Nbs Belltech 2508 spindles vs Mcghaughys 17+

rfugio68

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Feb 8, 2012
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Orange County, Ca
After several months of having next to no turning radius, I had enough and decided to try a different drop spindle in an attempt to regain my "u-turn capabilities". Through some extensive research on here and gmfs I came to the conclusion that the mcg 16+ spindles would be the best choice, that is if you clearenced them using a grinder. However I had absolutely no desire to deal with the rivets holding the lower balljoint in place nor did i want to grind some brand new spindles, I just wanted to "bolt on" and forget about them. So after some more research and some help from norcal ss I decided to give the Belltech 2508 spindles a try. Here are some pictures of the mcg 17+ and bell tech 2508 spindles side by side.
12AEF3CD-7823-40A1-982C-2866A3FB8355-807-00000056B6E8858E_zps048586c0.jpg

A4A2DAA8-86E2-4CDE-A734-6336723CA7F0-807-00000056B2D98448_zpse0c5dc55.jpg

and a rough video on turning radius on the mcg 17+
Mcghaughys 17+ turning radius - YouTube
then the belltechs
Belltech 2508 turning radius - YouTube

Overall I did regain some turning radius. Although I can't accurately compare the bell tech radius to stock because I don't quite remember stock, I would say that it is pretty close to if not the same as the stock turning radius. There was no noticeable bump steer with either set of spindles, however you do have to grind the lower bj down more with the bell tech 2508s.
 
glad someone made one of these videos, so there's evidence I can link to for what I've been saying for forever.

here's the difference in the mcg 16" spindle and the Belltech 2508
spindles.jpg
 
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so what is the disadvantage of the belltechs?

they are 1.25" taller than stock spindles. On any static truck lowered 5" or less in the front, there are no disadvantages. When you get lower than that it gets hard to ge tthe truck aligned without maxing out parts of the suspension.

on bagged vehicles with stock control arm mounting points, they create an excessive camber curve.
 
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Ill stick to my unmodded 16+ McG because of the issues when slammed. Dnw spindles that cause problems with 6.5" drop....


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as cheap/frugal/jewish as I am, and as much as I dread cutting shit up on my truck, I had no problem doing my MCG spindle mod. It was WAY easier than people had me believing. All the work took maybe 30 minutes, an hour at most. That's just because me and the other guy doing it are very picky and wanted to get it looking good, and not haggard, even though you can't see it. I cut, notched, grinded, cleaned and sprayed all in that timeframe. That including mocking it up and checking it several times.
 
Fwiw, my 16"+ McG spindles are unmodded and my turning radius is close to stock on my rcsb and no noticeable bumpsteer from the spindles. I'm at 4" up front.
 
the crew cabs lose some though, rcsb is way different. Just so you and others know. Eddie has CC, even the EC has some issues.
 
Oh I know they are different, the reg cabs are obviously going to have a better turning radius than the others. Just putting my .02 out there seeing as Rey is in an rcsb as well.
 
Yep the longer the wheelbase, the worse the turning radius is. When I had the MG 16" spindles on the Chevy I got tired of doing 3 pt u-turns so I just lifted it. :crazy:

You RCSB guys have it lucky.
 
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U might not feel like you lost turning radius but I guarantee you that you did. There's no difference between the trucks and tge spindles with an exception of the lengths. Look at how many rotations you can turn your steering wheel from center point and on a stock truck, bet urs is less.
 
I can't even make U turns on a 4 lane :bishplz:


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Bringing this back from the dead. My 2013 CC turns like dog shit. I have the 17" mcGaughys spindle now. Are people grinding these as well or can I just remove some of the lca contact area?
 
Do not grind on the lca.

This thread is for 1999-2007c trucks. You don't have the option of the mcg 16" spindle.


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