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Stock or 2in Lift Suspension Suggestions

i have mcguard lugs that are 20 years old and no rust or flaking . and i live in the rusty salt belt of the north east .and a lot of the cheepy nuts these days there threads look like SH!T on the inside of the nut . i have had some not even hold spec and go in the trash can .

i did tires and wheels for 15+ years and all the cheeper CRAP just flaked off and looked like crap in a year or so . if your careful and also dont do salt / snow driving then you might get longer . but impact gun use kills the cheepy lugs faster . mcguard dont notice the difference of hand tools or impact gun .
 
green55 said:
Hard to pass up spending $20 instead of $70. I could buy these 3 times before I make up buying Mcgards....are Mcgards really that high of quality?
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for a little bit more money you can get the Gorilla locks or if you don't want to deal with the locks I would go with the 3rd ones I posted. I did not notice when I posted the first set but it says they are a 2 piece design. I am not going to lie, McGard is good stuff but if you are like most of us it is hard to swallow spending that much on lug nuts when others will work just as fine.
 
sweetk30 said:
i have mcguard lugs that are 20 years old and no rust or flaking . and i live in the rusty salt belt of the north east .and a lot of the cheepy nuts these days there threads look like SH!T on the inside of the nut . i have had some not even hold spec and go in the trash can .

i did tires and wheels for 15+ years and all the cheeper CRAP just flaked off and looked like crap in a year or so . if your careful and also dont do salt / snow driving then you might get longer . but impact gun use kills the cheepy lugs faster . mcguard dont notice the difference of hand tools or impact gun .
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I'm sold. Thanks again for the help guys!
 
for what it is worth; I have some cheap eBay lug nuts on my TJ and 88 K5 and they are fine. I have Gorilla locks on one of my Dodges and my LJ and they are fine.
 
CA5EB837-8ED1-4526-8EC0-015FD4287962.jpeg There’s a before and after. Just had the tires/wheels put on on Friday. Suspension changes are probably a few months down the road at least. Now that it safe to drive with new tires, I need to put some miles on it to see what else needs to be replaced before I do the suspension, which is more of a want than a need at the moment.

It rides SIGNIFICANTLY better. Between new/lighter tires vs 15 yo ones and much lighter wheels, it was a vast improvement.

and I love the way the stock wheels look with the hubcaps vs the previous ones. Can’t wait for the new 4x4 decals to come in
 
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Looks good. I'm a little late on this post and most of the issues are already figured out. I started reading this thread at the beginning and after seeing your first picture was going to say it did not look like a 4" lift, and then looking at the leaf springs verified that. For those that have not read everything it appears the rubbing was found to be the front plastic air dam on the front because the front bumper was pushed back.
Anyway, here are my experiences. '90 K5 completely stock and ran two different sets of 32x11.50R15 on the stock alloy rims that the OP is now using. Yes, they are 15x7 versus 15x8 of the steel rallye style. No rubbing under any condition it was ever in. Awhile later I switched to 15x10 rims with the same tires that rubbed the smaller aftermarket mud flaps that had been installed on the lower rear section of the front fender openings. Removed the mud flaps and no rubbing. Point being are the 15x10 rims induce more rubbing when the tires are turned as compared to skinnier rims. Later ran 33x12.50 tires on 15x10 with a 4" lift, disconnected swaybar, and began heavy off-roading with no rub. Switching to 35x12.50 tires required minor trimming on the front that you couldn't really notice...and would not have been required to street driving, and probably not for off-road driving if the swaybar had been hooked up.
For the lug nuts on the factory alloys it's been a long time but was thinking they were just standard tapered lugs and don't remember them having the chrome covers over each lug....but again it's been around 25 years since I messed with them. As a side story what prompted me to change rims was a girl ran stop sign and broadsided the K5. No structural damage to the rim but a couple decent scratches. It was $300+ for single replacement wheel from GM so used the money to buy a set of cool 15x10 aluminum rims....keep in mind this was the 90s and big gawdy chrome grillguards were cool, and you could buy a set of name brand aftermarket wheels in the $400 range.
 
