94 Stepside 4/6 drop

I know there is quite a few posts on 4/6 drops for our 88-98 rcsb trucks. But I finally decided to create an account and just flat out ask for specific answers for my truck/my set up. Did research for about a solid week or 2 just reading forums and seeing what was working for other obs fans. Id like to get help from all you experts I think I want a stiffer ride. front and back. did a cheap(er) drop. But with my old rally wheels and tires (i mean old) the front too springy and tires are being destroyed by fenders. Which I plan on rolling.

What I have...
94 C1500 RCSB Stepside
4/6 drop. 2 different cheaper ebay kits. 2" drop spindle and cut 1 coil off original spring.
6" rear flip kit stock shackles, stock hangers. stock leafs.
Wheels - Old rally 15x10 I believe? I think im sure lol. running 275/60/15 all around. Back wheels/tires tuck in juuust right on the inside of fiberglass wheel well nice and level. Fronts, stick out about an inch and rub on fenders on many bumps. And thats with the new shocks. (weak shocks imo) every once in awhile the front will hit the bump stops on harsher roads.

Front shocks - Monroe Matic 32318 (98 Dakota as stated in a forum)
Rear shocks - Monroe Matic 32197 (92 Cherokee sport) but top mounting holes didnt line up, is it obvious that modification is necessary?
No shock extenders yet, but will order them because forums have said great things about them.
No c-notch yet either, but again, a lot of you recommend it so thats on the way too.
- So ultimately I would like a little stiffer front end. Should I just order a new 2" drop coils to have stiffer spring? and what stiffer front shock for 4" drop?
-What stiffer shock for the rear on a 6" drop? With soon to have extenders. Seems decent/good stiff shocks go from 50-80 bucks which im fine with but nothing toooo crazy.
-Will i be okay with my wheels (for now) with a stiffer stronger suspension, front and back. 15x10 with smaller tires? obviously the 275s for the rear seem ok not much rubbing if any at all. but what front tire would look similar to the back but without any major major clearing issues? I KNOW ITS A LOT OF SPECIFICS. ALL YOUR GUYS HELP IS APPRECIATED

Never been a huge fan of monroe shocks. You might try the belltech drop shocks.

Get some bilstein hd shocks in the dakota/cherokee variety. Get Shock extenders in the rear. Currently your rear shocks are at a bad angle and likely doing nothing. Cut stock springs likely have a higher spring rate than drop springs.

Aarong23 said:

Never been a huge fan of monroe shocks. You might try the belltech drop shocks.

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I'll second that exact statement. I was considering Monroes for my SS as they have some listed specifically for the application but man they've got more than a few bad reviews. Belltech shocks haven't let me down on several GMT400's so I just put some on my GMT800 SS and so far, so good. The Street Performance model are firm without being stupid, and the price isn't outrageous either. I believe the Nitro Drop will be firmer. Check with Tony at TBSSOwners dot com, he's a Belltech dealer and can set you straight on the difference, and possibly give you the best price possible on Belltech (or DJM) stuff, too, though he generally deals with Trailblazer SS and GMT800 stuff.

Shock extenders pretty much mandatory with that drop or the angle is too extreme for them to be working worth a damn.

Your wide Rally wheels are gonna be 8"; that's widest factory made, and it's real common for people to run 275/60's on them. There are wider repros available but wouldn't be likely in your case. I think sewlow has run the 15x8 up front? with that size tire but I think with less drop; I don't honestly believe you can do 15x8 with 275/60 up front on a 4" drop. A narrower tire, maybe even a 15x7 wheel as well, to make room...those squarebody wheels are pretty much zero offset (mounting flange of the wheel is positioned center of the hoop) so they stick out more than wheels designed for GMT400's.

You can easily ID a squarebody 8" Rally by looking for the stamp on the inside of the hoop; may take some cleaning to find it. It will say 15x8. Also, you can measure it at that first flat from the front face, it's about 1.5" - see the following pics:



Richard

Do you have pics of your current setup? I'm thinking about doing a 4/6 drop with rallye's on a step side.

