ccreddell
I'm Awesome
First of all, in my experience, going with a 3" lowered spring causes the truck to ride too soft and bottom out more often. I prefer to cut half a coil or more to achieve the additional drop. It firms up the ride just enough to tame the front end, but not enough to cause a harsh ride. In the rear, expect to use a wedge, if you don't end up needing one, you'll be one of the lucky few. The biggest problem you'll run into in the back is the shocks. They are at such an extreme angle that they're basically not there. Tends to get bouncy. If you run an auxiliary overload airbag, helps to tame it a bit. The proper way to fix this is to make the shocks more upright.
i personally will not cut A-arms to clearance for wheels. I know there are thousands of them running on the street, but I didn't build any of them-and I have fixed a few that either broke or bent. So, again, I won't do this. So, I would urge you to keep the 17s.
As far as how to drop the rear, there's a couple ways. One is to do the shackle, and all of the above advice holds. You can also use a drop spring set, and maybe a lift shackle-you get better angles this way. You could conceivably use a one inch block because you already have a flip kit, but I've never done it that way.
Good luck, hope it works out.
