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4" Lift Springs... Alcan, National, anyone else?

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Philly87

1/2 ton status
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So I've decided to lower my K5 back down to a 4 inch lift on 33's and take my running gear and put into a beater K5.

I wan't it to have the best ride quality possible for a lifted leaf sprung truck.

Who's springs do you all recommend? Alcan? National?

I only have experience with Rancho and Superlift springs.

Thanks in advance.
 
off the shelf bds has been long said nice ride.

tuff country super close almost tie but less money than bds .

I have 3" tuff country hd front in my k30 plow truck and it rides real nice .

these guys seem to have best prices on tuff country leafs . http://www.sdtrucksprings.com/
 
Call ORD, tell them your goals and they will design the springs. Alcan will build them, but the ORD designs are a little better than calling Alcan direct. Best ride quality possible for a lifted leaf sprung truck is exactly what they do. Don't forget to get some decent shocks (which excludes everything from lift kit manufacturers). It's best if you can weigh the truck front and rear.
 
Thanks for the info guys. I plan on putting Bilstein shocks on it with the new leaves. It will see trail use but I'll save the rough stuff for the one ton rig.
 
Glad to see you back on board Phil
I looked for you at the Chicago NHRA race
Carry on!
 
I have a full set of 4 alcans on my truck. $1100 for the set. They sell them for a set price, in pairs, based on how much lift. I'll pretty much never buy off the shelf springs again, and will buy Alcan exclusively till they go tits up. I called them direct from Iraq and ordered my springs. Be prepared to answer a LOT of questions. I wasn't prepared. They wanted to know the make, model and year, configuration etc, front axle weight, rear axle weight, overall weight, if I had tool boxes, fuel tanks, winches or any other heavy stuff on the truck. He asked how I intended to use it, and wasn't happy with my first answer. Wanted more specifics. He also asked what shocks I was going to use, warned against any of the cheap/lift kit shocks, as said above. I told him I had already ordered Bilstiens and he just said perfect, you're good to go. The guy was very, very well versed on what he was talking about, was friendly, professional and on point. Sounded happy to talk, not bothered because he was busy with other things.

I would pass on calling ORD to middle man the springs as well. They make nice stuff and Stephen is great guy, but talking to him or whoever else answers the phone there is difficult. It is obvious that the phone people should be out in the shop, not answering phones and taking orders or talking to new customers. Service inst bad, but Alcans is better.
 
if you want a good cheap spring, tuff country ez ride. if you want performance, alcan. I've got ORD springs which are made by alcan. after you make room for all the additional travel, they really kick ass.
 
KidJethro said:
I would pass on calling ORD to middle man the springs as well. They make nice stuff and Stephen is great guy, but talking to him or whoever else answers the phone there is difficult. It is obvious that the phone people should be out in the shop, not answering phones and taking orders or talking to new customers. Service inst bad, but Alcans is better.
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I wouldn't consider ORD a "middle man" so much. We've never been secretive that Alcan builds our springs, it's pretty public on any of the forums/etc and we'd tell you on the phone if you asked. Beyond that, Alcan has largely been sending straight axle truck customers our way even if they call Alcan direct.

Alcan has built solid axle Chevy springs for years, but they usually do what we would call "mid-travel" springs. The ORD spec means softer springs and more travel. Our spec is completely different than what any body else would spec.

If you call us wanting springs for your YJ Jeep (that kind of thing happens a lot actually), we send them to Alcan. And, no special deal with Alcan, but straight axle Chevy's (and SAS Chevy's) are our specialty.


We use Alcan because they are a high end spring manufacturer and they just so happen to be in CO and do a premium job building springs :pimp:
 
38377k5 said:
I wouldn't consider ORD a "middle man" so much. We've never been secretive that Alcan builds our springs, it's pretty public on any of the forums/etc and we'd tell you on the phone if you asked. Beyond that, Alcan has largely been sending straight axle truck customers our way even if they call Alcan direct.

Alcan has built solid axle Chevy springs for years, but they usually do what we would call "mid-travel" springs. The ORD spec means softer springs and more travel. Our spec is completely different than what any body else would spec.

If you call us wanting springs for your YJ Jeep (that kind of thing happens a lot actually), we send them to Alcan. And, no special deal with Alcan, but straight axle Chevy's (and SAS Chevy's) are our specialty.


We use Alcan because they are a high end spring manufacturer and they just so happen to be in CO and do a premium job building springs :pimp:
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Was never about the quality of the springs themselves, employee technical knowledge or the how ya'all do business with Alcan and who's name is on the spring/branding etc. An Alcan spring is an Alcan spring as far as I'm concerned. My point was the experience of talking with and ordering things from ya'all was/is quite a bit less 'human' or friendly than talking to the people at Alcan. I've ordered enough things from you guys over the years, that I feel I can speak objectively on the subject. Maybe things have changed in the past few years, but JUST based on the phone call ordering experience, product aside, Alcan has ya'all beat.

