Suspension questions??

[PaRedneckRiders]

Im starting to rebuild my truck again and have some questions about suspension.
Well first off i would like to go with about 8in of lift but i still want it to ride decent and have good flex the truck will be used for mostly offroading but will be driven on the road also.
In the rear i was thinking a DIY4X shackle flip and 4in lift springs in the rear.
But im not sure what i want to do in the front. I would rather not just put 8in springs up front. IIRC doesnt putting a 52" spring up front give 4in lift better ride and better flex.

Im just looking for some input from people who know a little more about everything through experience

[Chevy1TonFun]

i would go with longer springs all around. I would recommend DIY4X product! Yes, 52" in the front will give you a slightly better ride and flex. A lifted truck will never ride like a caddy.

[PaRedneckRiders]

So you would go with like 56" springs in the rear and 52" in the front? Yes i have heard nothing but good about the diy4x products.
If i did 4" lift springs 56in long in the rear with a shackle flip and 4" 52" springs in the front would that give me around 8" of total lift?
Im not looking to ride like a caddy im just looking to get as good of a ride as possible.

['63GENIII]

I think DIY has the "52 and beyond front mounts which I believe will allow the use of the 56" springs in front and then run 62" springs in the rear. If it were me, I'd use the longest springs that I could for the ride quality. Chevy 1 ton is right though, it's never gonna ride like a Caddy.

[PaRedneckRiders]

Alright i did see there B52 kit is there anything i need to change to be able to run a 56" spring in the front and a 62" in the rear. Like what would be the easiest way of going about running that pair?

[Chevy1TonFun]

How do you figure that a front 4" lift spring would give you 8" of lift? You need to have an 8" lift spring in the front. The 56" spring in the front will be no problem with the DIY4X B52 Kit. As for the rear, you may need to relocate the spring hangers in order to fit the longer springs.

[PaRedneckRiders]

I was thinking there was something up front that was going to give another 4" i guess i was wrong just thought i had read about something like that.

[Iron Hauler]

Originally Posted by PaRedneckRiders

I was thinking there was something up front that was going to give another 4" i guess i was wrong just thought i had read about something like that.

I dont know much about doing this so have been watching here to learn more. I thought the same thing that a stock set of rear chevy 1/2 or 3/4 ton springs would gain you 4" lift on the front with the DIY4X brackets. I figured it had something to do with going from a negative arch spring to a positive arch spring. I'm glad to learn the truth before I purchased them! I still may go with them but it wil have to be later since I had plenty of stock springs to use but will now have to go out and buy 4" lift springs too just to get a lift.

[Chevy1TonFun]

The DIY4X B52 kit just allows you to install longer springs. The bracket doesn't add any lift. The shackle flip in the rear adds 4" of lift.

[modblacksmith]

The B52 kit does give you 4 inches of lift because of the arch of the spring. There is another member on here that is currently doing the same thing to gain eight inches of lift.

[PaRedneckRiders]

Originally Posted by modblacksmith

The B52 kit does give you 4 inches of lift because of the arch of the spring. There is another member on here that is currently doing the same thing to gain eight inches of lift.

Yes thats what i was getting at, i thought because of the difference in the arch that it added roughly another 4in of lift. So if i ran 4in springs front and rear with a DIY4X shackle flip and B52 kit i would have roughly 8" of total lift correct. Plus running a 56" spring in the front and im not sure on what spring to run in the rear i might just stick with the 56s so i dont have to go to much into it.

[ghettoluxury]

Originally Posted by PaRedneckRiders

i thought because of the difference in the arch that it added roughly another 4in of lift. So if i ran 4in springs front and rear with a DIY4X shackle flip and B52 kit i would have roughly 8" of total lift correct.

Yes this is correct. A 52" rear spring used for a front axle ads 4" of lift. So if you get 4" lift springs for the rear of a short bed or blazer then you will end up with 8" of total lift. 56" rear springs that have 4" lift and a shackle flip will get you the 8" out back also.

[Chevy1TonFun]

That doesn't make any sense. How do you get 8" of lift out of 4" springs? If I installed the DIY4X B52 kit on my truck, it wouldn't make any difference in the stance. I would use the kit to move my axle forward a few inches to center it, FYI.

