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Softer ridding suspension w/ a little more flex

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chev4life

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Hey guys, I am looking for a little softer suspension and could use some ideas, here is what I have now...
4" Superlift Superride Springs F/R, ORD shackles front, ORD 1" zero rate rear, front w/ dual shocks, rear single all procomp, all spring bushings are ORD greasable poly.
The ride is a little rough on the street and the springs seem overly stiff offroad. Anyone have any ideas on how to make my ride a little more comfy and flexy? I am eventually loosing the front dual shocks and going with ford towers and 14" bilstein shocks for the front so that should help a bit. The ride height now is near perfect...I would mind a 1/2 inch or 1 inch more but nothing over that. I was thinking of maybe a 4" shackel flip in the rear and 2" springs while getting rid of the zero rate...could that help also? How are the shackel flips when towing? I need to able to tow my boat during the summer and anything else that pops up...this is a full function truck also along with a daily driver. Can you get 2" springs that will have enough shim in them to correct for pinion angle?
Also...I have currently have stock shafts front and rear on my d44/14bolt, if I go any more flex or height will I over extend them? I will eventually go for a high angle for the rear with the upgraded tcase fitting, but I would rather waite on that for now. Will I run out of shaft in the front if I go with the ford towers/14" travel shock and maybe one extra inch of lift?

Sorry for the long post. oh...here is my current flex....
207692_82_full.jpg
 
Nope...16x10 8 lug wheels :D
Oh...one more thing, my front spring eye mounts for the front springs are slighlty squished...should I bend those bad boys out or is a replacement available/better?
 
I'd say dump the dual front shocks and run less air pressure off road.

Yes, make sure the spring shackels are straight and don't over tighten them.
If that doesn't do enough, get some tough country EZ-ride springs.
I have good flex and the ride is good with 10lbs. of air. It's like riding on pillows.
1486DSC04540.JPG

.
I have Rancho R9000X shocks, TC EZ-ride 4", 38.5's
 
Damn that is nice, what length shocks are you running in the rear? How did you get so much drop out of the front?
 
do you still have your sway bar connected on the front? that'll limit your flex
 
Oops, completely forgot about that...:blush: it is still connected, I have been meaning to get a disconnect kit for it. Maybe for now I will just do the ford towers and single shocks and then the disconnect kit. The rear still seems a bit still though on road...any good/cheapish way to fix this? I have es3000 procomp shocks...ranchos seemed a little stiff price wise.

Again though...do you know your rear shock length? Are you using the factory bump stops? Did you have to get ride of the third bump stop up front when you got ride of the sway bar? Any driveshaft issues w/ your current setup?
 
I can't answer alot of those questions... not a huge flexer... but there is a topic a week or so ago about sway bar disconnection, got alot of input on it. Its called something like, Swaybar Survery poll...
 
Lose the swaybar, get the shock towers, try softer springs. Shackle flips are good for flex, though not a necessity, but bad for towing. I think it was azkickin that had a real extreme rear shackle that would kinda unhinge itself and allow for a LOT of drop in the rear, but again, no good for towing. Seems like there site is down now though. A set of TC EZ rides might make all the difference for you. Do the swaybar first though, cheapest mod you can do is just take it off. If you don't like the street ride you're left with, then invest in disconnect later. A lot of people never miss them, I don't.
 
Judging by the pic the front is where you need to concentrate. Swaybar has a big affect, but I *think* my SBC Sub flexs better than that with a bar connected. I'm using the Rancho Pre-Runner front springs listed in a post from way back.
 
As for that Azkickin shackle I believe its called the revolver and has been deemed dangerous by many. It tends to want to unload on steep inclines which makes an endo rollover so much more possible...:blush:
 
Yeah, definitely not something I'd ever run. Saw some pretty impresive pics of it in action, but seems just too extreme and dangerous. Never thought about the incline unloading though, I can see that happening.
 
The AK-57 is NOT a revolver. They operate in a somewhat similar way, but are not the same.

That said, i have never seen a rig endo solely because of a double shackle setup. The shackle flip and towing argument has been beaten to death, and there is no proof that shackle flips are bad or good for towing. Lifting a vehicle that you plan on towing with is where the problem comes from, not just a shackle flip.
 
joez said:
The AK-57 is NOT a revolver. They operate in a somewhat similar way, but are not the same.

That said, i have never seen a rig endo solely because of a double shackle setup. The shackle flip and towing argument has been beaten to death, and there is no proof that shackle flips are bad or good for towing. Lifting a vehicle that you plan on towing with is where the problem comes from, not just a shackle flip.
Click to expand...
The thing about shackle flip and towing is more too cover the makers azz so some idjet that wrecks because of driving like a jackazz can't sue later claiming it was caused by the flip.
 
Its tough making an all in one driver, trial rig, tow rig.... so its looking like the sway bar thing is first, then off for the front shocks. I would eventually like to do softer springs, but if I do it would most likely be with a flip....does anyone here tow regularly with flips? I know companies are going to say something to cover their ass...makes sense, but I figure someone on this board uses them.
 
I have a shackle flip on my 95 Ford F-250. Towed thousands of miles with it carrying more than I should have at times and all was fine. Biggest thing that hurt towing capacity was the lift not the flip.

Your blazer with a lift is not going to be the tow beast as it never was even from the factory, so take it easy.
 
RustBuket said:
As for that Azkickin shackle I believe its called the revolver and has been deemed dangerous by many. It tends to want to unload on steep inclines which makes an endo rollover so much more possible...:blush:
Click to expand...


Actually declines would be the problem since it is a rear suspension. On an incline all the weight is focused on the rear suspension which means the drop shackle would not be unloading.

As for this being a problem with the Ak-57/Springer Suspension I say it is pretty much a none issue. I have wheeled with Marv Springer (suspension's developer), and may others that run it and never seen any evidence or instances where the suspension unloaded in the rear and caused problems. I have been on dozens of runs with multiple rigs with this suspension. I would run it in a heartbeat if I had the cash available for the setup and the money for the driveshaft I would need to handle the flex.

Revolver style shackle setups are seem more prone to the unloading problems on front suspensions.

Harley
 
Fix your shackle angles and it will ride alot better. I would be willing to bet your shackle angle on the front spring shackle sucks. It almost always does and contributes alot to ride quality.

Disconnect or ditch the swaybar completely and you will gain flex. Add longer shocks with Ford towers and longer breaklines. This will increase your front flex a fair amount I would guess.

For more rear flex you can remove your spring clamp bolts (if your springs have bolts) so the leaves fan out when you flex. This will not be the greatest thing for your springs but it will help flex. Also make sure your shocks are not limiting the travel.

Once you maximize your travel check to make sure your driveshafts aren't binding up and that the brake lines and vent lines aren't overly stretched.

Harley
 
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