I have quite a few ORD parts on my truck, and for those things, I'm loyal as hell to you guys. Stephen and the ORD crew were very helpful to me with diagnosing my bump steer problems at KOH 2012. Shoot, ya'alls pit was right across the road from us. You guys and Pacfab, iirc. We were the Lucas Oil team. :pimp:
 
38377k5 said:
Alcan has built solid axle Chevy springs for years, but they usually do what we would call "mid-travel" springs. The ORD spec means softer springs and more travel. Our spec is completely different than what any body else would spec.
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Can you give us some info on the mid-travel springs? That may be a good option for some of us who want a softer ride but don't need a super flexy suspension. For my type of driving I don't think I get to use the full potential of the ORD spec'd spring.
Would these mid travel springs need less collateral modifications?
 
Ned Kelly said:
Can you give us some info on the mid-travel springs? That may be a good option for some of us who want a softer ride but don't need a super flexy suspension. For my type of driving I don't think I get to use the full potential of the ORD spec'd spring.
Would these mid travel springs need less collateral modifications?
Click to expand...


I'm running them on my suburban, I had to have my front driveline retubed, I built new shock mounts to allow for the additional uptravel and had to modify my exhaust routing because the front axle was hitting it. That last one is unique to my truck though, I've got a 5.3l with custom exhaust.
 
Ned Kelly said:
Can you give us some info on the mid-travel springs? That may be a good option for some of us who want a softer ride but don't need a super flexy suspension. For my type of driving I don't think I get to use the full potential of the ORD spec'd spring.
Would these mid travel springs need less collateral modifications?
Click to expand...
A big plus for custom springs is that you can move the axle and set the shackle angle without modifying anything. Just get it spec'ed out up front, then bolt 'em in and go just like any plain old spring swap. If you're buying spring hangers and shackle mounts to make non-stock springs work or move the axle, then spend a whole day grinding rivets and such, the savings of cheap springs dries up.

Flexy and soft ride are basically the same thing, i.e. spring rate. A longer spring can travel further, but I think in this discussion we're just talking about springs within a few inches of stock length. I don't know what Alcan gives to everybody, but ORD springs are set up to be durable with long spring travel. If your truck will be on the street all the time with the swaybar attached [shudders to think...] that durability factor won't come into play - at least for a long time.

Now the real question here is the price difference. Does Alcan offer springs a lot cheaper than ORD? How do they compare? If you get them spec'ed to be basically equivalent would there be any price difference? I've never heard anybody describe new Alcans as cheap.

I can tell you this much: if ride quality is a big factor, you probably won't be happy with catalog springs.
 
Ive called ORD probably a dozen times. Sometimes just to chat with stephen or chris about suspension design etc. Always got right through and answers right away :dunno:
 
ORD has always been excellent on the phone for my needs. Stephen has been easily available or called me back in a timely fashion when not out at an event to discuss any issues or questions I have had in depth.

But, for a daily driver with 33s I would grab some tough country springs from sd springs. They have the best pricing I have seen. I just ran the 4 inch hd 800 miles cross country with no shocks and they perform awesome.

If it was me, I'd be avoiding any driveline mods and crossover if the truck will just be a driver.

For 33s I would probably run a two inch lift to also avoid brake line issues and definitely a 1 inch body lift with new rubber (yes rubber) bushings.

I don't know enough about the truck you have currently and maybe this isn't the best plan for you, but that is how I'd do a driver on 33s.
 
I can tell you that an Alcan spring IS NOT an ORD spec / Alcan built spring. I have both, have seen several of both. I also trust Stephen at ORD and Bill at Alcan. They both tell me that ORD specs are not Alcan specs. Both companies have mutual respect for the other, I have experienced that.
I will also never buy an off the shelf spring for anything with leaves, that I will keep and drive. Life is way to short to put up with crappy springs!
 
My 3" alcans on my mainly road driven burb are awesome... shocks need to be better to get to where it should be. but with cheap shocks my 88 still rides better than my stock 05 silverado 1500 with bilstien's did.

they were cheaper than going through ORD and work perfect for my uses. and they still flex well when I want em to. but they are limited because I am still running the stock swaybar with homemade disconnects as extenders.

I think the ORD's have they're place if your needs call for it. and the straight alcans fill the middle gap like where I'm at and sounds like you want to be.
 
snuffy74 said:
Amen! I've got a 4" Rough Country, all spring lift on my 88 Suburban. I'm 5'10"... I used to be 6'3" before the lift....:rolleyes:
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LMAO! I didn't check my height before versus after the Tuff - country springs! I wonder if my wife is getting shorted in more ways than one? !
 
shady said:
I think the ORD's have they're place if your needs call for it. and the straight alcans fill the middle gap like where I'm at and sounds like you want to be.
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So wait, what is better? ORD or Alcan? I thought ORD springs were Alcans? I couldn't care less about flex, I'm just interested in getting the best ride on the road possible for my K5 and eventually K30 .
 
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