Stock 620 handling -v- what is possible?

[Cardinal Grammeter]

I've never driven my 620.

 

However looking at the track and ride height, I'm guessing handling is not going to be good for the stock suspension.

 

This is bad because I have been wanted an S10 Xtreme for years.

 

I really love to tear up the windy country roads with sports cars and am wondering if I could be happy with the 620?

 

So just how bad will the stock handling be?

 

And what is possible?

____________________

 

When people talk about lowering, its always about looks.

 

I could care less about looks - its all about lateral G's.  However, must have suspension travel and no bottoming out nonsense.

[Guest Rick-rat]

Anything is possible if you got enough money,IRS, coilovers, swaybars, etc.

 

Or go buy a Miata

[ggzilla]

It'll never ride like an Xtreme.

[dr.feltersnatch]

Its all relative. Will it corner like a sports car? No its a truck. Will you have fun with it blasting the canyons? I know I sure do!

[datzenmike]

A car will be more fun, there I said it.

 

But you have only the truck, so in truck terms it can be lowered to lower the center of gravity which will remove some of that 'tippy' feeling on hard corners. Added rear and increased front sway bars will also improve corner handling but beware. Everything affects everything else and an added rear bar will add understeer so more front bar will be needed to compensate for this. Added leaves to the rear spring will also reduce roll and suspension travel on dips and tight corners... last thing you want is to bottom a lowered vehicle.

 

As for IRS, it can add toe in and out during braking and acceleration and camber is ever changing. It's a lot of work and by the time you stiffen the springs and shocks to limit the 'limitations' you may as well have a solid axle. Trucks are heavier to the front and moving the battery to the rear and setting it low on the frame will help. Any weight you can remove helps... like that big back bumper.

[Dolomite]

As a former Chevrolet sales rep, I can tell you the extreme is a complete joke. All it consists of is lower suspension, rims, and a gay body kit and badging. They don't handle well, and are unfit for canyon carving. It should be easy to make a 620 handle way better. The extreme was all hat and no cattle, we made fun of people for buying them. You can build a better s10 easily, and more cost effective. Granted, a 620 needs an engine swap to be anywhere near as quick. On the other hand, a 620 is immensely cooler.

[datzenmike]

 Granted, a 620 needs an engine swap to be anywhere near as quick. On the other hand, a 620 is immensely cooler looking.

[Cardinal Grammeter]

No doubt the 620 is way cooler.  Just the DATSUN on the tailgate is enough (!)

 

I had a 1970 C10 w/coil springs and it leaned and wallowed on windy country roads.  It sucked.

 

Then I got a 1969 C20 CST 396 w/AC Longhorn with HD leaf suspension and WOW, did that truck handle - seemed like no body lean at all.  It was fun to drive.  (Of course these trucks were built low to the ground so there was no hint of "tippiness."  Obviously not a Z51 Corvette, but definitely fun.

 

My biggest question is just how "bad" is a stock 620?  It has a pretty narrow track and sits pretty high which makes me fear it is more like a Jeep. 

 

Another interesting observation was my 72 510.  Glued to the road but basically dragged its rocker panels around turns.  While body lean was bad, it was fun to drive.  The BMW 2002 of which I had 2 and also a 1600 had much better lean management.  These cars were very awesome and fun to drive.

 

As far as the 620 goes, could lower the front torsion bars and find low profile tires for it.  Of course 14x5 rims are pretty lame.  There are probably better (and cheap) wheels to substitute.

 

Of course the one nice thing about the kingpins is that you can slam it and the suspension geometry remains intact - the ball joint suspension would have camber issues.

 

So maybe adjust the torsion bars and blocks for the rear - pretty simple stuff.  And that lowers the CG relative to the Roll Axis so it will reduce lean.

 

I know a kid that had an Xtreme and dropped it a whole bunch more.  He loved it and wishes he still had it.  Not so long ago one could only dream of drop spindles but now for the S10 they are crazy cheap - Rangers are 2-3x the cost unfortunately. 

[kelowg]

mines lowered with lite weight rims and leaf spring clamps to stop axle wrap. handles pretty good. keeps up with the 510's, at times  510s have hard time keeping up with me. most important is better brakes and poly bushings thru out suspension parts

[banzai510(hainz)]

Get a different truck.

 

Its a 521/620.

I will never drive my 521 like my 510. Just unsafe in my opionion unless you want to add another totaled Datsun to the pile . As it will happen.

 

What you expect from a torsion bar front straight axle rear set up?

[]2eDeYe]

http://community.ratsun.net/topic/3521-my-yello620/?hl=yello

 

Read up. :)

[Cardinal Grammeter]

There was a local spring shop (Kellner Spring) that would completely reheat treat leaf springs for a proper rearch.

 

Of course they are gone (their shop was like an Ole Smithy's and another outfit Point Spring which used to be in Pittsburgh is now local.  All they do is cold arch them which is a joke.

 

So my grand plans of lowering the back will not be from rearching.

 

Oh well...

[ggzilla]

Cold press is used on hundreds of thousands of big rigs. It is no joke. Some say heat re-setting is no good, but they are wrong too.