Vannin' Home Forums Chevy General Discussion Another dropped spindle question

I was shopping for drop spindles, obviously there are several different brands and as many different prices that cover a wide range. I have read that some seem to widen the front track making tire fitment a hassle. I'm looking for experiences and opinions guys. Thanks

i used bell tech from a truck, it did wien track, but rims got cured that prob.

DJM spindles here. Same story. Slightly wider track and I had tire/fender contact. A little more positive offset in the front wheels will fix it right up.

How much backspacing on the wheels and how wide? I am planning to run 15x8 truck rally wheels. Would I need to cut the centers loose and slide the rims back for more backspacing? I know the tire selection would make a difference too.

I missed checking back here, sorry Bullet. I have 15x7's with 3.5 BS and I have to run a smaller tire (205/70) than I want to. They should be about 4.5 BS for the 7" wide wheels to give good clearence and be able to run a larger tire. That would be about a +25mm offset for a 7" wheel.
The wider the wheel the more positive offset (more backspace) you'll need. For a 2.5" or 3" drop and a tire to fill up the wheel opening you'll have to go more narrow or more backspace. If you drop it with springs only you will have more clearence but for my money the spindles drive better and at interstate speeds it's very steady.

I have 7" rally wheels I can run on the front, I am thinking of cutting the centers loose on a pair of 8's and sliding the rims back to 4" or 4 1/2" backspacing and see if it will clear. I have access to a good brake lathe to get the rims trued back up for welding. I have used springs in the past and haven't had any issues, as long as you can still get a good alignment but I would like to try a set of spindles.

Another item you may run into with dropped spindles is the brake lines hitting the upper ball joint because the caliper mounts higher on the new spindle. Pick up a set of front brake hoses for a C3500 (one ton) and they will clear with a little 'twinking".

The C3500 line is on the left and the 1/2 ton is on the right.

You can see how the C3500 hose will drop the line down.

The angle is a little different but the line can be bent slightly to cure that.


Once mounted the C3500 line will drop under the ball joint and back out of the way.

Or you can have custom stainless steel braided lines made up Nice to know about the modification tho.

CatFish :
For the dropped spindles........... What year C3500 brake line does that go to ?
A Part number perhaps ??? Thanks GRA3