Bilstien shock experiment $$

[akart]

Have a 74 K20 frame and springs and I got Alcan springs From ORD w/a 2" lift as advised to get a softer ride and all there stuff like super shakles and hangers and lubed bolts,poly bushings and every thing else they had for springs. 3K later practically no change. I have Rancho 9000 shocks on there now and had to move the rear perch down so they would even fit. So.. I am thinking of getting the correct length Bilstien shocks. Here's the thing: There are 2 rates of these shocks 255/70 and 170/60. the higher rate is suggested as normal and the lower for dual shocks. I'm still looking for a softer ride an wondering what would be the result of my installing the lesser rate shocks 170/60,what do you think??? What's another 400 bucks anyway. In for a dollar in for a dime.

[obijuan]

Why didn't you get the matching bilstiens from ord? Catalog bilstiens aren't the same as what has been picked by ord. Call them and buy them from ord. I have **** springs with those shocks and it's remarkably better.

[akart]

Originally Posted by obijuan

Why didn't you get the matching bilstiens from ord? Catalog bilstiens aren't the same as what has been picked by ord. Call them and buy them from ord. I have **** springs with those shocks and it's remarkably better.

ORD really dropped the ball on this one. I do not trust them or any advice they may give me. You want me to go into it?? I doubt that the forum would post it. Answer my Question !!!!

[sweetk30]

just go to ord and get there shocks to match .

and its dever spring and alcan is the ones ord has build them if i recall correctly .

[akart]

Originally Posted by sweetk30

just go to ord and get there shocks to match .

and its dever spring and alcan is the ones ord has build them if i recall correctly .

They use Denver and they don't tell you this until after you place your order.

[sweetk30]

Originally Posted by akart

They use Denver and they don't tell you this until after you place your order.

who ever they use the springs are made to there specs . not a basic off the shelf spec .

whats the problem ? ?

lots of guys running them and super happy over on ck5.com site .

unless you changed something or didnt give the right info they should be spot on .

and yes rancho shocks fit like crap . i recently worked on a guys truck and the rancho shock part#'s were correct for his truck and lift hight . but the shocks were limiting spring travel by close to 25% . made for a hard ride . told him but he didnt care .. . . .

[akart]

Originally Posted by sweetk30

who ever they use the springs are made to there specs . not a basic off the shelf spec .

whats the problem ? ?

lots of guys running them and super happy over on ck5.com site .

unless you changed something or didnt give the right info they should be spot on .

and yes rancho shocks fit like crap . i recently worked on a guys truck and the rancho shock part#'s were correct for his truck and lift hight . but the shocks were limiting spring travel by close to 25% . made for a hard ride . told him but he didnt care .. . . .

First I was to get custom springs and it was to take 3 weeks, fine w/ me they shipped me whatever springs in 1 week,doesn't sound like custom to me. I measured eye to eye and asked what measurements they wanted, they said they knew what I had and they do this all the time. They sent me rear springs 2" too long and told me to move the back mounts.ever try that. Grind off 12 rivets and drill 12 new holes,fun. The front springs rode on the frame and they sent me longer front shackles. I am a stupid old man and I had to spend many hours on the net figuring this out. I was supposed to get a 2" lift, front was 3" (fine) and the back was 7". No answer from them on that (like too bad) maybe it will settle (right) Which threw my castor off and I had to buy 2 degree castor wedges which I have yet to put in because it is a real PIA and they don't want to talk to me anymore but they were sure good at taking my money. It's all my fault you see.

[Burbnasty]

I'm in the process/ shopping for custom leaf springs for my suburban, and I am about to pull the trigger on a similar set up to what you have.

Give Mark a call at Motor City K-5, he is very knowledgeable he actually takes the time to listen to what you have and can make suggestions based on you application.


www.motorcityk5.com

[obijuan]

Sorry to hear about your experience but there isn't a doubt that ord chosen bilstiens are the best option.

[Stephen Watson]

Originally Posted by akart

First I was to get custom springs and it was to take 3 weeks, fine w/ me they shipped me whatever springs in 1 week,doesn't sound like custom to me. I measured eye to eye and asked what measurements they wanted, they said they knew what I had and they do this all the time. They sent me rear springs 2" too long and told me to move the back mounts.ever try that. Grind off 12 rivets and drill 12 new holes,fun. The front springs rode on the frame and they sent me longer front shackles. I am a stupid old man and I had to spend many hours on the net figuring this out. I was supposed to get a 2" lift, front was 3" (fine) and the back was 7". No answer from them on that (like too bad) maybe it will settle (right) Which threw my castor off and I had to buy 2 degree castor wedges which I have yet to put in because it is a real PIA and they don't want to talk to me anymore but they were sure good at taking my money. It's all my fault you see.

If you still have big ride height differences after moving the hangers to the 56" location we need to work that out. We thought that was fixed last summer.

As for shocks, I suspect part of the problem might just be length and positioning. If you don't have 3-4" of shock travel in each direction it'll get stiff quick. The rougher the road the more travel you'll need to keep from topping or bottoming the shock till you get to a shock length that exceeds the springs' available travel. It's not always obvious when a shock only has an inch of droop travel available but it'll ride terrible if that's the case. It's usually pretty obvious when there's only a couple inches of bump travel.

