I am officially the new Top-R dealer for the united states..Pretty sweet deal. I'll post more info as I learn the ropes.
Suspension & Lifting
Okay, first post here goes....
I am looking to increase my 2002 Escape's off road performance, so I figured to start with a suspension lift.
However, all I can find is an Old Man Emu 1.75" lift kit, http://www.rocky-road.com/escapesus.html.
Of course, I will also be putting on larger tires, looking at 31s?
Will this make the vehicle at a much higher risk of roll over, or just slightly? I also heard that this is a bad
idea as the Escape has eight CV Joints and it can create alot of issues?
And don't say buy a Wrangler, I already have an Escape and $500 for suspension upgrade isn't bad vs $5,000
for unknown condition and reliability Wrangler.
If it is to much of a head ache I will just go with stock height and forget it!
**I only do moderate trails and light mudding. Nothing crazy like rock crawling!**
I am looking to increase my 2002 Escape's off road performance, so I figured to start with a suspension lift.
However, all I can find is an Old Man Emu 1.75" lift kit, http://www.rocky-road.com/escapesus.html.
Of course, I will also be putting on larger tires, looking at 31s?
Will this make the vehicle at a much higher risk of roll over, or just slightly? I also heard that this is a bad
idea as the Escape has eight CV Joints and it can create alot of issues?
And don't say buy a Wrangler, I already have an Escape and $500 for suspension upgrade isn't bad vs $5,000
for unknown condition and reliability Wrangler.
If it is to much of a head ache I will just go with stock height and forget it!
**I only do moderate trails and light mudding. Nothing crazy like rock crawling!**
21 - 40 of 46 Posts
The quality of the CMS and EMU is great as long as you limit yourself to moderate and mild off-road. Unfortunately the travel in the OE escape is maybe 2" if that. The CMS springs give you 1.25 of lift but leave only 3/4" of travel. So your bottoming out all the time. If you like a stiffer feel you can purchase coil spring stiffners/stabilizers and they work pretty well as long as you tie wire them in, just in case something odd happens and your struts expands farther then it should.
Let me know when things get goin, I would/will do business with you two. Just give me feedback as soon as you get those TOP-R tested.
Thanks for the help guys. It is all starting to be clearer now.
Take care.
Take care.
So ive been reading all this and up until now my plan has been OME springs and not messing with the struts,mainly because my escape is a daily driver that doesnt see dirt too often.I wanted more the looks aspect vs. actual trail preformance,but now i think ive decided to change everything and go with this OME kit
http://www.sierraexpeditions.com/index. ... tail&p=853
its quite a bit more expensive but im hoping this will give me the best all around daily driving quality and best off roadability....what yall think?? And my math isnt that great this is a 1.75 lift kit right??
http://www.sierraexpeditions.com/index. ... tail&p=853
its quite a bit more expensive but im hoping this will give me the best all around daily driving quality and best off roadability....what yall think?? And my math isnt that great this is a 1.75 lift kit right??
Thats a 1.18 inch spring lift :thumb:
3001SKAPE said:So ive been reading all this and up until now my plan has been OME springs and not messing with the struts,mainly because my escape is a daily driver that doesnt see dirt too often.I wanted more the looks aspect vs. actual trail preformance,but now i think ive decided to change everything and go with this OME kit
http://www.sierraexpeditions.com/index. ... tail&p=853
its quite a bit more expensive but im hoping this will give me the best all around daily driving quality and best off roadability....what yall think?? And my math isnt that great this is a 1.75 lift kit right??
3001SCAPE, the OME rig from sierra expeditions is the complete set needed.
I had the exact same set up in mine for two years, bought at a local representative here, and I was very satisfied.You will notice a true firmness in steering without sacrificing anything in comfort.
I had the exact same set up in mine for two years, bought at a local representative here, and I was very satisfied.You will notice a true firmness in steering without sacrificing anything in comfort.
Just to understand this completely, any of the spring kits that are under 2" will work with stock shocks and struts, correct? But the OME kit listed here will provide a quality shock and strut of stock size that is better suited for mild to medium off road use? Or are the shock and struts longer to compensate for the stiffer/extended springs?SUVord said:......, the OME rig from sierra expeditions is the complete set needed...
Thanks for your patience guys.
These struts and shocks may look stock in size but are very different in their travel, their compression speed and their response.Plus, they match the corresponding springs perfectly.
They are a complete set-up without cutting corners.
They are a complete set-up without cutting corners.
I was at the dealer today getting some service done and went back with them to have a look at the underside of the Escape so that I can figure things out a little better - that is what you get for being a visual learner. Looking at the struts on the front, to me it appears that the limiting factor is the bracket that the spring sits on more so then the amount of lift that any spring will give you. As it is, unless I get an offset rim to allow the tire to clear that ledge, the most I can go is one inch, maybe just a hair over. So I am starting to think that really all the springs will do is lift the body up the said amount to give it the appearance of being higher. Am I correct in this assumption?
Also, with that OME kit, does the spring ledge on the shock sit higher to fit a larger tire?
Again, thanks for your patience and helping me learn about my daily driver that is starting to become my bush buggy.
Also, with that OME kit, does the spring ledge on the shock sit higher to fit a larger tire?
Again, thanks for your patience and helping me learn about my daily driver that is starting to become my bush buggy.
Your correct on the limiting factor, a spring itself can only expand that shock as much as the strut will let it. When the vehicle is down on the ground the front end weight takes away from the full expansion of the strut/spring. By adding a bigger spring you can eliminate that with the strut being fully expanded. YOU ARE CORRECT that it gives your MORE OF an apperance of a lift than actual suspension lift that would give you positive and negative expansion of the shock.
bchunter said:Looking at the struts on the front, to me it appears that the limiting factor is the bracket that the spring sits on more so then the amount of lift that any spring will give you. So I am starting to think that really all the springs will do is lift the body up the said amount to give it the appearance of being higher. Am I correct in this assumption?
