Lowering my 72 c10 1/3 opinions

[76k5blazerr]

Im looking to level out my 72 long bed c10, the front end is really squishy over speed bumps, it rides decent but doesn't handle well at all. Thinking of buying 1 inch drop springs for the front and 3 inch drop for the back. I do have coils in the back. So my question is if I do this 1/3 drop, will it better the handling of the truck and firm up the ride a little bit? Also, with 1 inch drop springs in the front I won't have any issues with camber will I? I hate the way front tires look cambered out like / \ that. I definitely don't want that. Also, will the 1/3 drop level the truck? Thanks

 

[K85 Octane]

1/3 sounds good. They always seem to need at least 2" to level out.
1" springs wont hurt anything up front but you will need an alignment. Or, you can try to throw equal size shims on and go from there. (last resort if the local alignment shops are morons) You'll want to check the toe also.
3" springs out back will be nice, or 2" and a block if you can find 2" rears. Check your pinion angle afterwords since it rotates it down as the trailing arms move up.

I'm currently at 3 1/2 front and 5 7/8 rear. Longbeds tend to look less "raked" when the rear isn't at least 2" more than the front.

 

[76k5blazerr]

Cool, what will the alignment shop need to know that they may not? And how would I correct the pinion angle if it comes down to much? How does yours handle with the new lower springs?

 

[Greg72]

Im looking to level out my 72 long bed c10, the front end is really squishy over speed bumps, it rides decent but doesn't handle well at all. Thinking of buying 1 inch drop springs for the front and 3 inch drop for the back. I do have coils in the back. So my question is if I do this 1/3 drop, will it better the handling of the truck and firm up the ride a little bit? Also, with 1 inch drop springs in the front I won't have any issues with camber will I? I hate the way front tires look cambered out like / \ that. I definitely don't want that. Also, will the 1/3 drop level the truck? Thanks

If you like the softness of the springs now, you could try adding a front swaybar...or if one is already there, swap in a thicker one. You'll keep the soft ride over bumps, but it will sharpen up the transitions in the turns and reduce body roll.

-G

 

[76k5blazerr]

If you like the softness of the springs now, you could try adding a front swaybar...or if one is already there, swap in a thicker one. You'll keep the soft ride over bumps, but it will sharpen up the transitions in the turns and reduce body roll.

-G

I do want it to ride semi smooth and not be jarring over big bumps, but I want to take some of the softness out of the ride. Right now it is crazy squishy in the front when I take a speed bump, would like to get rid of that. I do want to reduce body roll and help cornering.

 

[Greg72]

I do want it to ride semi smooth and not be jarring over big bumps, but I want to take some of the softness out of the ride. Right now it is crazy squishy in the front when I take a speed bump, would like to get rid of that. I do want to reduce body roll and help cornering.

How good are the shocks? Remember the primary job of the springs is to support the weight of the vehicle. Slowing down oscillations of the suspension over things like speedbumps is the job of the shocks.

A softly sprung vehicle with good quality shocks, and appropriately sized sway bars is probably the best combination if you want to maintain a good ride quality AND have decent cornering ability without a lot of excessive body roll.



-G

 

[76k5blazerr]

How good are the shocks? Remember the primary job of the springs is to support the weight of the vehicle. Slowing down oscillations of the suspension over things like speedbumps is the job of the shocks.

A softly sprung vehicle with good quality shocks, and appropriately sized sway bars is probably the best combination if you want to maintain a good ride quality AND have decent cornering ability without a lot of excessive body roll.



-G

Shocks could probably use to be replaced.

 

[K85 Octane]

Yeah, shocks. The lowering springs will never ride as plush as the factory springs. The rears are a progressive from factory too. So if you aren't necessarily looking to lower the truck, there are tons of things to work on to get a better handling truck. If you change front shocks, they could still be used with 1" drop springs. The rear will need new shocks and relocation brackets with a drop spring

 

[76k5blazerr]

Yeah, shocks. The lowering springs will never ride as plush as the factory springs. The rears are a progressive from factory too. So if you aren't necessarily looking to lower the truck, there are tons of things to work on to get a better handling truck. If you change front shocks, they could still be used with 1" drop springs. The rear will need new shocks and relocation brackets with a drop spring

I am looking to lower the truck and level it. Just want to improve the handling while I'm at it. New shocks are a must for sure. Which shocks are good for these trucks and not really pricey?