6.2Blazer said:
...after seeing your first picture was going to say it did not look like a 4" lift, and then looking at the leaf springs verified that.
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What would y'all guess my setup is equivalent to? 2", 3"? Trying to get an idea of what it will look like when I finally do the suspension.

I'm planning on going with a 2" lift either way because it sounds like its better ride quality than stock height, but just wondering if that'll move it up, down, or be about the same.
 
green55 said:
What would y'all guess my setup is equivalent to? 2", 3"? Trying to get an idea of what it will look like when I finally do the suspension.

I'm planning on going with a 2" lift either way because it sounds like its better ride quality than stock height, but just wondering if that'll move it up, down, or be about the same.
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I would have guessed around 2" of lift as it currently sits. Factory front springs usually have a little bit of reverse arch (looks like a frown from the side), 2" lift springs are close to flat, and 4" springs have a small upward arch (smile from the side).
 
Like I said earlier in the thread, I’m looking to replace shocks and springs with a 2in suspension lift.

My current add a leaf being about 2in got me thinking, could I do shocks first then springs down the road? The truck should in theory be at the same height before and after the new springs so I would think the same shocks would work for each.

The reason I’m thinking this is because shocks seem like something I can do in my parking lot without a floor jack and with tires on, etc. But I’m going to have to pay someone to do the springs because I don’t have the tools/space.

What do y’all think? Bad idea to do them at separate times in case they don’t play well with what I have now? or good way to save a little cash by doing shocks myself and maybe improve ride quality some now while I save up for springs
 
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but have you priced 4 shocks ? then priced a whole lift kit minus shocks ? it might cost you more in the end .


but if your fine with this then you can get the BEST of each part and be happy in the end over a std part# lift kit in a box .
 
Yeah I’ve looked at cost of doing it separately. I was already leaning towards bilstein shocks instead of the ones that come with the TC EZ ride lift kit. If I did that I’d have to buy shocks separate from the springs anyways, regardless of timing. So cost won’t really change much. And honestly, getting bilsteins separately is almost the same price as getting the lift with TC shocks, so seems like a good idea to upgrade to the crowd favorite bilsteins instead.

the concern I have is more will the shocks for a 2in lift work with my current springs AND my future springs. Or should I just wait it out and do it all at once to play it safe.
 
green55 said:
Yeah I’ve looked at cost of doing it separately. I was already leaning towards bilstein shocks instead of the ones that come with the TC EZ ride lift kit. If I did that I’d have to buy shocks separate from the springs anyways, regardless of timing. So cost won’t really change much. And honestly, getting bilsteins separately is almost the same price as getting the lift with TC shocks, so seems like a good idea to upgrade to the crowd favorite bilsteins instead.

the concern I have is more will the shocks for a 2in lift work with my current springs AND my future springs. Or should I just wait it out and do it all at once to play it safe.
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I think the shocks for the 2" lift will be better for the setup you have now.
I bet you have stock shocks
 
According to the ORD site, should go with:
8.13” travel front shocks: 33-185590
10” travel rear shocks: 33-185552

those looks like the right part numbers?

www.offroaddesign.com

Bilstein Shocks for '67-91 GM trucks

Bilstein 5100 and 5125 monotube shocks These shocks use a standard mounting width of 1.5" with a 1/2" bolt. Please purchase the correct bushings for your application here: 1968-1991 GM/Chevy Full-Size Shock Mounting
www.offroaddesign.com www.offroaddesign.com
 
Gotcha.

My recommendation would be to find a set of front factory springs with three leaf springs per side, and add a 1" zero rate. No need to add lift springs. I also like 1" body lifts. They give a small amount of tire clearance, and do not look obvious like 2" and 3" body lifts.

Martin
 
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