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Tuff or Rough Country?

Tuff Country vs Rough Country

  • Tuff Country

    Votes: 38 76.0%

  • Rough Country

    Votes: 12 24.0%
  • Total voters
    50
K5 Silverado

K5 Silverado

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Joined
Apr 19, 2007
Posts
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Location
Washington
I am not wheeling much. My Blazer sees more pavement but also alot of dirt, gravel roads. I want to put a 4 " lift on in the future but want something that handles good on the road. Flex isnt a big deal with me, I am more of just a weekender. I want something that rides at least stock maybe worse or better. I dont like body roll when I run around a corner. My last intension is too see my blazer on it top. I heard Rough country rides stiffer I thought it would be good for me as that my blazer already rides like a box of rocks. I Keep hearing how Tuff country has decent flex and ride and thought that is the ride I am looking for. I hope a poll hasnt been aready done on this I didnt find one.
 
Although I personally have BDS springs, I have heard a lot of people that have tuff country springs say that they are good. Whatever springs you go with, its gonna make the truck more top heavy since you are raising the center of gravity. Tuff country springs will ride better and give you some added flexibility offroad. I voted for tuff country.
-Harrison
 
I like RC springs. The higher spring rate is what I need. I tow and haul stuff around. the ride is pretty good. they take corners well on the road even without the sway bar. I like them better than stock. I looked into TC Ez ride springs I was afrade that TC springs with their light spring rate would give me saggy butt syndrome after a few years and would roll like crazy on curvy roads.
and
Rough Country springs do flex
Mvc-004s.jpg
 
Heard lots of good things about the Tuff Country springs. I plan on buying a set of 6" springs here soon.
 
i had a set of 6" rough country springs on an 88 k5. rough country is loccal to me, so i was able to drive to the factory & pick the lift up. it rode terrible, like a log wagon. the springs were increadible stiff.

i would go w/ tuff country. although they have a lighter spring rate, they are in the buisness to sell lift kits to joe blow that doesn't know anything about crawling, i don't think u would need to worry about excesive body roll. tuff country would not want to mass produce a product that could possibly be more prone to roll-overs than there compitition. tuff country springs are not a custom soft spring like deavers or alcans. they are a box stock spring that just happens to have less spring rate than most of the compitition. they will ride much better than the rough country springs.
 
i used to run BDS springs and loved them. with the price going up, i didnt want to pay the premium for them, so i bought a set of TC's. i havent put them in yet, but everyone who has runs them says that they are great.

i used to have 3" rough country, and it was terrible, the 8" bds springs i had after rode smoother than the 3" rc springs.
 
I voted rough country. I had 4" RC on my 76 for a while. The ride didn't bother me too much, and the price sure didnt bother my wallet. I'm thinking of going with the RC 4" on my blazer when I do it. Its gonna be a dd, and weekend camping and wheeling vehicle. There isnt a whole lot of rock crawling here in texas, but there is mud...which I dont need alot of flex. And as that one pic shows, the RC's do flex, so i figure the cheaper I can get out on this the better, because I dont need the higherpriced TC's. The price is what im after, since its considerably cheaper to do an all spring RC lift than it is to do it with TC. Plus like one of the guys above me said, I plan on doing some towing with "Teh Balzer" (fourwheelers to friends places, mustang to the drag strip) , so a lil stiffer spring wont hurt at all.

Cory
 
Rough country is better now than they used to be. They use teflon inserts between the springs and IMO ride a lot better than they used to.
If you go with RC lift do a complete suspention lift dont use rear blocks. The uneven spring rates between the stock and RC front springs gives a bad uneven ride
Also spend a few extra bucks and get the upgraded shocks. The basic ones that come with the lift arent really very good.
I called TC lifts and asked them what they recomended for my Blazer. because I towed they recomended their HD lift Kit. Told me I would wear out the EZ ride springs. So I figgured if I had to go with a higher rate spring I might as well save a lot of cash and go with a RC lift.
My k5 is a general purpose vehicle I use it for a DD,Tow rig /wood hauler, it is locked front and back with axle upgrades so it sees some hard offroad use. I have been totally satisified.The RC lift works good both on and off road. Yes It is a little stiff but it is way better than my stock springs. I like the way it handles.
I am not saying that RC is better than TC but for my needs the RC lift has worked out well. If you want a softer ride go with the TC lift.
 