1/Any change of springs on cars like the Escape do not just change the body height but the vehicle height as an entity.Thus the difference in ground clearance.
2/The mounting brackets of the struts or the shocks are not a indicating factor.They are just mounting points.
3/The main factor are the intestines of the strut and the shock which you do not see and regardless of the mounting points, their characteristics may differ dramatically.
4/I can roll a weekend edition newspaper with 100 pages to the same diameter with a Tuesday's edition paper.If hit with the weekend edition you will feel the hit while Tuesdays edition will be barely felt.
2/The mounting brackets of the struts or the shocks are not a indicating factor.They are just mounting points.
3/The main factor are the intestines of the strut and the shock which you do not see and regardless of the mounting points, their characteristics may differ dramatically.
4/I can roll a weekend edition newspaper with 100 pages to the same diameter with a Tuesday's edition paper.If hit with the weekend edition you will feel the hit while Tuesdays edition will be barely felt.
Sounds as if you speak from experience, should I find myself in your vicinity I'll avoid weekends. :bang: :bust:SUVord said:4/I can roll a weekend edition newspaper with 100 pages to the same diameter with a Tuesday's edition paper.If hit with the weekend edition you will feel the hit while Tuesdays edition will be barely felt.
On a more serious note, thanks to all for posting this information, I'm soaking it in as well, since my Escape's suspension is going to need some TLC this year I believe. I'm debating leaving it OEM or upgrading.
This is where I am as well. I seem to be at junction of three options - 1) leave it all stock and just get a slightly larger tire with a wider profile, 2) go with option 1 and some springs only to level out the Escape to make it look taller, and 3) go with option 1 and do it right with the proper spring, strut, shock combo.Airmapper said:I'm debating leaving it OEM or upgrading.
From my experience, when I cut a corner I seem to always go back and take it properly, usually costing me more $$ in the process.
Again, thanks for all the help through advise gained by your experiences.
I just finished a two day run at the slab. One day alone and today with about 30 guys with a mix of jeeps, Toys, explorers broncos and one escape :yes: . The only guys that were doing the hill climbs and the crawling were the guys that have spent a ton of money on gearing and suspensions. Out of approx 30 people probably 10 had the extreme rigs. I was able again to keep up with all the rigs and got lots of jaw drops and looks when I pulled up in the escape. I have to admit, I tried two hill climbs, and I really don't like them but my spotter wanted to go so what the hell. I just said we will try but not burn the tranny out, but only made it to the middle of each hill. One of the them I hit soft sand and just spun out and the other I made it to the vert but the "E" just doesn't have the proper gearing. I did learn that even with the ABS disconnected the 2008 still kicks into 4WD. I have a few pics of the trails we took but my camera died. I have two sweet picks of the crawling.
The Top-R struts in my book are excellent and are probably the next best thing to $1,400 coil-overs. I like them better then the EMU and better them my old RS 5K. I like the RS 9000 better then both. The Top-R is stiff on the dirt and smooth on the pavement. We only aired down to about 20PSI and that was fine, it ended up being a lot dryer then expected. I did rip one portion of my skid off, but that was my fault, not paying attention to the spotter. I hit about a 24" rut with my passenger side front and, I thought, :censor: there goes the suspension. After rocking and tapping the brake to slide over to the port side a little I got out and once passed the rut, I took a look and just found the skid missing one bolt and bent. The suspension held up very well. the rear suspension actually was making some loud thumps but I can't figure out what it is unless I need to make a bumpstop again. I figured they would never bottom out but I'm hoping that's all it is. It drove 4 hours home just fine. OH, I made my own path while people were watching the crawling, not recommended unless you don't care about your paint job. I actually don't so, I'm okay with it. :tease: I'll post the few pics I have later, now I'm going to rest my back...Another thing the plastic on the rear passenger side bounced loose and went shooting into the front driverside. Very weird that that happened. All in all the "E" gets a big thumbs up for staying together. this was the roughest trip I've been on and I figured a good place to test the Top-R Struts, I have proudly placed the GIZ 4X4 sticker on the window next to the Rancho and Secret Weapons!!
The Top-R struts in my book are excellent and are probably the next best thing to $1,400 coil-overs. I like them better then the EMU and better them my old RS 5K. I like the RS 9000 better then both. The Top-R is stiff on the dirt and smooth on the pavement. We only aired down to about 20PSI and that was fine, it ended up being a lot dryer then expected. I did rip one portion of my skid off, but that was my fault, not paying attention to the spotter. I hit about a 24" rut with my passenger side front and, I thought, :censor: there goes the suspension. After rocking and tapping the brake to slide over to the port side a little I got out and once passed the rut, I took a look and just found the skid missing one bolt and bent. The suspension held up very well. the rear suspension actually was making some loud thumps but I can't figure out what it is unless I need to make a bumpstop again. I figured they would never bottom out but I'm hoping that's all it is. It drove 4 hours home just fine. OH, I made my own path while people were watching the crawling, not recommended unless you don't care about your paint job. I actually don't so, I'm okay with it. :tease: I'll post the few pics I have later, now I'm going to rest my back...Another thing the plastic on the rear passenger side bounced loose and went shooting into the front driverside. Very weird that that happened. All in all the "E" gets a big thumbs up for staying together. this was the roughest trip I've been on and I figured a good place to test the Top-R Struts, I have proudly placed the GIZ 4X4 sticker on the window next to the Rancho and Secret Weapons!!
Awesome, glad to hear it went well. Can't wait for pics. :thumb:
21 - 40 of 46 Posts
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