?s about B52 ride height and softness
 

I am planning on building a 3/4 suburban with a supercharged 6.0/4L80E/NP241/D60/14BFF. This will be my family machine that is driven everyday.
I will use it to haul the boat and other things as well as do some wheelin across the utah desert from time to time.

I only want to lift it two inches w 33 10.50 on stock steelies and hubcaps.

I was thinking I would do the B52 front springs (ie diy4x kit w 52" 1/2 ton springs) but wonder if I can use that setup and keep it in the 2"-2.5" lift range?

Could I just shorten the shackle and take a leaf out to achieve this. Or should I just put in new 73-87 square body springs that have three leafs and the correct arc to achieve the desired lift of 2"?

If you have 52" springs in the front your rig could you comment on ride quality and what size tires and lift you have.

This is just pre stage planning but it has been on my mind as to the direction of springs that I will use here.

Thanks all

Re: ?s about B52 ride height and softness
 

The 52"s are going to net you 4" of lift using the B52 kit from DIY4X. The over all arch of the pack is in the primary spring. You may be able to drop out 1 leaf so the weight of the rig squats the springs an inch or so but you may lose some overall suspension control if you get a little crazy off road. If you were to do that you will definitely use a good after market bump stop. But i don't think it's a good idea. The ride will be soft compared to the shorter stockers which is what you are after while still maintaining load ability.

You run into 3 issues when converting to 52's.

1. They will not ride as nice as a proper set of built aftermarket springs like from Deaver.

2. If you plan to offroad the truck you will need to install a cross over steering kit as the geometry of the stock lends to steering issues when the suspension is articulated. When the passenger side spring is drooped out you cant turn the steering wheel to the right. Cross over will fix this but it adds to your budget.

3. If you use it on the highway you'll want a front sway bar. But the sway bar interferes with the cross over steering system as they both occupy roughly the same area. Perhaps if you wanted to run both you could use a high steer reverse mounted steering system but remember this adds $ up quick. Then run ORD's sway bar dissconnects for offroading so you can lock it back down easily when you hop back on the highway.

Hope i answered a couple of things for you anyway. Good luck with your project, it sounds like a fun one.

-steve

Re: ?s about B52 ride height and softness
 

and longer front springs can cause axle wrap under braking.. not somthing i would want to have...

i have the stock length skyjacker "soft rides" and they are smoother riding then stock springs imo

Re: ?s about B52 ride height and softness
 

My 85 k5 rides like a Cadillac on 52" fronts. However they're taller than you want and.if you remove a leaf or to you get wicked body roll. Quad shocks can't even cure it. Swaybar and crossover has been mentioned.

For your application tough country ez ride springs fit the bill very well. Nothing else needed.
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Re: ?s about B52 ride height and softness
 

I also just install the Skyjacker soft ride front springs for s 2.5" lift and mine rides much better then before.
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Re: ?s about B52 ride height and softness
 

Thanks for the comments.

I did not mention that I am planning on a high steer system. The reason is that it seems that the stock steering on a d60 is troublesome. I did not realize that a sway bar would be in the way of that steering system. I figure I can create a sway bar system that will fit some way.

I did consider that I might need to get application specific springs made. I have had a set of soft ride springs on my 78 and was hoping to get this to be softer. ( like a Cadillac would be optimal) with this rig having a heavier weight than my 78 k20 maybe it would be a bit "softer" on the soft ride springs. I did have the thought that taking a leaf or two out of the 1/2 t spring would make it too soft for a front spring. Thanks for the confirmation on that.

I guess I will keep thinking about what the final solution will be. I am thinking that I will get some 48-52" springs made that have the softness that I am looking for and also add to the articulation capabilities.
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Re: ?s about B52 ride height and softness
 

Its never easy is it? I'm new to this and a very "hands on" type myself. I took the whole suspension from a M1008 (rated at 1 1/4 ton) and put it under my 69 K10. Went from the puny dana 44 & 12 bolt to a 14FF/Dana 60. I had to relocate all the brackets on the frame and will be pulling some leaves from the 8+1 spring pack once I see how the height turns out. Theres lots of good folks on here that are willing to help and share thier knowledge:metal:
In the end, it still comes down to alot of trial and error.

Just keep the rest of us posted on your progress and how you did it.

Re: ?s about B52 ride height and softness
 

for your truck a 5 or 6 pack rear 56" will be nice. i have the m1008 springs in the rear of my blazer.

heres how many i used. it rides like a pickup should, flexes great, and can still bear a load. shackle angle plays a large role here though.
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...505_171838.jpg



for what its worth, i drive my truck around with 52s up front without a sway bar. just be aware of your vehicles handling characteristics and drive like a good representative of our community here. it is completely driveable but body roll is an issue.

to alleviate this i am switching to a 4" 47" front spring. the spring rate is correct for the truck up front and its going to move my axle forward a little more for approach angle. i am more of a dedicated wheeler, but i drive it to work from time to time.

Re: ?s about B52 ride height and softness
 

I would think that for overall ride quality a crossover steering system would be nicer to have than a sway bar.... anyone else?

Re: ?s about B52 ride height and softness
 

It looks like your frame angles upward alot more than mine behind the wheelwells? My springpack sits relatively parallel to the frame rails and the ground. Did you mean to say mounting pad angle vs shackle angle? I kept my shackles about the same angle as they were on the M1008 frame.

Re: ?s about B52 ride height and softness
 

for my '72 3/4 ton suburban project, i am using 52s front and 64s rear, but this will be a dedicated wheeler, not tow rig/DD.

front springs were 1/2 ton four leaf and rear springs were heavy half/light 3/4 ton four leaf with an arched overload.

http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/p...uburban001.jpg

Re: ?s about B52 ride height and softness
 

One direction I thought about going was to buy the DIY4X brackets and possibly look at buying the 88-93 dodge front springs. They measure 48" c-c
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Re: ?s about B52 ride height and softness
 

Their spring rate is higher than GM to bear the cummins, those trucks ride like hell anyways IMO.

This is what I have done now, its 4" 47 springs. Rides like a stock truck with these springs. I just have 39" tires.
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...728_192829.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...728_192734.jpg
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Re: ?s about B52 ride height and softness
 

Dodge had two different front springs for those year trucks. One set was for the cummins, the other was for the gas motor.
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Re: ?s about B52 ride height and softness
 

I see that this is an old thread, but are there others who have used the 48" Dodge V8 style springs? How did it work out and would you do it again? The shorter springs don't address all of the other issues that come with the 52" spring, but it seems like a bit more reasonable swap. I will probably go with crossover steering anyways but the sway bar seems to be a bit of a pain in the butt!! I sold my 72 K5 project and it had the B52 but I never got to drive it. I have a 67 4WD long bed frame that I have now and been working on. So far just the rear shackle flip has been done, this was a GMC frame with the V6 anyhow just wondering about the the 47 or 48" springs