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can't decide between 4" and 6" springs

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K5Chris

1/2 ton status
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Mar 11, 2002
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Location
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can\'t decide between 4\" and 6\" springs

i've got a 1991, rust free. body is in mint condition. this is my daily driver and occasional wheeler. i'm not near as hardcore as most of you guys. i wheel when i can, but, college doesn't allow much time or money for it.

i've currently got 2.5" springs up front and 2.5" blocks with saggy springs out back. and, 33's.
i've got a 14boltFF in the garage that i'm working on.
my near future goal is to get the 14 bolt done, convert the front 10 bolt to 8 lug, and run 35x12.50-15 bfg m/t's for a while to get me through college, maybe step up to 37x12.50 in a year or 2.

waaaay later plans, after college, include the D60, cross-over, 5.13's, 40" hawgs or 39.5" tsl's etc. etc. etc. can't afford that stuff now.

anyways.... i want to run 35-37's for a while, and i want a low COG, but, i don't want to bash up, or hack my fenders to pieces. should i go with 4" or 6"? i'm not opposed to adding the 1" ord bodylift or 1" zero rates later on. but, i'd rather not.

oh yeah, here's a picture of my junk...
i got the front tire to hit the rear of the fender while offroad last month, WITH the swaybar still on.
i'm usually not a big fan of chrome, but i think the small factory chrome trim on the fenderwells looks good on the dark paint. it's dark blue btw, not black. it's hard to tell.

383211_8_full.jpg
 
Re: can\'t decide between 4\" and 6\" springs

if it was me id do it right the first time and go with the 6in lift unless you want to keep the lift small and trim the fenders to fit bigger tires /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
Re: can\'t decide between 4\" and 6\" springs

See if this works for you.

New OEM rear springs from JC-Whitney: Roughly $175 with shipping

4" BDS Lift Kit with front springs and rear blocks: Roughly $300 with shipping

35 X 12.5 X 15 Mud/Terrain Tires: Roughly $700 with mount, balance, and warranty

This would work with a minimum of fuss and cost, until you graduate College. By the way, what is your major?
 
Re: can\'t decide between 4\" and 6\" springs

i've been set on 6" for a long time..... but, i'm just paranoid of it winding up on it's side or roof. that would be alot worse than cutting the fenders some.

oh, i'm architecture/construction engineering major
 
Re: can\'t decide between 4\" and 6\" springs

Well, if your willing to put in the effort it is going to take to swap in a 14 Bolt Full Floater, then I am sure you can put in the effort it is going to take to make any axle geometry modifications needed for a 6" lift.
 
Re: can\'t decide between 4\" and 6\" springs

I'd do the 4" suspension and 1" body and be done. I'm at 6" of total lift now and I wish I still had my old 4" springs so I could throw those on.

I'd do a soft spring up front with Ford towers, and a shackle flip out back.

If you seriously have future plans of 40" tires or larger without hacking your fenders too much, you're going to want a lot more than 4" of lift.

Keep in mind that nothing really starts to drive nice when it gets to 40"+ tires. If you enjoy driving your truck, staying with 4-6" and 37s isn't such a bad idea.

If a '60 and crossover is in your future, the 6" lift will help with draglink clearance.
 
Re: can\'t decide between 4\" and 6\" springs

all very good points....

the ford towers, shackle flip, and inverted V rear shock setup are in the plans..... my 14 bolt has no shock mounts, so, i figured, if i gotta put some on, might as well do the inverted V setup. was looking at the missouri offroad bolt-on setup, but it's a little pricey.

by the time i'm ready to run 40's, i'm sure i won't mind hacking the fenders.... hopefully, i'll have another vehicle to drive. i will never go over 40", and realistically, it'll probably be no bigger than 38"-38.5". i will, by then, have d60, crossover, and probably hydro-assist with 5.13's. until then, it will be no bigger than 37x12.50. i'll keep the 12.50" wide to keep my steering happy, and to keep my nice ride and handeling.

i really think that 6" would suit me best. probably Tough country..... but, my biggest fear is rolling it. i've spent so much time and money on this thing. i do wanna get the ord swaybar disconnect kit.

another thing to consider, is, here in Texas, we don't have a whole lot of rocks, it's not like i'm doing any serious rock crawling.... we do have some mean offroad parks with some searious trails and hills though.
 
Re: can\'t decide between 4\" and 6\" springs

Your driving habits are going to detirmine if you roll it or not. I know when I flopped mine it scared the [darn] out of me, and I never even felt it coming.
 
Re: can\'t decide between 4\" and 6\" springs

I have 9" total lift (6" suspension and 3" body) and run a 36-12.50 swamper tsl sx. The tire smashes the fender when I am bouncing through a mud pit. If you don't want to hit a 35" tire on the fender then you should consider the 6" kit and 1" body lift or zero rates.

My friend had an 84 K5 with a 4" suspension lift and no body lift. He mashed his fenders with a 33-15.50 and a 35-12.50
 
Re: can\'t decide between 4\" and 6\" springs

I have 6" of lift and moved my front axle forward 1.5" and I haven't had any clearance issues with my 38.5x16 TSLs since I trimmed the tires out of the way.
 
Re: can\'t decide between 4\" and 6\" springs

4" springs, 1" zero rates, slightly longer than stock front shackles... so yeah, workin on 6". IMO, you should just go with 6" now. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

j
 
Re: can\'t decide between 4\" and 6\" springs

Front, 6" Tuff Country springs + ORD heavy duty extended shackles (Total of aprox 6.5" lift.) Rear, 4" ORD shackle flip + 3" Tuff Country springs. (Total of 7" lift.) /forums/images/graemlins/deal.gif
 
Re: can\'t decide between 4\" and 6\" springs

I would even consider 8 inchers if you plan to go big and don't want to hack fenders. I have 10" of lift and you would be suprised how close my 35x16 boggers get when turned and flexed just a little. All depends on your rim width and offset too.
 
Re: can\'t decide between 4\" and 6\" springs

just to let you kids know..... this is straight from ORD's website...
[ QUOTE ]
In 1988 the factory introduced a longer front shackle on K5's, Suburbans and some 1-ton trucks. These shackles are the same length as our HD shackles.

[/ QUOTE ]

my stock shackles are the same length as the ORD ones. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

i actually might have a guy wanting to trade me his 4" springs for my 2.5" springs straight up.... so, since it's not gonna cost me anything... i'll just throw on the 4 inchers, a shackle flip and run 35x12.50's and if i feel like it later, i can do 6" springs. i have a raised steering arm i can use, have stainless brake lines, and, i think my shocks are long enough, so, i'll probably just need the shackle flip, and maybe 1" zero rates for the rear to help with saggy springs and move the axle back some.
 
Re: can\'t decide between 4\" and 6\" springs

I think 6 should be plenty, but I'd recomend a 1 -1.5 inch forward shift of the front axle, to keep it out of the fenders, then again wider rims and tires will get it right back into the fenders
 
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