Opinions on Best Lift Kit

[pound41]

Looking to put a 4 in lift with rear springs and not blocks on my 71 K-5 Right now it has a 6inch rattle your teeth lift. It will go off road very little so I am looking for a somewhat smooth ride. Suggestions are appreciated

[Stocker]

I've been very happy with the Skyjacker Softride 2" front springs on my K20. Excellent quality and a decent ride. They also make a 4" Softride kit that might be worth consideration.

[sboris]

Sounds like the one you have might be Rough Country, hence the name.. Can't suggest any as I've always had the low end ones. Very stiff... Interested in suggestions also
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[Prematuregrey]

You have a couple of options. First off what shocks are you running? Duals? I don't recommend dual shocks on anything that doesn't get a lot of abuse or pre-running. I've always been a big fan of Bilstein 5100 series shocks and just put a set of 5125's on my K-20 removing the dual Rancho setup it came with which were all bad, and that significantly helped the ride. Just make sure and spec out the correct lengths. The 5100's are slightly softer than the 5125's I believe.

Secondly, if you have a 6 inch all leaf spring lift, you could try and pull a couple leafs out of the spring packs which will lower you down some and soften it up a bit. This will be at a cost of load capacity so consider that when doing it. This can be fixed with an air bag overload setup or some Timbren bump stops fairly easily.

Poly bushings on your shackles will transfer bumps a lot more so you may want to try and stick with rubber at the cost of longevity.

All that aside, Superlift has always made a good product and I'm sure the Skyjacker Softride kits are built well and ride decent. Again, stay away from the dual shock setups and blocks under the leafs. You could also try and call up Deaver Spring Co. and have them walk you through a custom set of leafs.

[Bill72]

Tuff Country EZ Ride.

[Gene]

Originally Posted by Stocker

I've been very happy with the Skyjacker Softride 2" front springs on my K20. Excellent quality and a decent ride. They also make a 4" Softride kit that might be worth consideration.

X2. I have an all spring 4 inch skyjacker softride and its on a swb. Not a bad ride at all.
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[swamp rat]

All good info, heres another link:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=436914

I also read another board stating that BDS was the best, i don't know personally but heres the link:

http://bds-suspension.com/product?ma...1&yr=1969-1972

[70-K5]

I recently ran a Tuff Country 4" lift that was a very good ride. Currently using a 6" Tuff Country spring set in a 89 K5. They have very low spring rates so depending on weight of your rig it might not give you enough lift.

[special-K]

For off the shelf pricing I like Tuff Country EZ-Rides. I've run them in 4" and 6" on Pickups,K/5s,and Suburbans,all with excellent results. I prefer the Rancho 9000RSX adjustable shocks because you can set them soft for the best ride,but can set them stiff if you load the back up or tow. I just use either the hardest of the softest. Not sure about the 7 positions between.

[pound41]

Can someone with a 4inch lift give me a measurement from ground to bottom front tag

[70-K5]

Originally Posted by pound41

Can someone with a 4inch lift give me a measurement from ground to bottom front tag

That's going to be a relative measurement as the size of tire will affect the measurement...

Better to measure from the center of the hub to the bottom of the wheel arch.

I have 4" Rancho springs on the front of my 70 K5, I can measure this evening.

[72 Green Monster]

Just got in this forum and so far am impressed. In a somewhat response to your question on lifts. I have a 72 LWB with a 4'' Rancho lift, and also have a buddy that had a Blazer with a 4'' Rancho and both of them ride rougher than all get out. With my experience, I would probably try and stay away from Rancho. I too am still looking for a smoother ride while keeping the height. Hope this helps some, good luck.
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[srvivor71]

I put in Tuff Country EZ Ride 2" front lift / 3" rear earlier this summer. The new front leaf springs and shocks have made the ride so harsh I feel like it's going to bust the truck up (or my teeth). I hit a bump on the highway doing the speed limit (55) and am pretty sure I was airborne - with a very rough landing. When I got where I was going, I saw the battery had come off its tray. I think I may have to replace these front springs with something way less harsh before something breaks.

[SonoraBob]

On my Jeep I used a number of brands. I bent quite a few. But BDS is the best in my opinion.

[CherokeeC10]

I have no experience on K5 lift kits but as far as shocks go I ran Bilstein 5125s w/ Skyjacker springs on a Jeep and it rode damn good. Bilsteins did awesome. Currently have 5150s on a Baja project and they are extemely smooth also.

[special-K]

Originally Posted by srvivor71

I put in Tuff Country EZ Ride 2" front lift / 3" rear earlier this summer. The new front leaf springs and shocks have made the ride so harsh I feel like it's going to bust the truck up (or my teeth). I hit a bump on the highway doing the speed limit (55) and am pretty sure I was airborne - with a very rough landing. When I got where I was going, I saw the battery had come off its tray. I think I may have to replace these front springs with something way less harsh before something breaks.

