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Suspension and lift questions

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Laguna37

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My K5 project has gotten to the point where it is ready for a lift. I recently picked up a set of 35" BFG M/T's and am looking at different options in order to fit them under my truck.

This truck is my daily driver in the winter, and in the summer I often drive it to/from work and whenever I need to use a truck. The offroad that this truck sees is mostly mild trails, sand pits, atv trails, mud, and just going through the fields at the farm. We dont have any rocks, obsticles, hills or mountains around here so the suspension doesnt have to be any extreme, also as such I'm still running the stock 1/2T axles. I'm most concerned with a smooth ride for daily driving.

I don't want to simply buy a Superlift, Pro Comp, Rough Country etc 6" lift as I've heard all kind of warnings that they ride rough, and dont flex as well as a pieced together setup could.

I want 6" of lift so I can run my 35's but still be able to flex the truck out and/or enter high-steering situations and not worry about any rubbing. With the light research I've done it looks like BDS or TC lift springs ride nicely, ORD shackle flip in the rear and a ~2" lift spring, and 6" springs up front seem to be the way to go. Any other suggestions? I havn't looked at different shackles, hangers, or lift blocks yet but thats mainly becuase I don't know much about them. Suggestions on brake lines, steering, and shocks would also be appreciated.

My truck has the factory quad front shocks, and I have a quad rear shock kit sitting around that I plan to put on. I know this will make the ride rougher, but simply put I just think its cool having the dual shocks. What shocks or shock valving would you guys suggest I run in order to keep the ride nice and comfy?

Sorry for the long post, the jist of it would be I'm looking to get ~6" of lift for my 84' K5 and want to know what parts everyone would suggest I use rather than just buying a Superlift/Pro Comp/Rough Country 6" lift.
 
ORD will piece a kit together for ya... all different components, manufacturers, etc.. some nice springs up front, flip out back, shocks, etc...
 
I've seen that mentioned a couple times, I emailed ORD earlier today asking what they might be able to do for me. I had forgot to mention to them that I have the quad shocks on each corner however.
 
be best to just go with a qualtiy single shock at each corner... like some Bilstein 5125's or something...

it's best to call them.. they haven't been too reliable on the introweb in the past... might not get an answer for awhile...
 
let us know what u find out...im thinkin of a 6" lift myself, jus as u stated, 6" springs un front, shackle flip n 2" springs out back...
 
I have 6" BDS springs on the front of my truck. Moved the shackle hangers bout 2" forward and have longer shackles. Truck doesn't ride too bad, but if the springs were stiff the bog block helped that.

The rear was 2.5" shackle flip from ORD, with HD shackles from DIY4X IIRC. I did have 4" blocks in the rear, truck rode pretty that I can remember. Found a deal on 4" Tuff Country EZ rides, but now the rear seems to ride firmer than the stockers. These springs were on the back of a K5 that I bought from a guy here. (Wayne is his s/n)

With the 6" springs, longer shackles, and 315/75s on 10" wheels, the tires still rub on the fender. I haven't even put the 35" boggers on yet, can only imagine how bad they will rub.

If I had to do it again, I would go for the 52s up front. Put an extra leave or two in there to stiffen it some, with that should give you around 6" of lift and be a good ride.
 
In stead of running a 6" spring to acheive a total of 6", I think I would look at doing a 4" spring in the front 4" shackle flip in the rear, a 1" body lift and a 1" zero rate. Reason being, you still end up with the same total lift, the BL does come in handy with giving you that little extra room to access certain things (top of fuel tank is one) and with the zero rate you can move the axles forward or backward up to 1.5" to help with any rubbing issues. Plus 4" front springs are super plentiful and IIRC a 4" will generally have a better spring rate then a comparable 6".

Another then to keep in mind as far as rubbing the tires, alot will depend on the backspacing of the wheels you run.

Hope this helps :D
 
jt512 said:
In stead of running a 6" spring to acheive a total of 6", I think I would look at doing a 4" spring in the front 4" shackle flip in the rear, a 1" body lift and a 1" zero rate. Reason being, you still end up with the same total lift, the BL does come in handy with giving you that little extra room to access certain things (top of fuel tank is one) and with the zero rate you can move the axles forward or backward up to 1.5" to help with any rubbing issues. Plus 4" front springs are super plentiful and IIRC a 4" will generally have a better spring rate then a comparable 6".

