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73-91 subruban front springs and ride quality

measured from front spring bolt to upper shackle bolt on both suburbans, same measurement.

Measured springs center of bolt to center of bolt, and along the arch.
 
There are several threads discussing leaf spring options, so this information has been put out multiple times for you to read. Basically if you want soft ride it requires stock springs or custom springs. My first lift was Rough Country and the front hardly moved. I went to Tuff Country EZ-ride and it was much better, but still "truck-like". Then I did ORDs and it finally rode like I imagined it should. Makes the vehicle so much more enjoyable on and off-road.

Just ask yourself how a single part number of lift spring can be 4" in every variant of square body.

Do you have sway bar disconnects and have you tried driving with swaybar disconnected yet?
 
Have not tried with out sway bar.

At this point, wishing I would have gone with the ord springs.........but I have driven other trucks with the 3 inch ez rides that felt pretty good. They were older springs with some years on them, so maybe there is that. This thing just feels really harsh in the front, does not feel like it moves at all. We have other leaf spring trucks, (gas excursion, early 90s f350) I have no complaints with how they ride, unless roads are rough enough to use up the stock suspension travel and hit the bump stops.

Where does a guy find a set of 2 leaf oem springs, for a 90 (so with the pressed in spring bushing in the rear eye also.)?
 
Factory sway bar technically doesn't fit with lift springs due to the longer length. It can cause binding. Definitely try without it to see how much effect this is having on your truck (you can just unbolt from spring plates and strap to frame for testing).

If that helps and you decide you want a sway bar (many just go without), pick up a set of disconnects for the needed pivot point.
 
black dawg said:
Have not tried with out sway bar.

At this point, wishing I would have gone with the ord springs.........but I have driven other trucks with the 3 inch ez rides that felt pretty good. They were older springs with some years on them, so maybe there is that. This thing just feels really harsh in the front, does not feel like it moves at all. We have other leaf spring trucks, (gas excursion, early 90s f350) I have no complaints with how they ride, unless roads are rough enough to use up the stock suspension travel and hit the bump stops.

Where does a guy find a set of 2 leaf oem springs, for a 90 (so with the pressed in spring bushing in the rear eye also.)?
Click to expand...
If you have the sway bar still connected it binds and could be causing your harsh ride
 
I will try it without the sway bar this weekend.

So yesterday I had to do alot of running around, and alternated between driving the excursion and this suburban. On slower bumps, even bigger holes, the suburban feels really similar to the ex. At highway speeds, lines across the road, bridges, or rail road tracks the suburban just seems brutally stiff, where the ex feels like I would expect.

The tires on the suburban are a heavier stiffer tire (same size as the excursion) but air pressure is on the low side to try and help. I know the excursion weighs about 1000 pounds more......

Anybody think the bilsteins are too stiff?
 
There are basically 2 off the shelf valvings for something like 5100 series and neither is super stiff. Some say the lighter one is too light.

What size tires and what pressure?
 
Based on my tire wear 45 is perfect on this rig.

Based off of toyos air pressure chart, 40 psi will support 1870 per tire x4 =7480. Says 35psi will support 1700 x4=6800

I am guessing this suburban weighs around 6k and with everybody in it, another 800, so I guess I am still a little high.
 
I am running the same size, D rated and at 45 psi. Bilstien on rear, off brand shocks and 4" lift springs on front. My burb is heavy, I haven't weighed it, but I figure close if not over 7k. Rides well enough, I can drink coffee with out picking the moment to take a sip based on the road.
Adding the ORD sway bar correction brackets made a big difference in my ride. Feels a little squishier in the turns.

On another note, I ordered Tuff Country EZ ride 4" lift springs to replace my unknowns, they are twisted and trucks leans to one side in front. What I got was Tuff Country 4" HD springs.
Did you get the springs you ordered ?
 
The springs I ordered were tuff country 2 inch 18270....(the sticker is gone now, but I did check when i got them) based on my measurements, tuff country says that they are 18260 which would be for an earlier truck, but they couldn't?? give me their measurement of what either spring was supposed to be.

What tire are you running that is a d rated 235 85 16?
 
black dawg said:
Based on my tire wear 45 is perfect on this rig.

Based off of toyos air pressure chart, 40 psi will support 1870 per tire x4 =7480. Says 35psi will support 1700 x4=6800

I am guessing this suburban weighs around 6k and with everybody in it, another 800, so I guess I am still a little high.
Click to expand...
Exactly my point.
I always calculate my pressure based on the total weight.
When I load it up and go on trips I bump it up accordingly
In your case I would drop to 35-36 and see how it does.
And definitely disconnect the sway bar at separate time to see what did make the difference
 
From my experience most after-market springs lift hight is based on Blazer's and single cab trucks...not Suburbans and Crew Cabs. Suburbans and Crew Cabs have a lot of sheet metal and frame that make them much heavier. These hevier trucks can cause front lift springs to collapse and make the rear spring eye and shackle smack the frame, thus not allowing the spring to flex and causing a harsh ride.
 
Today at lunch time I lowered the front tires to 37 from 40 and the rears to 40 from 45. Pretty noticeable difference.

I had let them down from 45 to 40 last week, and really didnt notice anything.
 
Looking at the disconnect/sway bar correction kit (ord) can the pin be left out, and a bolt and nut used instead? Just looks like a way to add a rattle to me??
 
Yes I did this nut and bolt. The pin didn't fit my old sway bar bushings. probably not round any more, but bolts did.

IMG_20210530_132449.jpg
 
Drove this thing all over the place this weekend, lots of rough roads, paved and gravel. Had front tires at 38 psi and rears at 42.

Very surprising the difference in ride from 40 psi down to 38, and I am always messing with tire pressures.
Have zero complaints with how it rides with these tires at 38 psi (cooper st maxx).
When I first did these springs and shocks (and was happy with the ride) I had a set of toyo m55s on (that I didnt realize are now 2 ply sidewall???) with my standard 45psi on this burb. Ended up taking them off because they couldnt get them balanced, and put on this set of coopers. At the time I wasnt the one driving this thing and nobody said anything about it suddenly riding like crap, and when I started driving it again I just didnt put it together that the tires were the problem.

The front does still feel stiffer than the rear, but I really have to look for it to notice.
 
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