Tuff country all the way. I hated my rough country springs (they actually rode like they are in rough country all the time). I had t.c ezrides 4 inch heavy dutys. I loved em':D
 
juanblzer said:
Tuff country all the way. I hated my rough country springs (they actually rode like they are in rough country all the time). I had t.c ezrides 4 inch heavy dutys. I loved em':D
Click to expand...

I finally broke your TC's the other day. I snapped that tweeked mainleaf on your old springs. That being said I have TC's. They are good springs but when I put a new set of 4" springs in they will be BDS. For off the shelf lift springs I would rate BDS #1 and TC #2.

Harley
 
I have a Rough Country 4" setup on my K5 with springs on both ends. I chose them for the higher spring rate because I tow a 4400lb boat and did not want to be all over the road.

The suspension works quite well for mud/slop driving and is tolorable on the road with minimal body roll. My only gripe is that I had to put in a set of zero rates to level the back end up. Good thing is, the Rough Country package with springs on both ends and upgraded shocks cost the same as Tuff Country with rear blocks.
 
Tuff Country 52 inch EZ rides! :saweet:

Mine ride pretty damn good. Just keep in mind they need time to be broken in before they reach their full ride quality potential. Also make sure you go for the all spring lift. Not worth trying to reuse 30 year old springs. Also I still run my sway bar and I have almost no body roll.
 
Tuff Country all the way. Take a look at the spring rate charts. It is no comparison. We just got through doing a Rough Country lift on my friends TJ. It scored in the 9's on the RTI ramp. I was a little impressed but, you don't have a heep. I have T.C. 4"ers up front in my blazer (until I do my 52"s). It rides great.
 
I have RC 4" on my K30 with front pto winch/deck and 454. It rides ok and flexes ok. My front winch and deck weigh about 200lbs. The RC work ok for me and are well suited to a heavy load on the front. RC would probably also be good for someone with a snowplow setup.

I am tempted to try some BDS springs to see what the ride quality would be like. I'm not sure how they springs will hold up long term with the extra weight up front that I have though.

If I didn't have all the weight up front, I would go for BDS 1st choice, TC as 2nd choice, RC 3rd choice.

ANyone know the spring rate for the BDS 4"? I've never found any specs on those.
 
juanblzer said:
ah, you must have bought them from Azblazor?
Click to expand...

Nope, I bought them from you for $50. Your ex-wife was working in Phx so she brought them down with her and I picked them up from her at her work. That was about 4 years ago I think.

Harley
 
1985 Sub K10 with aly heads, intake & water pump.
I had TC 2" EZs, and then decided I needed 4" with 35s. So I put in TC 4" EZs and finally all the ORD greaseable bushings. Its too soft/springy with $30 shocks so I went with $60 shocks.
If you go with TC, use the bushings they came with in the EZs, or standard rate springs with slippery bushings. Finish tuning with shocks.:D
 
wforicv said:
Tuff Country all the way. Take a look at the spring rate charts. It is no comparison. We just got through doing a Rough Country lift on my friends TJ. It scored in the 9's on the RTI ramp. I was a little impressed but, you don't have a heep. I have T.C. 4"ers up front in my blazer (until I do my 52"s). It rides great.
Click to expand...

Last time i had my Blazer on a ramp i scored a 920 with RC springs. It was good enough for 3 place and a free dinner for me and my wife. I dont drive a heep.
 
springs

I had a set of 4" ez ride springs on my 86 K5. It seemed to wander and follow the road(bump steer) even with a steering arm. I took it off and put a 2" tuff country with no steering correction and it drives like it is supposed to. Nobody could tell me why it drove like this other than "its a short wheelbase" which my be true since I have had 2", 4" and 6" springs on pickups and they never drove like either one of my blazers did with the 4" springs. And my front end was aligned and everything was tight. Just thought I'd put my 2cents in.
 
86454K30 said:
I had a set of 4" ez ride springs on my 86 K5. It seemed to wander and follow the road(bump steer) even with a steering arm. I took it off and put a 2" tuff country with no steering correction and it drives like it is supposed to. Nobody could tell me why it drove like this other than "its a short wheelbase" which my be true since I have had 2", 4" and 6" springs on pickups and they never drove like either one of my blazers did with the 4" springs. And my front end was aligned and everything was tight. Just thought I'd put my 2cents in.
Click to expand...

Did you have a steering stabilizer? :dunno:
 
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