suspension upgrades/questions

[bigyellow]

i wanna do a 3/5 drop on my truck. i was looking around and i can get the 3" springs for the front from CPP for 95 dollars. and i can get just the rear 5" drop springs for the back from gmcpauls for 120 if i remember correctly.

my question is do i have to use the drop spindles and a one inch drop spring on the front or would i be able to get away with just the 3" springs. and the back do i have to get the trac bar?

yes i'm aware that there is dozens of posts on here that will probably answer my questions but all of the info in spread across too many threads and conflict each other. so if anybody is running this set up i'd really appreciate it.

[OJ1988]

I just installed 3" cpp fronts and 5" cpp rears. Ended up cutting a half coil off my fronts to get some rake.


You can use the 3" drops in the front, no need for spindles. Although the Drop spindles and 1" drop spring will give a much better ride.

Many have got away without the adj. rear track bar as well, but again, it will improve ride and handling over the stocker. Putting one in mine.

[Dirty Rat]

I was going to order a 3/4 drop kit from ccp and I asked them about a 3/5 and I was informed that to do a 5" drop in the rear you would actually need to notch the frame now I am not positive but that is what I was told so you might ask about that

[bigyellow]

i've seen other people do a 5" rear drop w/o notching the frame so i think i'll be alright.

and what do you guys mean a better ride quality? lol i'm new to this drop scene. i lowered mine a lil bit when i got it but did it the wrong way(a torch) and so now it floats like a mother and squats out way too easy etc. so honestly if the ride is harsh it'd probably be a welcomed change. i drove a c4 corvette for a while and it didn't ride very nice but man did it handle lol. so a rough ride wouldn't bother me all that badly.

[OJ1988]

As stated I have CPP 5" drop springs in the rear. Swaped bump stops for the pancake style, plenty of room, plenty of travel.

Better ride quality? I mean, with 3 and 5" springs, it will be a very firm ride with limited travel, meaning you will hit the bumpstops on big bumps and you will feel it.

If you went with drop spindles, you will have much more travel, and can use a softer spring to get a softer ride.

The question is, do you want it to ride like a cadi, or corvette?

[bigyellow]

corvette haha. i live in the country, and there is a lot of windy curvy roads and soft Cadillac suspension doesn't exactly agree with it lol

[OJ1988]

Just be prepared for those hard hitting potholes.

Add some new bumpstops while you have it apart, as well as apropriete length shocks.

[N2TRUX]

No matter what the application, your better served if you use drop spindles combined with springs. Drop spindles have no impact on ride quality shorter or softer springs do. If you can get 2.5-3" of drop with no change in ride quality your going to appreciate the extra dollars spent.

[bigyellow]

the extra dollars are just not in my wallet right now or i probably would do the drop spindle and 1" spring. but seeing as how i'm a college student i'm going to do the best i can now. besides i reallllly need to get new springs regardless.

[robnolimit]

do yourself a favor. use this as a learning lesson for the future. Do it once, Do it right. The hard lesson is that there is never enough money to do it right the first time, but there is always money to do it a second time. (there's a lot of extra cost in round 2) search E-bay for some dropped spindles, and look for some 2" lowering blocks for the rear. then, find some 1" front spings, and 3" rear.

[big_al_71]

Originally Posted by Dirty Rat

I was going to order a 3/4 drop kit from ccp and I asked them about a 3/5 and I was informed that to do a 5" drop in the rear you would actually need to notch the frame now I am not positive but that is what I was told so you might ask about that

I have 4 1/2 up front and 6 in the back with no-notch and it is perfectly fine...it rides like if it is on rails.

Originally Posted by robnolimit

do yourself a favor. use this as a learning lesson for the future. Do it once, Do it right. The hard lesson is that there is never enough money to do it right the first time, but there is always money to do it a second time. (there's a lot of extra cost in round 2)

Very well stated!!!

[lolife99]

Originally Posted by bigyellow

the extra dollars are just not in my wallet right now or i probably would do the drop spindle and 1" spring. but seeing as how i'm a college student i'm going to do the best i can now. besides i reallllly need to get new springs regardless.

You can't just bolt on a set of 3/5 drop springs anyway.

You also need:
1) shorter drop shocks front and rear.
2) Rear shock relocators.
3) An adjustable rear track bar.

Save your money.
Do it right the first time.

[Clyde65]

Spindles will be around 250.00
Springs around 100.00 front and 100.00 back
Rear shock relocators 75.00
Track Bar 80.00
Shocks 50-80.00 each
this is just an estimate tho, if you can't do this now, put your money aside, save until you do. we all have to do it, no matter what age/situation your in.

What I did was buy the front stuff first...then save more and I am almost ready to purchase the rear.

[2002yanks]

as others have said, do it once and do it right(you will thank yourself later). i just ordered the kit from cpp(front/rear springs and shocks, track bar, shock relocators for rear and cups for rear springs) for $439(saves you about $100 if you ordered seperatly. you can get 1,2 or 3" front drop springs and 2,3,4, or 5 rears in any combination(they wqill also match the shocks to your drop). or you can do as suggested and do the front first then do the rear as $$ comes in. they also have the same kit with drop spindles in it for 6 something. i ordered 2" front and 5" rear to go with my drop spindles and 1" drop blocks for the rear(4.5/6 drop total).

[bigyellow]

i fully planned on using drop shocks and relocators and i was going to see how the rearend was centered up b4 i got the trac bar. i just dont think the difference in ride quality would be that noticeable to me. i'm not knocking anything you guys are saying cause i know it isn't the best way to do it but it's the best i can do.

[bigyellow]

if the sway bar i'm getting improves the handling as much as everybody says i'll wait and do it right. cause right now my truck handles like a wheel barrel. it has LOTS of roll and float. i've already replaced the shocks(like 2 years ago but they didn't make that much of a difference even when they were brand new)