2" drop springs up front would help a lot. I would think if you're running 15x10's with 275's up front, you'd be shredding both the tires and fenders past the point of being able to drive. Even drop springs are only going to help so much. You may need to switch to a narrower tire in the front.

You're running a flip kit in the back without a notch? I can't imagine that's working out very well either...

I preferr factory springs with 1 coil removed over the aftermarket drop coils.
Cutting coils increases the spring rate.
Someone posted an analogy on the forum recently that explained why perfectly.
Think of how much flex there is at the end of a 10' diving board. Now cut 2' off. The 8' board now has way less flex at the end.
Drop springs mimic the factory soft ride.

No C-notch? Ouch. Definitley needs to be done. That, along with a notch in the box crossmember above the diff's pumpkin.
Extenders + B/T's upper shock mount relocation kit. Part #6658.

Are those spindles a B/T designed derivitive? If so, then they are pushing the wheels out about 3/4" on each side.

My '98 when it was 4/6 on 275/60-15's. Fender lips rolled, lower control arms clearanced. Only spot the tires rubbed was at the lower/rear of the fender wells. Caused no damage, but made a terrible Bzzzttt noise. ...and only on hard suspension compressions.
CMS spindles, which are a B/T design copy-cat.

someotherguy said:

I'll second that exact statement. I was considering Monroes for my SS as they have some listed specifically for the application but man they've got more than a few bad reviews. Belltech shocks haven't let me down on several GMT400's so I just put some on my GMT800 SS and so far, so good. The Street Performance model are firm without being stupid, and the price isn't outrageous either. I believe the Nitro Drop will be firmer. Check with Tony at TBSSOwners dot com, he's a Belltech dealer and can set you straight on the difference, and possibly give you the best price possible on Belltech (or DJM) stuff, too, though he generally deals with Trailblazer SS and GMT800 stuff.

Shock extenders pretty much mandatory with that drop or the angle is too extreme for them to be working worth a damn.

Your wide Rally wheels are gonna be 8"; that's widest factory made, and it's real common for people to run 275/60's on them. There are wider repros available but wouldn't be likely in your case. I think sewlow has run the 15x8 up front? with that size tire but I think with less drop; I don't honestly believe you can do 15x8 with 275/60 up front on a 4" drop. A narrower tire, maybe even a 15x7 wheel as well, to make room...those squarebody wheels are pretty much zero offset (mounting flange of the wheel is positioned center of the hoop) so they stick out more than wheels designed for GMT400's.

You can easily ID a squarebody 8" Rally by looking for the stamp on the inside of the hoop; may take some cleaning to find it. It will say 15x8. Also, you can measure it at that first flat from the front face, it's about 1.5" - see the following pics:

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Richard

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Yeah, I've tried a few different monroes and they were junk for me. I have the bilsteins that are designed for lowered 400s, but it says they're only rated for 0-4 inch drop front and back. So idk how they'd work on a 6 inch drop. Pricey as hell, but I really like them.

Definitely appreciate everyones input on this! Read somewhere that the measurement from tire bead to bead is the wheel width. and you're right SOMEOTHERGUY, I'm sure they're 8" width. So with that I will be looking into some 235/50s for the front and see how we're sitting with the rolled fenders.
--The drop spindles were cheap cheap off ebay, spindle source.
--And I get it give me sh*t for not notching it haha. Knew it was coming. But the notch and shock extenders OTW and will be installed asap. Belltech shocks is probably the route I'll go since the good reviews and decent price. Narrow shorter tires, belltech shocks, notch, and extenders are on the to-do list!!!! Will be posting pics of my 94 stepside

Not many pics yet!



Front tire sticking out some

94OBSSTEPSIDE said:

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Not many pics yet!

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Front tire sticking out some

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What did you do on the fronts? You were at 275 60 15? Did you try anything else, narrower tire?