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opinions please. suspension related

G

general blaze

1/2 ton status
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Sep 4, 2005
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ca
http://www.4wheelonline.com/Products.aspx?CategoryId=19089&ProductID=10428

4" Heavy Duty suspension lift kit w/ rear springs 1973-87 truck, Blazer & Suburban 1/2 ton 4x4 [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]- TCSUS147144 [/FONT]


I am looking for an all inclusive kit to throw under my truck. i found this i was also going to add some shock hoops for the front! anyway let me know what you guys think.. if this isa good choice or not.. anyway i will be waiting for some replys.. thanks a lot guys

tony
 
I would get the 4" front TC EZ rides and a 4-6" flip in the rear. It will ride better that way unless your stock rear springs are shot
 
seems rather pricey to me. can't speak to the ride difference, as i don't even have my truck on the road yet, but i did lift springs all around. i used pro-comp spings, which many will say are not the best, but again, i have no experience. however, i'm poor and they were cheap (just over $100 for each side front end and like #130 per side rear end). i went relatively cheap on the shocks - rancho 5000 ($40 each - though i recently saw somone in the forsale forum who had all four up for sale for $40 total). my ubolts i picked up kind of expensive - like 12 each, but only had to get them for the front end. i have 3/4 ton gear, and the stock ubolts for my 14bff were long enough to work with the rear springs. So i guess i have slightly over $500 into my 4" lift. nice thing about the procomps is that they are guaranteed for life to never sag. now, i probably will get better springs in the future, but until i'm done being poorish, that's a good way to start. a shackle flip rear end will be less expensive, but more work. i didn't feel like dealing with the rivits, and the guy at the off road shop convinced me that i'd have better flex with rear lift springs. can't say how erroneous that statement might be - but maybe someone else can rip that statement up. ;D
 
colbystephens said:
seems rather pricey to me. can't speak to the ride difference, as i don't even have my truck on the road yet, but i did lift springs all around. i used pro-comp spings, which many will say are not the best, but again, i have no experience. however, i'm poor and they were cheap (just over $100 for each side front end and like #130 per side rear end). i went relatively cheap on the shocks - rancho 5000 ($40 each - though i recently saw somone in the forsale forum who had all four up for sale for $40 total). my ubolts i picked up kind of expensive - like 12 each, but only had to get them for the front end. i have 3/4 ton gear, and the stock ubolts for my 14bff were long enough to work with the rear springs. So i guess i have slightly over $500 into my 4" lift. nice thing about the procomps is that they are guaranteed for life to never sag. now, i probably will get better springs in the future, but until i'm done being poorish, that's a good way to start. a shackle flip rear end will be less expensive, but more work. i didn't feel like dealing with the rivits, and the guy at the off road shop convinced me that i'd have better flex with rear lift springs. can't say how erroneous that statement might be - but maybe someone else can rip that statement up. ;D
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IMHO, procomp springs are way to stiff. They dont flex really well. I got BDS springs for $98 a spring pack, and many on here will tell you that other than going with a custom spring, bds is the way to go. They have a no questions asked lifetime guarantee on their springs so you cant beat that. I would go for a shackle flip in the rear. Its cheaper and flexes better. Im not meaning to be a dick with this statement, but if the guy at your offroad shop told you that rear lift springs flex better than a shackle flip, then I would find another shop with someone who knows what their talking about. In order to make "lift" springs, they put a big arch in the springs. A 4" spring is arched more than a 2", a 6" more than a 4"....well you get the idea. The more arch in the spring, the stiffer it is. In other words, the flatter the spring, the more flex it will give. That is why trucks with 8", 10", or 12" lift springs cant flex worth a crap. The shackle flip allows you to retain the stock (flatter) springs, and also adds more shackle movement, to combine to give better flex and ride. The kit you picked out is a good kit. Tuff country are good springs as well. It seems a little pricey. I would shop around if I were you. The best way to get a good deal is to piece together your own lift. Heres what I did:
BDS front springs-$200
Shackle flip rear- $100
Doetsch prerunner shocks (very nice shocks)-$35 a piece
Brake Lines: $100
Longer U-bolts (should come with your springs as a package)-$40
Steering Arm (find a used one on here)-$15-20
Thats a quality lift, that will ride good, flex awesome, and comes in around $500. Just my $.02
-Harrison
 
i had kind of figured they were feeding me a load of crap. where did you pick up the BDS, for future reference. i don't frequent that shop much - infact, i've only been there once. no offense taken.
 
yeah, avoid any leaf springs with "heavy duty" in their description unless you are going to use them in a work truck / tow rig. Them springs are ungodly stiff and you'll have zero flex... which will not only be crappy for offroad performance, but ride like crap on road too.

I used to have some Rancho HDs... good lord, might as well just weld the axle tubes to the frame.

j
 
colbystephens said:
i had kind of figured they were feeding me a load of crap. where did you pick up the BDS, for future reference. i don't frequent that shop much - infact, i've only been there once. no offense taken.
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Its cool man. I got my bds springs from a local 4wd shop about 1 hr from me. Good prices. Just get on yahoo search for bds springs, and it will pull up a list of authorized dealers in your area.
-Harrison
 
hey guys thanks for all the info so far. it is helping me learn what i need and not to buythe wrong stuff... keep the ideas flowing.. i got about 1500 to spend on a suspension so any ideas would be considered.
 