 

[K85 Octane]

KYB seems to be a fan fav. ECE will probably have a 1/3 drop kit with shocks. They have front and rear bars as well. You can step up to a QA1 shock with single or dual adjustability too, but they are like 100-150 each.

 

[6872xtc]

K85 octane has more recent experience than I do.
I cut one coil off of my factory springs up front. That gave me 2" of drop. I also cut the bump stop almost in half. Factory sway bar.
The rear of mine has some aftermarket small diameter rod coils. It dropped it a little over 2.5". I installed a 1/2 plate under the coil since I am old school and I like a slight rake. ECE rear shock kit and off the shelf gas charged shocks.

 

[K85 Octane]

Bilsteins are right in the middle of the two I mentioned. I really liked them on my dropped S10, road great.
Until I'm sure about my drop height and get everything worked out, I'm running KYB in front and no name CPP in back. Eventually the truck with have some trick shocks on it. The truck rides nice on the freeway but does get a little jarring over rough stuff. That also might be the large rims and small tires too.

ECE has rear shock relocators that are best used on a dropped truck. No Limit Engineering offers a nice shock relocator that moves the shock to the ouside of the framerail. Really really nice and I'll probably go that route when I'm ready to change shocks. That location is far superior than stock.

 

[76k5blazerr]

K85 octane has more recent experience than I do.
I cut one coil off of my factory springs up front. That gave me 2" of drop. I also cut the bump stop almost in half. Factory sway bar.
The rear of mine has some aftermarket small diameter rod coils. It dropped it a little over 2.5". I installed a 1/2 plate under the coil since I am old school and I like a slight rake. ECE rear shock kit and off the shelf gas charged shocks.

View attachment 199914

Man, that is a sexy truck. So you said you are at 2 inches in the front and 2.5 in the back? Also what size wheels and tires are those?

 

[6872xtc]

It's 2" both ends. I put a plate under the rear springs to bring it up 1/2".
The wheels my dad bought new in '73, the rears are 275/60/15. I think the front is 235/75/15.

And THANKS!

 

[76k5blazerr]

It's 2" both ends. I put a plate under the rear springs to bring it up 1/2".
The wheels my dad bought new in '73, the rears are 275/60/15. I think the front is 235/75/15.

And THANKS!

How wide are the wheels?

 

[6872xtc]

Sorry , I forgot. They are only 8". I wish I had a set of 9" wide for the rear. The sidewalls are pulled in some, so I run the rear tires at about 24psi. It helps keep the center tread on a little longer, but the roller cam 406 is partly to blame for the tread loss! It can't be my foot! Lol!

 

[76k5blazerr]

Sorry , I forgot. They are only 8". I wish I had a set of 9" wide for the rear. The sidewalls are pulled in some, so I run the rear tires at about 24psi. It helps keep the center tread on a little longer, but the roller cam 406 is partly to blame for the tread loss! It can't be my foot! Lol!

You have a posi rear?

 

[6872xtc]

Yeah, a somewhat tired factory one...
I stole it from an old neighbor for $40!
3:73's with a 700R4.

 

[76k5blazerr]

Yeah, a somewhat tired factory one...
I stole it from an old neighbor for $40!
3:73's with a 700R4.

Cool, well I'm hoping to get mine lowered soon, but for right now I gotta get an exhaust. Two days ago I put a seat of headers on the truck and while trying to line the pipe up to the collectors it broke in 3 places lol. Old exhaust was rusty as all get out. Thinking of going with this exhaust setup. Mainly because it's cheap and I don't have a whole lot of cash right now. What do you think of that?

 

[6872xtc]

I would be careful with that as after you lower it , you may find some bumps a little close. I don't know if you can see it in the picture of mine, but I have 3" with an X pipe hanging down. It then goes up to the mufflers and on out. I have touched it once crossing a V pan into a parking spot. The lip was rather tall from the asphalt.
I would be concerned about the extra thickness of the mufflers hanging down.
But I hear you on the dollars! !! I did my system myself and ended up with $600 in it. But it's 3" mandrel bent all the way out! I wanted to experiment. And next time I won't use 40 series Flowmasters. .