How do I get to 5/6

[454SSguy]

I want to get to a 5/6 drop and be able to handle as well as I can for a big block truck. I know I will definately need sway bars front and rear and have considered tying the frame front and back. But I'm still pretty curious about the drop since stance is important too. I have drop springs in the front and shackles and hangers with drop shocks in the back. I want to have a little rake to it, gonna end up running a 335/45R17 tire when I'm done, . I think the shocks in the rear and the springs in the front should be changed since they've been on the truck since bought it and I have no idea how old they are. question is how do I get to where I want to go. Do I need spindles and control arms? or spindles and springs. Then for the rear I've found drop springs to make my 4" go to a 6-7" or should I just do a flip kit and find stock hangers and shackles? I'm sure I'll need a C-nothc can anyone confirm this?

Open to opinions, and yes that tire is epic enough to be in bold, lol.

 

[stroker52]

i have a flip done with 2" drop shackles set to 1" so it give me a 7" drop.. the front i got springs and spindles 3" drop springs and 2" drop spindles.. ive dont know alot about the lower a-arms but read mixed reviews on them.. new rear springs are always a good thing, cuz the old springs get soft over time and the handling goes south.. so i say get new rear drop springs! an yes you will need to C-notch the rear.. i would buy the one from AVS its strong... also do some calling around before you buy front springs because of the big block..

 

[454SSguy]

That was my thought on the rear springs. I don't want to use a smaller spring in the front unless I have too.

 

[shortchevy]

I have upper and lower tubular control arms in the front and they are awesome! the lower is a 2" and joined with a 2" spring you get 4" in the front... I cut my springs to get to 6 but I would not recommend that with a big block. theres a lot of pros and cons for both spindles and arms. ive ridden on both and I will never put drop spindles on another truck after having drop arms... spindles tend to push the wheel out and, normally, right into the fender... not good. but you cant cheap out with arms... especially with the weight youll have on them. I would recommend both uppers and lowers (so the truck can be aligned properly afterwards, the upper compensates for the drop and allows further camber adjustment) and a very nice 3" drop spring... they do make them but if I were you I would call and make 100 percent sure that they can handle the weight.


the rear can be just as big of a money pit as the front... to get the truck to handle well (autocross) would be to run a parallel 4 link setup with coilovers... but if you dont want to spend more on the rear end than you spent on the truck do a flip kit and notch. very easily done and handles like stock... with a flip, notch and a sway bar you would prolly handle how you want it to. and flips are cheap in comparison to a link setup.


edit: you do need a notch for a flip kit. most come with the notch.

 

[Devs93]

What kinda wheel are running make sure backspacing will allow for that much drop Im running a 295/45 on my ss wheels and they arent gonna and they are to wide Im gonna end hitting my wheel arches so I go back to a 275 series before I put my bed back on

 

[454SSguy]

Short Chevy - I hear ya on the a arms, I would rather have some tubular ones anyway, where can I get them? On the rear, I already have shackles and hangers, should I sell and do a flip kit or just get some drop leafs to add another 2". I'm not trying to be lazy, I've heard that some of the drop springs ride better and handle better since my truck sits on a 2500 chassis and is made to tow stuff (ridiculous). BTW I love your truck. Your thread was the final push to make me decide on going lower.

Dev - Right now I run stock SS wheels that are stretched 2 1/2" to the inside with a 1" spacer, so whatever Stock BS is plus 2 1/2" minus another 1". I almost rub the rears now on the bed, but I will be doing a little tub job and possibly relocating the spring mounts.

FYI that is a funny wheel size but it comes out to a 28 x 13. The 325/50R15 is a 27.8 x 12.8 so not that much bigger anyway it's just the biggest thing I could find in a 17"

 

[shortchevy]

Short Chevy - I hear ya on the a arms, I would rather have some tubular ones anyway, where can I get them? On the rear, I already have shackles and hangers, should I sell and do a flip kit or just get some drop leafs to add another 2". I'm not trying to be lazy, I've heard that some of the drop springs ride better and handle better since my truck sits on a 2500 chassis and is made to tow stuff (ridiculous). BTW I love your truck. Your thread was the final push to make me decide on going lower.

well thats great my truck inspires lowness! The arms Im running are DJM and I got them through styintruck.com. theyre amazing but if you know your going to bag in the future use ART (air ride technologies) arms... the djm arms take a bit of metalwork to make them compatible with bags. as far as the rear goes I havnt heard good things about drop springs... on my thread somewhere MOBS was talking about how theyre basically the stock 4 leaf pack with the 2nd and 4th leaf removed (top leaf is 1 and bottom, load lead, is 4) and with those two removed you will get a crapload of axle wrap (rear end moves before the truck). I pulled the 2nd leaf out recently and I notice the difference and I only have a little tiny stock 305.... I imagine your torque numbers are a wee tad higher than mine. get a flip kit and a good notch (not a djm notch, I dont trust mine, part of the reason Im doing a 8" weld in notch) heres what I think looks like a strong notch... I really like the backing plate that goes on the inside of the frame.


http://www.stylintrucks.com/parts/lowering_flip_kits_by_mcgaughy-sqt-s/1104000114_6214.aspx

the notch isnt included in this kit but this is the only place with a picture of it

Im surprised no one on here has hassled you about this yet but... PICTURES! lol

 

[454SSguy]

I'm definatley not doin bags for sure. So I'll just go with the DJM arms top and bottom. I definately want a weld in notch, they seem stronger to me. I was lookin at stoker52's thread on here about all the tying in and relocating the shock mounts in the rear, probably gonna do alot of that. Anyway here are some pics...

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[454SSguy]

Probably gonna be selling my stock wheels setup btw. Any on you guys intersetd?

 

[stroker52]

thanks for looking at my tread.. all the stuff i did helped alot!! i had my C-notchs cut out on a water jet but AVS makes some just like what i did for $100.. i just like to build my own stuff so i can say "well yes sir i built that" lol...

http://www.avsontheweb.com/product.php?productid=149&cat=0&page=3