Quote:
Originally Posted by PGSigns
The problem with the truck arms is that they only allow the adjustment of the instant center height and not the length. It's just a long ladder bar. They do work but you just have one less tuning option.
Jimmy
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This is an undisputable point. A 4-link can be set to have your ICG at x height but also move it forwards/backwards almost infinitly which comes in to tuning where your antisquat is and how the suspension is taking the load you are throwing at it. There is a clear advantage to a 4-link.
Another advantage if doing a back half is weight reduction, but that can also hurt you. It might skew you weight bias even worse than it is now. Then you might need to store even more energy up front to compansate for it.
Some of the problems you face with a 4-link:
Like PGsigns mentioned, install of one (it doesn't "need" a cage but it sure needs a full rear half adjustment)
You can spend hours and hours trying to get it right. (If you think throwing it in there and it is going to work perfect, you are dead wrong.)
Expensive in contrast to a modified stock trailing arms set up.
Depending on the rod ends you want to run, it will be noisy. (I think they are all clunky, and do you want that in a street driven truck?)
Ride could be less confy
Don't take this as I am trying to talk you out of a 4-link. They are awesome rear suspensions and I might even throw one in my truck someday when I build a full frame for it. (My road race car has a 3-link in it. Basically a 4 link but only one top link on the top of the axle housing). However, for your power level and intensions, I don't think you "need" one to make your truck work, you just need a better understanding of what works and how it works to make your truck work.
An example I will give you, when I first bought my truck, I did a 4/6 drop with CPP spindles and springs. The truck looked awesome but rode like garbage and had ZERO weight xfer. The front spring rate was 650lbs and like 12.75" long. You would hit a bump and really feel it bad, and driving on farm roads was lets just say, not fun. I changed springs to a Moroso 47140 which was 17.75" long but a 240lb rate. I acheived similar ride height (with in .25") and the truck drove like a dream. I could go over bumps and not have a ton of steering issues. The picture in my avtar tells you how they worked, the CPP 650lb springs would never have moved the front suspension like that.