if you've got that much for a suspension, i would recommend one of two things. don't spend all of that cash on a suspension. then, with the remainder, beef up other parts of your rig. or, you could get custom springs made. were it me, i'd just do a quality suspension and use the rest for beefing up the rest of the rig. ;)
 
that's entirely dependent on what your rig is, and how you intend to use it (very very important for recommendations - consider how you're going to use it in the long run and it will save you tons of time, cash, sweat and frustration). i suppose. i imagine that it's a halfton, considering the lift kit you're interested in. so, i also would suspect that you want to run bigger tires - probably 35's? (also, in this case i imagine you have a separate tire fund - tho i suppose you could end up with some nice tires on your stock wheels with what you have left over from the lift kit). anyway - if you're going to run 35's most people will tell you that you need to run at least 4.10:1 gears, and perhaps no lower at 4.56:1 gears in the axles. if that's not what you've got in your 1/2 ton gear, you're probably going to be making life difficult on your tranny and your wallet for gas $$$. Thus, i suggest upgrading to 3/4ton gear with an gear ratio which would be more appropriate - cheaper and easier way to get gears. it's a very easy swap, you get really beefy stuff that can handle your bigger tires, and you can get the gear ratio that you want in them very easy. 3/4 ton gear can be had for $300 or less. One set of lower gears would cost at least that much,and ofcourse you would need two sets. Pretty much to do the swap, all you would need is the gear, the conversion u-joint, proper ubolts, and perhaps brake lines. that even still leaves you cash left over. ;)
 
that's entirely dependent on what your rig is, and how you intend to use it (very very important for recommendations - consider how you're going to use it in the long run and it will save you tons of time, cash, sweat and frustration). i suppose. i imagine that it's a halfton, considering the lift kit you're interested in. so, i also would suspect that you want to run bigger tires - probably 35's? (also, in this case i imagine you have a separate tire fund - tho i suppose you could end up with some nice tires on your stock wheels with what you have left over from the lift kit). anyway - if you're going to run 35's most people will tell you that you need to run at least 4.10:1 gears, and perhaps no lower at 4.56:1 gears in the axles. if that's not what you've got in your 1/2 ton gear, you're probably going to be making life difficult on your tranny and your wallet for gas $$$. Thus, i suggest upgrading to 3/4ton gear with an gear ratio which would be more appropriate - cheaper and easier way to get gears. it's a very easy swap, you get really beefy stuff that can handle your bigger tires, and you can get the gear ratio that you want in them very easy. 3/4 ton gear can be had for $300 or less. One set of lower gears would cost at least that much,and ofcourse you would need two sets. Pretty much to do the swap, all you would need is the gear, the conversion u-joint, proper ubolts, and perhaps brake lines. that even still leaves you cash left over. ;) oh - you'll need new wheels because it's an 8 lug pattern - i suppose that can get pricey, but good offroad wheels can be had for a bit over 50
 
well hey, a $1500 allowance for a lift is a ton of money, the good news is that you can get a great 4 inch lift for about a third of that...in front, you are gonna need new springs, steering arm, brake lines, (your kit will probably have relocating brackets, but for about $100 you can get new lines front and back), shocks, and u-bolts...do NOT go with heavy duty springs, these are for trucks with winches, snowplows, whatever...they are incredibly stiff. Look for a lot of thin leafs, possibly tapered at the ends, and the plastic (or whatever) pads at the ends of each leaf. I have procomps now, they are ok, ive had tci in the past and they are pretty flexy, i also had a skyjacker 2 incher and i really couldnt tell much difference in ride quality in all of these. For the rear, i would just round up some good stocker springs and go with lift blocks...a lot of guys look at them with scorn but hey, i used them for over 10 years, no problems, and there are millions of trucks running around with them out there...you keep the stock ride, they are tapered, will relocate the axle so your driveshaft will still work and are CHEAP. Go with cast iron, if you can find them...much better than aluminum.The only gripe is that you may see some axle hop if you go drag racing with your truck, (you're gonna need a lot of motor, tho), and that you may see the same thing under heavy braking at high speed...neither of these things ever happened to me. A note about shocks..one thing i have found out is that a lot of shocks are too stiff for reg use...i went with the cheapest auto zone lifetime shocks i could get cuz they inhibit the motion of the spring the least. Since every bump you hit goes thru the shock, i recommend wimpy shocks--when they wear out, just swap for a new one. Another note, your springs are gonna come with urethane bushings, these DO NOT contribute to a smooth ride, but they last for years...im thinking of replacing mine with a set of rubber stockers, just to try them out...seems like it would take some of the harshness out. Whichever ones you use, make sure you grease them well when you install em.
 
i do want to change gears but i dont know the first thing to even look for to buy 3/4 ton gears. My truck is a 83 k5 blazer with the 6.2 diesel under the hood. as it sits now i have 2 inch adaleafs and two inch body lift. siting on wagonweel rims with 33s. i want to build a good all around truck. i do a lot of rock crawling and desert ridding. being in socal there is not much mud. i want to build an all around truck that will be ok with what ever i throw at it.. so here is my plan so far.. i either want to regear the axels i have or just get some bigger ones. i want to run a 35 inch tire at least! I dont care too much about street quality, or gas milage i have other vehicles for that. I dot want as much suspension travel as i can get. i drive the hell out of this thing when i take it out. i have already had to weld a shock mount back into place from the blazer trying to pull a dukes of hazard stunt at glamis... haha.. anyway all your imput is really helping me along. i have been on the phone with a couple suspension companies. and i am starting to get a feel for what i want.

I went out to death valley last weekend and realized i need to figure out this axle thing. i either need new ones or i am going to get lockers for the ones i have.. i got over every pass i needed but it could have been a lot easier if i didnt keep losing traction.....


thanks a lot guys. oh and here are some pics of my truck so you get an idea of what i am up to.
 
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hope you guys like my custom grill.. hahah i made that a little while ago after i destroyed the original running into some desert shrubbery... I wish there were just some steps i could follow to build one tough truck.. sorry about all the questions but i am new to building an all around beast of a truck. i know nothing about off road suspensions and axels and gears.. also i want shock hoops i love the look is this a good idea or bad one??
 
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