Another then to keep in mind as far as rubbing the tires, alot will depend on the backspacing of the wheels you run.

Hope this helps :D
Click to expand...

I have to agree with going 4" over 6". It will ride good and flex well. Also like mentioned above go with 1 good shock on each corner. I ran 3" springs up front and 4" in the rear with a little trim on the front fenders and cleared 37's with no problems.
 
jt512 said:
In stead of running a 6" spring to acheive a total of 6", I think I would look at doing a 4" spring in the front 4" shackle flip in the rear, a 1" body lift and a 1" zero rate. Reason being, you still end up with the same total lift, the BL does come in handy with giving you that little extra room to access certain things (top of fuel tank is one) and with the zero rate you can move the axles forward or backward up to 1.5" to help with any rubbing issues. Plus 4" front springs are super plentiful and IIRC a 4" will generally have a better spring rate then a comparable 6".

Another then to keep in mind as far as rubbing the tires, alot will depend on the backspacing of the wheels you run.

Hope this helps :D
Click to expand...

This was my plan exactly
 
I agree 4 inch with zero rates and a body lift would work pretty good, I have 4 inch springs all the way around with 35s and that works fine
 
so a little longer shackle along with a 4" spring along with the 1" zero rate, this moves the axle forward which will help a ton with the tire clearance. I bet if you have to trim it will only be the inner fender and mabey just a touch off anywhere where you can see it.

Your plan in the back sounds good too

I agree with the others on here though the dual shocks will make it ride rough no matter what springs you get. If you really want to run all those shocks get some lightly valved bilsteins. Or some rs9000s.
 
Think I figured out what I'm going to do in terms of a lift, 6" tuff country complete lift kit w/ a 4" rear block which I will replace with a shackle flip.
 
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You are going to be horribly disappointed with a 4" block. Just wait and get the shackle flip. Or flip your shackle yourself. Its not hard, you don't have to remove it from the frame, and it works well.
 
Laguna37 said:
Think I figured out what I'm going to do in terms of a lift, 6" tuff country complete lift kit w/ a 4" rear block which I will replace with a shackle flip.
Click to expand...

looks like he's tossin the blocks out and adding a shackle flip.
 
What's involved with a 1" body lift? Are there many complications with that small of a lift? I'm in the same boat here, looking for a 6" overall lift. I currently have 2" lift springs installed by a previous owner.
 
Orange85 said:
looks like he's tossin the blocks out and adding a shackle flip.
Click to expand...


Yup, I found that buying the 6" lift with the 4" rear block and a shackle flip costs less than buying the 6" all spring lift.

I put a bunch of more detailed info and some more suspension questions at the bottom of the 2nd page of my little build thread
http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=264823&page=2

So tonight I spent a bunch of time on the rocky mountain suspension website pricing stuff out (if anyone knows somewhere cheaper feel free to let me know) and I believe I have come up with what I plan to buy.

- Tuff Country 16710 6" box kit
(6" EZ-ride front springs, 2" EZ-ride rear springs, 4" rear block)

Does anyone know if this package comes with a steering arm, brake lines, u-bolts, and all the required install hardware?

- Tuff Country steering arm

In case it doesnt come with the box kit

- Diy4x shackle flip n' switch

I'm going to buy the shackle flip so I dont have to run the 4" lift block from the Tuff Country box kit. Diy4x offers 4.5" and 6" shackles with the flip kit, what are these and do I need them?

- Tuff Country 10701 sway bar drop bracket

Its recommended for 4"-6" lifts, but I plan to buy a ORD sway-bar disconnect, will I still need this sway bar drop bracket?

- Tuff Country SX6000 shocks, 62231

Went with these shocks for the softer ride. The website shows that the Tuff Country '62231' and '62261' shocks will both work for the front, both are SX6000 series shocks. Anyone know if one part number is a softer shock than the other?



I chose the Tuff Country leafs and shocks after much research which has led me to believe their products offer the softest ride and best flex amongst all the 'box kit' 6" lifts.

Also, should I be buying an EZ-inch/Zer Rate for the front/rear and any axle shims?

Think this route will be a good way to go, or should I change up some of these parts?
Click to expand...
 
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