I've never had any lift kit ride that bad,and I've had about all of them...Rough Country,Burbank Spring,Rancho,even over-arched stock springs with added leafs. Not sure what shocks you are using or if they are correct for your lift. Are you by chance running stock length shocks? They say stock shocks work w/2" but I disagree. Not a 67-72,but on my '92 K3500 I've had the torsion bars twisted up to a 3" or so lift since back in '93-94. I went to replace the shocks 5 years ago and the stock length shocks wouldn't extend far enough to mount at full droop. I had to get longer shocks.
Tuff Country EZ-Rides are made to ride better and they do. They are not just a continuous arch that is higher. In the center the arch is much flatter than the outer ends. You ride in that flat area and not on a high arch that doesn't want to compress.

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by Stocker

I've been very happy with the Skyjacker Softride 2" front springs on my K20. Excellent quality and a decent ride. They also make a 4" Softride kit that might be worth consideration.

I have a 4" Skyjacker Softride with no blocks (replacement springs all the way around) I LOVE IT!!! very smooth ride. It is a K10 though, so I suppose there could be some difference being that your k5 is a little shorter wheelbase.

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by special-K

They say stock shocks work w/2" but I disagree.

They didn't work with my 2" front Softrides, but stock rear shocks work great up front with 2" springs.

[70-K5]

Originally Posted by pound41

Can someone with a 4inch lift give me a measurement from ground to bottom front tag

26 3/4" from the center of the hub to the bottom of the wheel arch.

[BrianG]

If you are asking because you are wondering what size tire that you can fit with a 4" lift. I'll tell you that I have a 4" Skyjacker Softride with 35" BFG Mud Terrain's. they fit okay, but when I really wheeled it, the tires did rub. I did end up cutting the corners of the fender arches a little. It looked really good actually. That gave me all the clearance that I needed for rough ridding sand dunes and that sort of thing. I'm in the middle of a restore on that truck and haven't decided what tire to go with. I don't think that I want to cut the fenders this time, and would really like the height of the 35's. they'll fit, I know that, and I don't plan on any serious wheeling once this restore is complete. Maybe a trip around the dunes once or twice but nothing too hard. Just thought I'd share and give my two cents.

[bowtie72]

Check out offroaddesign.com. I used their shackle flip kit . I love it and rides good.
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[special-K]

Originally Posted by BrianG

If you are asking because you are wondering what size tire that you can fit with a 4" lift. I'll tell you that I have a 4" Skyjacker Softride with 35" BFG Mud Terrain's. they fit okay, but when I really wheeled it, the tires did rub. I did end up cutting the corners of the fender arches a little. It looked really good actually. That gave me all the clearance that I needed for rough ridding sand dunes and that sort of thing. I'm in the middle of a restore on that truck and haven't decided what tire to go with. I don't think that I want to cut the fenders this time, and would really like the height of the 35's. they'll fit, I know that, and I don't plan on any serious wheeling once this restore is complete. Maybe a trip around the dunes once or twice but nothing too hard. Just thought I'd share and give my two cents.

They now make 10.50/35s. Of you mount those on 8" wheels you'll be good to go.

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by special-K

They now make 10.50/35s. Of you mount those on 8" wheels you'll be good to go.

That would be great, except I really like my wheels. I'm pretty sure they are at least 10 inch. I had 35-12.50 - 15's on there. I'll have to check though. They are aftermarket rims. Thanks for the heads-up!

[srvivor71]

Originally Posted by special-K

I've never had any lift kit ride that bad,and I've had about all of them...Rough Country,Burbank Spring,Rancho,even over-arched stock springs with added leafs. Not sure what shocks you are using or if they are correct for your lift. Are you by chance running stock length shocks? They say stock shocks work w/2" but I disagree. Not a 67-72,but on my '92 K3500 I've had the torsion bars twisted up to a 3" or so lift since back in '93-94. I went to replace the shocks 5 years ago and the stock length shocks wouldn't extend far enough to mount at full droop. I had to get longer shocks.
Tuff Country EZ-Rides are made to ride better and they do. They are not just a continuous arch that is higher. In the center the arch is much flatter than the outer ends. You ride in that flat area and not on a high arch that doesn't want to compress.

This was kit, offered by Suspension Connection, same as this one, except for 3" blocks in rear: http://www.suspensionconnection.com/...on/126103.html

[truck4man]

I have the Skyjacker 4" softride with 12.50 33x15's on 10" rock crusher wheels and really like it.