I will vouch that the ORD alcan springs are a great choice. Also not as thick of a pack from what Ive seen. So you have more room to mount bump stops
CK5
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Deaver Springs
- Thread starter FOR MUD
- Start date
Why not talk to Deaver about making you some springs with a ton of thin leaves, similar to the ORD designs? At least then you can get a more direct comparison on what you're getting for your money and if saving the shipping cost is really worth it. They should be able to calculate the required arch for the height you want. For spring rate, you probably want to be somewhere in the ballpark of the stock rear 52s?
It's the low spring rate that makes the truck ride good. But if you make the spring really soft it flexes a lot. With standard thick leaves this wears it out quickly (as you've already discovered). The thinner the leaf, the less stress there is in the steel for a given amount of movement.
It's the low spring rate that makes the truck ride good. But if you make the spring really soft it flexes a lot. With standard thick leaves this wears it out quickly (as you've already discovered). The thinner the leaf, the less stress there is in the steel for a given amount of movement.
My ORD springs are a very tall pack - 11 leaves. I think yours are the same. Definitely thicker than a lift kit spring.
Not the same type of truck but I installed a set of Deaver 3” lift springs when I lifted my NISMO Frontier a couple of years ago and love them. There are 9 much thinner leafs in mine and they handle just as good, if not better, than the stock 4 leaf packs on the road but still flex great and ride Cadillac smooth. I ordered them through a nearby shop that specializes in those trucks (PRG Products) and custom orders them from Deaver based on their hands on experience with the trucks and what the customer is going for, similar to how ORD does things with Alcan. I’m personally not all that experienced with leaf spring geometry and characteristics and liked being able to order something as a complete kit from a well-known and experienced shop. That’s also the same reason I’ll be ordering a set of custom Alcans from ORD once I get my K5 to that point. ORD puts out some great products and has tons of experience with square bodies.
Here’s a side by side of my Deavers and the stock springs they replaced in case anyone wants to see what a custom set of Deavers can look like:
Here’s a side by side of my Deavers and the stock springs they replaced in case anyone wants to see what a custom set of Deavers can look like:
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I shoulda taken a pic of the Deavers on a blazer I saw at GriffenFabworks last night. The deavers they had on that are WAYY thicker packs than mine.
Deaver uses 11 pack for our trucks up front, They are really thick..
These were the deavers on that 72 I saw last night.
You mentioned links earlier in this thread. I did the math on this many times already.
Front
Springs 750
u bolts and shackles 100-200
spring plates 40-60
shocks 2.5 resi 320-700
steering complete x over 470-700
Front linked if you buy the kit from ORD its 3400
or
coilovers with springs 700-1400
link brackets 150-400
trackbar mounts 50-100
shock towers 120-400
engine cage 150-300
misc hardware 100-200
Links with heims 350-400
The issue I always run into because I like simple and know the limits of ths stock driveline are not much.. 12-13 inches of usuable travel is about the max with a cv front shaft. with the stock length Alcan or deaver springs you are 11-13 already and with longer springs deaver told me 14-16 but the driveshaft limits this.
I feel that for the price, leafs are hard to beat especially since they can really be bolt on! Unless you really beat on the truck hard the leafs should be good for a long time. From what a few friends who own blazers with the Deavers they are great, but as you go faster the springs wear out. If you ask Raffo racing they will tell you go coils in a heart beat. But if you arent jumping the truck and want a nice ride with the least work and best return I dont think a set of custom springs could be beat.
Front
Springs 750
u bolts and shackles 100-200
spring plates 40-60
shocks 2.5 resi 320-700
steering complete x over 470-700
Front linked if you buy the kit from ORD its 3400
or
coilovers with springs 700-1400
link brackets 150-400
trackbar mounts 50-100
shock towers 120-400
engine cage 150-300
misc hardware 100-200
Links with heims 350-400
The issue I always run into because I like simple and know the limits of ths stock driveline are not much.. 12-13 inches of usuable travel is about the max with a cv front shaft. with the stock length Alcan or deaver springs you are 11-13 already and with longer springs deaver told me 14-16 but the driveshaft limits this.
I feel that for the price, leafs are hard to beat especially since they can really be bolt on! Unless you really beat on the truck hard the leafs should be good for a long time. From what a few friends who own blazers with the Deavers they are great, but as you go faster the springs wear out. If you ask Raffo racing they will tell you go coils in a heart beat. But if you arent jumping the truck and want a nice ride with the least work and best return I dont think a set of custom springs could be beat.
Looks like tons of lift to me, so there is still room for bumps. Plus with that much arch, the spring design has to do whatever it can to make things softer. Could be there's no weight on the suspension, though. Still, I count 13 leaves, probably only 1/2" - 3/4" thicker than your springs.
Earlier truks require a more arched spring to get the same amount of lift fyi
Here are my Alcans from ORD. Keep in mind these packs are setup for my heavy 6.2 diesel that scales in at about 2,000 lbs per front corner. They are a 10 leaf pack.
Here is the stock flat 1 ton spring next to the new ORD spring. These were ordered to be 5 inch leaf springs stock length center pin moved 1.5" or 2" forward of stock.
The springs initially netted me 6 inches of lift or so but have settled some and I still have not finished or wheeled my truck so I am sure they will settle right around the 5 inch lift mark. The little I have been able to drive this truck around the yard so far they ride great. I did have to add a shim in the front to get the pinion angle better. Can't wait to try them out on the trail hopefully this year.
Here is the stock flat 1 ton spring next to the new ORD spring. These were ordered to be 5 inch leaf springs stock length center pin moved 1.5" or 2" forward of stock.
The springs initially netted me 6 inches of lift or so but have settled some and I still have not finished or wheeled my truck so I am sure they will settle right around the 5 inch lift mark. The little I have been able to drive this truck around the yard so far they ride great. I did have to add a shim in the front to get the pinion angle better. Can't wait to try them out on the trail hopefully this year.
Has anybody run Alcan 52" long springs up front? I have thought about doing this for whenever my front springs are ready to be replaced
from a guy who has links, you cant have a full working linked suspention on a full size truck (unless is some cobbled together crap) for 1000 bucks. Shocks alone can be 1000 bucks and thats just for 2. 2.5 air shocks will run you at least 700 shiped.
We've done a bunch, but off the top of my head, I know Chris Perry on here has a set.
As soon as my Roll Bars and Seats are in, I am hitting up Deaver for springs, lead time 3 to 4 weeks, looking at $750.00 per set of springs, just need to figure out the shackle set up, and the shock length, still wondering if I need to have the Blazer set up by a company that sets up prerunner trucks, seems to be loads of them here in Riverside Ca, wish I won the lotto, the rear link system s I have seen are just awesome, 24: travel but run like $4200 bucks not counting shocks.
chulisohombre
1/2 ton status
Links would be awesome. But for the price and just over all ease of installation, the deavers or alcans should do A good job for you. At least they will be the correct lift rate and thickness so they ride nice. Probably 10 times better than a off the shelf lift spring.
I was taking to a buddy who runs Deavers and bypasses all around and he mentioned that if you beat it really hard the prep on springs every season gets expensive and he even told me links would have been better in the long run..
Let's be honest, how many people (besides racers) prep their leaf springs before every season?
Well if they are sagging and you need the height I'm sure a lot of guys do.. He lives 2 hours from deaver and he has it done.. We're talking 54/63 inch springs so it might be the fact that their so long..
Here's his truck
