[MoparDrvn]

Okay Ladies & gents I NEED to lower my truck & I know Hotchicks is the way to go... now having said that if I put a hotchicks kit on my truck... on flat pavement can anyone tell me the clearance on the body? reason I'm asking is I drive over a lot of speed bumps... no getting around them... & I have the Sniper kit which drops clearence... so I need to know if I will be able to get around with both?!?!?!?! ... also do you have to buy the billestein shocks??? How much better are they??? Thanks in advance :biggthump Josh

 

[razman131]

check the Vbgarage on here for pics of my R/T with Hotchkis... you will get about a 1 inch drop in front and 2 in the rear. no probs with bumps...

as for the shocks... Bilstiens are the reccomended ones as are the QA`1s....

you can use any other shock but you wont be gettign the best ride or handleing from the TVS....

 

[suffolk_mopar]

the hotchkis shocks are reccomended. altho i have a buddy that`s actually thinking bout swapping em out cause they ride so harsh.
hotchkis is a badass suspension system. but it tends to be a harsh ride here in va as the roads and interstates are right rough.

 

[DirtyR/T]

Okay Ladies & gents I NEED to lower my truck & I know Hotchicks is the way to go... now having said that if I put a hotchicks kit on my truck... on flat pavement can anyone tell me the clearance on the body? reason I'm asking is I drive over a lot of speed bumps... no getting around them... & I have the Sniper kit which drops clearence... so I need to know if I will be able to get around with both?!?!?!?! ... also do you have to buy the billestein shocks??? How much better are they??? Thanks in advance :biggthump Josh

You shouldn't have any problems with the bumps. You will eventually need new shocks put on. If your tight on cash for the shocks you should be able to ride on the factory ones for about 6 months before they need to be replaced.
Bilstein/Hotchkis shocks are specifically tuned for the Hotchkis kit.

 

[Sharper]

the hotchkis shocks are reccomended. altho i have a buddy that`s actually thinking bout swapping em out cause they ride so harsh.
hotchkis is a badass suspension system. but it tends to be a harsh ride here in va as the roads and interstates are right rough.

I with the am swapping my Bilsteins for the Edelbrock IAS shocks in hope of a smmother ride. For handleing & performance, the complete TVS kit can't be beat, and you should not have any problems with normal speed bumps. But if you are just wanting a lowered look, I am sure there are less expensive ways to do it.

my '98 with the Hotchkis & 275/50/17 Nittos on 17x9.5 Eagle wheels:

 

[SinCity R/T]

Hotchkis does not classify its parts as a "drop kit", it's a "handling package" that happens to drop the vehicle a little bit for better balance. The whole setup with the sway bars and bilstein shocks will make it corner 10x better than stock, you can run with the big boys on the twisties with this suspension. The ride is pretty bumpy, especially when my tonneau and tools are out of the back, but this is normal... Any time you lower a truck (regardless of the kit) you are limiting the space that a shock has available to absorb the bumps, and your ride is going to suffer. Your only alternative to the bumpy ride is to install a c-notch kit or use airbags.

I personally feel the handling improvement seriously outweighs the bumpier ride.

 

[DirtyR/T]

Hey Josh, heres my Hotchkis coils

Black's just not my color so I got my coils powder coated RED :biggthump

 

[suffolk_mopar]

Hey Josh, heres my Hotchkis coils

Black's just not my color so I got my coils powder coated RED :biggthump

good idea. that`ll look good when someones under the truck. other than that it won`t be visible/shouldn`t with the drop. kinda wish i`d painted mine blue.

 

[MoparDrvn]

Hey Josh, heres my Hotchkis coils

Black's just not my color so I got my coils powder coated RED :biggthump

:drool: :drool: :drool: :mullet: :mullet:

Don't get me wrong I do want it for the handeling.... I was just worried about the drop :biggthump

 

[Tweaked]

Does Hotchkis still offer the kit? I emailed them about it about a month ago and they informed me they had stopped due to slacking sales. Where can you still find the suspension kits?

 

[Five9Dak]

They had a problem with their supplier of leaf springs a few months ago. You can still order them through Sam at socaldakota.com The price has increased a lil though.

If it helps, I have 255/50/17 tires and the height from teh ground to the center of the fender flare is 29.5 and 30.5. If you are running 255 55 17 tires, add half and inch, that would be your lowered body height. Now compare either of the numbers to what you have now on your flare, and thats the effective drop. Subtract that from the lowest point on your truck and you will have your TVS ground clearence.