the Superrunner will accomodate. Modded or Not. I'm at 5.5" lift and that to me is too much, unless it's a mud only truck.

I've got F150 buckets that are 3" taller than the RBV buckets. This puts my coil at a loaded height of 17 and I have a 1" spacer under the coil adapter.

littleredrangerhood · Sep 26, 2007

I think I would try them in the stock buckets before doing the EB buckets. If the stock buckets work then there would be no sense in buying the EB buckets plus just throwing EB buckets on from the get go does me no good since I wouldn't have anything to compare it to.

The reason I want that 7.5" of lift is because I like the amount of wheel-well gap I have now but want to ditch the BL so my fram will be higher off the ground thereby giving me a better approach and departure angle. I COULD cut the bumper I made but I have plans of using that to tie a exo cage into. I would like for the bumper to be right up against the body like the camo ranger shows unlike the black one with the gap.

CopyKat · Sep 26, 2007

Higher than 6" lift on a TTB wheeler is pointless.

Whatever floats your boat. I'm here saying don't do it. Sure others will say the same.

littleredrangerhood · Sep 26, 2007

Right now I have 4.5" susp and 3" BL (6" SJ springs using 4" holes). I want to ditch the BL and make up for it in susp moving to the 6" holes. That would give me 7-7.5" of susp lift as my target. I already have long enough shocks. As long as I modify the the superrunner steering system I have and use square tube steel driveshafts . . . then what is the issue? Is 1-1.5" going to make that huge of a difference in stability? It would be no different than a 8" SJ kit except way more flex.

BTW, I am running home made extended radius arms too (about 12" longer than stock). The fenders are already cut out to the max and I am running 35" SXs.

littleredrangerhood · Sep 26, 2007

Ok, a few things I forgot to mention.

There are different length coils available. The 6.5" w/ winch = 23.5". The 6.5" = 23". The 5.5" w/ winch = 22.5". And so on. They should all be the same coil rating though if I understood the company owner correctly.

BC broncos says on their site that you can put the springs in, see if you like where they are sitting, and then if they are too high or too low then they will work with you to get you the right ones. I would try adjusting it by using the EB coils first since they are cheaper than all the shipping charges but there is a failsafe.

CopyKat · Sep 26, 2007

I still think you should stick with a 5.5" coil. They will sit higher than the 6" SJ coils will.

I've done enough digging around with EB coils, to know what's gonna work with TTB. Your heading the path JohnnyU did. May as well just SAS already, instead of stabbing in the dark. And go full width, cuz your going to be too tall/tippy for any trail riding.

littleredrangerhood · Sep 26, 2007

Well I ordered the 23.5" long springs today. We'll see how much lift they give with the stock buckets but in reality I probably will wind up using the EB buckets. It will be simple enough since I already have them cut up and the F250 shock towers in place.

I am eventually going to SAS the truck with full width 1 ton's, 6" SJ ranger leaf springs front and rear, sitting on 38.5" SXs but I want to wait until I have a garage to do all that in. I am going to move the front axle forward a couple inches and go full hydro at the same time.

However, part of me wants to hang on to the old TTB susp for a while and show all the solid axle guys what a Ford can do with the right springs. The TTB really does get such a bad rep because of the stiff springs available for them right now.

4x4junkie · Sep 26, 2007

Those coils are going to sit WAY lower than 19" on that thing.

Do you know what the frontend (sprung weight) is on it?

Taking a guess that if it's around 2400lbs sprung, those coils are going to sink down to about 16.5" or so on that truck.

(there's another discussion about coils currently taking place here
Maybe some of the figures there might help you out as well.

JohnnyU · Sep 26, 2007

CopyKat said:
You're heading the path JohnnyU did.

I was looking for something that would give me 6" of lift. Initially, I was looking for 7-8" longer than stock so that I could use a different coil bucket. Upon further research, I decided it might be easier to use a shorter coil and use a spacer if I didnt get the 6" out of it.

As of late I couldn't care less about the Ranger. I've had new opportunities surface, as well as different financial ventures. I've also had a general loss of interest in the sport. I may be back in the future, but for now I'll leave you with this bit of advice.

Scrap the idea trying to get the TTB to flex at 6"+ lift height. It's a worthless suspension from the get-go, In my opinion. It's half solid axle, half "IFS". The two styles are designed for entirely different terrain. if you want a "big" lift, you have to make a sacrifice, no flex with the TTB or flexy solid axle.

As I said, my next rig will definitely have a solid front axle. No more turd polishing, or fawking around with something that still has little to no aftermarket support.

Statements in this post are merely my opinions which have been formulated by several year's experience with different vehicle setups. If you don't like what I said, fawk off. :thefinger:

EB Coils - think I found the unicorn

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