[joe231]

I think you guys are comparing apples to oranges...

PaRedneck,
What year truck are you working on?
Putting 52" rear springs on the front of a 73-87(91) will get you @ 4" of lift so if you used 4" lift, 52" rear springs you should get @8" of lift (4" lift plus the @4" that stock 52's give). It is probably going to ride rough though, lift springs typically do. Another option would be to build a front crossmember off the bottom of the frame to move the front hangers down 4" then build you a front spring upper shackle hanger (FUSH) under the frame 4" lower than the stock FUSH (or buy/build 4" longer shackles).

Here is kinda what I'm talking about for the front hanger (he moved the axle forward)


And here is the idea for the rear (he also moved his axle forward, it's a CC buggy)


Chevy 1 ton,
I'm not sure how the front springs are on the 67-72's. Are the stock fronts negative or positive arch? I think the difference between 73-87(91)'s and the 67-72's may be causing the confusion...
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[PaRedneckRiders]

Originally Posted by joe231

I think you guys are comparing apples to oranges...

PaRedneck,
What year truck are you working on?
Putting 52" rear springs on the front of a 73-87(91) will get you @ 4" of lift so if you used 4" lift, 52" rear springs you should get @8" of lift (4" lift plus the @4" that stock 52's give). It is probably going to ride rough though, lift springs typically do. Another option would be to build a front crossmember off the bottom of the frame to move the front hangers down 4" then build you a front spring upper shackle hanger (FUSH) under the frame 4" lower than the stock FUSH (or buy/build 4" longer shackles).

Here is kinda what I'm talking about for the front hanger (he moved the axle forward)

And here is the idea for the rear (he also moved his axle forward, it's a CC buggy)

Chevy 1 ton,
I'm not sure how the front springs are on the 67-72's. Are the stock fronts negative or positive arch? I think the difference between 73-87(91)'s and the 67-72's may be causing the confusion...
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Im working on an 84 well the new frame is an 86 but still the same.

[Chevy1TonFun]

I have 12" arched lift springs. The oringials were neg. Point is if I have my 12" springs and then install a B52 kit, I'm not going to go from 12" to 16" of lift. I would need to add a frame spacer as shown above or get a lift spring that gives 8" of lift.
I guess what I'm try to say is a 52" spring that is for a 4" lift will not give you 8" of lift with the B52 kit.
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[Iron Hauler]

I can easily see how you get 4" if not more from a stock spring and 8" out of a 4" lift spring.
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[joe231]

Originally Posted by Chevy1TonFun

I have 12" arched lift springs. The oringials were neg. Point is if I have my 12" springs and then install a B52 kit, I'm not going to go from 12" to 16" of lift. I would need to add a frame spacer as shown above or get a lift spring that gives 8" of lift.
I guess what I'm try to say is a 52" spring that is for a 4" lift will not give you 8" of lift with the B52 kit.
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If you put a stock 52" spring in the front you get @4" of lift, so if you use a rear spring built for a 4" lift you will get around 8" of lift versus the stock front spring. It has nothing to do with the B52 kit, the lift is all in the spring.
Your basically saying a 4" rear lift spring doesn't lift the rear 4"?

I assume your using a 12" front lift spring on the front and a 12" rear lift spring on the rear? If you put your 12" rear lift spring on the front you would have @ 16" of lift over the stock negative arched spring.
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[Chevy1TonFun]

Ok, that make sense. I was using my truck as example. Ok PaRedneck Riders I hope this all makes sense for you. In order to achieve your 8" od lift I. The front use the b52 kit and 52" rear 4" lift springs and the shackle flip in the rear with 56" or 63" spring with 4" of lift. There you have it. Good luck and let us know how it works out!
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[PaRedneckRiders]

Alright it all makes sence now. It will be a while before i put it all back together i picked up my new rear axle today now i need a front one and then need to find the lift springs and get the DIY4X parts.

[86k20mudddigger]

i had 4inch blocks in the back of my rig and switched it out to the shackle flip kit from ORD its like driving a caddy compared to the blocks in the back. a 4 hour trip some where is actually bearable