"Z" the frame or section crossmember
 

I need some opinions and pros and cons on which way to go to get my truck to lay out on 20s. Its already bagged and I have some belltech spindles but havent gotten them on yet. Ive got a pretty good size tire on it now but will probably go smaller before too long. Which method is more costly and complicated? Thanks for any help, I need all of it I can get.

Z'ing the frame is more work than doing the crossmember and taking 1.5" out of the crossmember should allow you to lay on 20's

Also, do you have to replace the control arms?

No you dont, for either way you go

no help

no help??????

I would like to here more feed back on this as well...

No help??? Maybe I don't understand the question

Should I section the crossmember or Z the frame?

The crossmember will should cuase you less grief

As I said before if you Z the frame, there will be more work involved then just doing the crossmember. Are you doing it yourself and how good are you fab skills?

z-ing fram
 

what does one mean by "z-ing the frame" and "sectioning the crossmember"?
thanks,
chris

Z'ing the frame is cutting the frame and moving one of the halfs up anywhere from 1-4" then welding it back together. Sectioning the crossmember is removing a section out of the crossmember to move the whole front suspension up as a whole. If you do a search you will be able to see pics which could help you

Take a look at these pics. It should give you an idea of what the term means. The reason it is called Z'ing the frame is because when its done the frame will have a Z shape due to the cut and raising process...

Sectioning or removing a section from your crossmember actually take a section out of the middle of the crossmember. This raises the crossmember, and at the same time lowers the truck. Here are some pics from Capt. Kaos website. Follow the link for more details- Thanks to Chris for the pics

Z'ing the frame is a piece of cake. Dont be a woman, Z the frame. LOL. J/P

Do both!

Am I gonna have to do both because I heard that you should only do a 1.5" section on the crossmember. Is that gonna make it lay frame on dubs? My fab skills are pretty good, Ive done all of the rest of the work myself and it turned out pretty good considering it was all done in my driveway. Thanks for all the info so far.

well measure the difference of how much the crossmember hangs lower than the frame. From what I remember 1.5" is enough for the frame to be lower.

It's going to depend on what size tire you use, and if you are going to try to get it on the rocker.

I have nunchuck skills :lol: , will that be work.

I "z"ed my frame 3 1/4 ins and it lays flat out on 275/45/r20. I was pretty easy but I have the cab off. The front horns is just like a boby drop.

I just put my new Belltech drop spindles on and the correct plates and cups on the front and its alot lower but the crossmember is still a good 2 inches from the ground. I figured that when I did that it would lay the crossmember on the ground. Its probably just my monster truck tires.

Cut your bag mounts more! If you are using a plate.... ditch it. and cut up and run a smaller cup! that will get your crossmember down unless you are hitting on something else. What size tire you running?

Im not sure what size my tire is exactly, Ill check tonight, they are a little smaller than a stock dodge 20. So dont use upper plates? Ive heard not to use lower plates but I thought you were suppost to use the uppers?