Petrolburner
Explorer
Looks great. My Stage 1 kit showed up yesterday. I might have a chance to start the installation on Sunday.
WeldTec Designs 6" Ford E-Series suspension specs "twin i beam 2 wheel drive"
- Thread starter Weldtec Designs
- Start date
24HOURSOFNEVADA
Expedition Leader
Weldtec nice job on your website. Honestly, from the fonts to the layout, bravo.
REDOVAL
Adventurer
looks great, I'll be waiting in anticipation for the Mojave road report
We took the van out after the thrash session to get the Weldtec Complete Performance Package installed and I am genuinely shocked at how well it performed. We were able to cross the river at the Afton Campground without any problems despite it's almost 3' depth. Moving through Afton Canyon we were able to keep up with my buddies in their long travel Rangers even through the deep sand and rocky areas. I attribute this capability to the Spartan locker I installed in the rear end and the new Mickey Thompson Baja MTZ P3 tires we were testing (aired down to 27psi). Between Afton and Soda Dry Lake, we noticed the transmission temps rising steadily and peaking around the 230º mark. Not too hot, but definitely worth looking into auxiliary cooling capabilities. I believe we can attribute the trans temp to the suspension capabilities since we were not "just making it," we were really getting after it and having a blast. Soda Lake was quite wet, but just barely passable. There was a river running through the middle of it that was quite a test for the van as well and it certainly performed better than the Class 7 Ranger we were with. The tires shed the mud and kept digging like champs. I will have video of this available soon.
This trip didn't allow us to run Mojave road further than Soda, but I will be back out very soon to run it though to Laughlin, hopefully with other vans!
As far as the new rear springs.....they are awesome! I think we only bottomed out The van a few times, but I assure you they can take some serious abuse. The ride quality, at least compared to my stock 02 leafs and stock shocks, is quite comfortable. Speed bumps are suggestions now instead of mandatory slow downs. I tow a light trailer with my van so we didn't need the spring rate to be very high. I would compare it to an F150 rear end feel rather than a one ton 350 jarring experience. The rear Fox shocks that come in the kit feature custom valving by the guys at Agile Offroad and I am thoroughly impressed as well. They ride soft and linear and have a noticeable rebound difference to the stock shocks.
My take-a-ways for this 600 mile trip....
-The Weldtec Designs Complete Performance Package is a must if you like to go fast offoad in a 2wd van
-The shock and spring rate tuning left me and my passengers very comfortable (even in whoops) and we named it the Desert Cadillac
-Front fender trimming towards the door is necessary to get full travel. I will be installing Glassworks Unlimited fiberglass fenders asap.
-If you are as rowdy as I am offroad, get a Weldtec Designs prerunner tube bumper......you will stuff the front stock one very hard. Again, this suspension allows you to go real quick in the rough stuff.
-Driving though 3 feet of water is no problem with this setup in the van....any lower and you will have wet feet.
-The Spartan lunchbox locker worked great and isn't all that noisy. Great if you are on a budget and need real 2wd. Again, thoroughly impressed
-Mickey Thompson Baja MTZ P3 tires are great! At 27psi they were very grippy and offered a smooth ride and excellent mud shedding capabilities. 45psi on the highway feels perfect as well.
-Wheels are wheels, but in this case the Deegan 38 Pro 2 wheels performed great and survived without a scratch. A sliding door extension hinge is necessary to just barely clear a 265/70R17 tire and 17x9 (4.5bs,-12offset) combo.
-The Morimoto XTorch 27" LED lightbar from www.theretrofitsource.com worked flawlessly and allowed us to complete our trip into Primm far after dark.
-My projector retrofit light kit survived without a single failure or blemish. Many people have asked about their durability, now we know for certain.
Scott
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tookstar154
Observer
Awesome update. Sounds like I'm going to have to make a trip down to WeldTec at some point and get a set of rear springs. Have Camburg's Kit in my van. Similar front suspension, but stock leaf's with blocks in the rear. Thanks for all the info.
Petrolburner
Explorer
Great review. I hope I don't end up with buyer's remorse after going with stage one instead of stage two. Can't wait to see it with the fiberglass fenders, I didn't know they were available. Only $400 for the set seems reasonable too. So do the new rear springs feel more plush and progressive compared to stock? Like having a load in the back with stock springs?
jblaze5779
Observer
Just ordered my stage 2 complete kit, the same as Redoval above. Excited to pick it up in a month or so.
REDOVAL
Adventurer
You're gonna dig it man! I pushed it really hard and it responded nicely. Kind of makes me want to know what a coilover/bypass option would feel like as well......maybe next month! Get working on the design Jeremy!
Pertolburner- The rear springs act as if you had 1500# in the cargo area. With the Fox shocks/Agile tune it doesn't feel sloppy or too soft, but very controlled and predictable. The group we went with had very capable (race ready) rigs and they were complaining about being sore after the day was done.....we were fine in the van and were very comfortable. They could pull away from us when the terrain got nasty, but I would expect that from 20k plus in suspension on a lighter truck! I am hoping to get the video from my buddy of us in the fairly big whoops at 45mph, should be awesome!
Scott
Weldtec Designs
Supporting Sponsor
Complete Performance Package
Scott,
Thanks for the great review, I'm glad we could help you make this trip in your van. Looks like it was a blast and 600 miles on and off road testing is always great for us as well. It really is surprising what a 2x van can do with the right suspension under it..... Here is a look at all the parts that are in our new
"Complete Performance Package"
If you guys have any questions please ask on here or via email. jeremy@weldtecdesigns.com
Scott,
Thanks for the great review, I'm glad we could help you make this trip in your van. Looks like it was a blast and 600 miles on and off road testing is always great for us as well. It really is surprising what a 2x van can do with the right suspension under it..... Here is a look at all the parts that are in our new
"Complete Performance Package"
If you guys have any questions please ask on here or via email. jeremy@weldtecdesigns.com
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BajaSportsmobile
Baja Ironman
Weldtec's 2wd kits are proving to be a great solution - we at Agile Off-Road are stoked to be involved.
REDOVAL
Adventurer
Agreed! I have been hounding my buddy to get the video posted so I can see it as well!
Edit-
As promised here is some footage of our trip. Afton Canyon, Soda Dry Lake and Cougar Buttes/Soggy Dry Lake.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwqOqr4cCH4
Scott
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Vannibal Smith
New member
That looked awesome! The Van looks like it's doing great!
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