[akart]

Originally Posted by Stephen Watson

If you still have big ride height differences after moving the hangers to the 56" location we need to work that out. We thought that was fixed last summer.

As for shocks, I suspect part of the problem might just be length and positioning. If you don't have 3-4" of shock travel in each direction it'll get stiff quick. The rougher the road the more travel you'll need to keep from topping or bottoming the shock till you get to a shock length that exceeds the springs' available travel. It's not always obvious when a shock only has an inch of droop travel available but it'll ride terrible if that's the case. It's usually pretty obvious when there's only a couple inches of bump travel.

Actually the height problem was not fixed you just wore me down and you didn't want to talk about it so I decided to live with it. This thread is about shocks and I know I need new ones. I moved the rear shock perch down about 4" so my rear shock would even connect and there is only about 1.5" down travel in the rear and 2" in the front. I know what length shocks I need to get my 4" up/down travel. What I want to know is the shock rate and if I can get Bilstiens between there 170/60 & 255/70 rates or is that all there is?

[Stephen Watson]

Given the background on the springs we can just say we're still working on what's wrong and that's enough for now. For accuracy since these posts turn into permanent public record, our springs are built by Alcan and have been since the 90's. This isn't a big secret but we don't make a point of it either to avoid confusion. Our specs and build details are not set by them at all, in fact when we started this I had to assure them that I wouldn't hold them responsible for anything to do with the springs past simple construction details. The design work is all ours. It's already easy enough for guys to confuse this so we don't add any fuel to the fire by mentioning Alcan more than is necessary. They don't want to field calls about our springs too so it works for everyone.

On shocks, we have some application specific bilsteins that we can work with and are also working more with Fox on valve packages and shocks to our spec so we have some good options now and even more coming up.

It sounds like the shock length is definitely a problem so if nothing else you'll get a lot better ride by just letting the suspension move.

[akart]

Originally Posted by Stephen Watson

Given the background on the springs we can just say we're still working on what's wrong and that's enough for now. For accuracy since these posts turn into permanent public record, our springs are built by Alcan and have been since the 90's. This isn't a big secret but we don't make a point of it either to avoid confusion. Our specs and build details are not set by them at all, in fact when we started this I had to assure them that I wouldn't hold them responsible for anything to do with the springs past simple construction details. The design work is all ours. It's already easy enough for guys to confuse this so we don't add any fuel to the fire by mentioning Alcan more than is necessary. They don't want to field calls about our springs too so it works for everyone.

On shocks, we have some application specific bilsteins that we can work with and are also working more with Fox on valve packages and shocks to our spec so we have some good options now and even more coming up.

It sounds like the shock length is definitely a problem so if nothing else you'll get a lot better ride by just letting the suspension move.

Do you have Bilstiens shocks other than the 170/60 255/70 rates? Yes or No Please.

[Stephen Watson]

yes.

[Bent77]

Pretty happy with my Bilstiens

That I got from ORD
Posted via Mobile Device

[the_ocho]

ORD has never done me wrong. Must be a problem on your end

My Bilstiens ride mint

[skunked]

Maybe the OP needs to link his truck?

[obijuan]

There are so many things mixed up here. You could have avoided all of this by contacting bilstien and asking your simple yes or no question. But now your truck specs are all wonky and completely overcomplicated. Sounds like ord has offered to help and fix this pretty well. It seems like even if you get the correct shocks you probably won't be happy because you messed with everything in really strange ways.

This is a very simple system. ord is only as good as the information they are given. And there are many of us with the same stuff and no problems.

[akart]

Originally Posted by the_ocho

ORD has never done me wrong. Must be a problem on your end

My Bilstiens ride mint

No ocho,Looks like the problem is on your end.

[Bent77]

Bilstien has shocks fir that application too

I’d recommend ORD
Posted via Mobile Device

[the_ocho]

Originally Posted by akart

No ocho,Looks like the problem is on your end.

I don't have a problem with my truck. I call ORD and talk about what I want. Give them money, they give me parts. I bolt them on. All is well

Well one time UPS lost a box of parts, that was a problem. But ORD replaced the Parts.

[brans72]

AKA- brans87 on CK5.com

I have bought parts from ORD with no problems from shackles,bushings,shocks shock mounts etc.

I would really like to have there springs but not in my budget.

Maybe you should post up pics of your suspension setup and let some of the guy's help you get it correct!!!

There are way to many CK5.com member's that can back up ORD is top notch stuff and they know what there doing.

So before you get carried away there Simply post some pics up. It will only benefit you in getting your truck right!!!!!

[Mattchu60]

Can you post pictures of what this looks like now? I think above it was mentioned to move the hangers back 4" (from the 52" to 56" spot) but then something was said about moving the shocks 4" down - wonder if the wrong mounts are getting moved around? Seems like there is a lot of confusion and misunderstanding going on. Pictures may help with clearing up what is going on. 7" lift seems pretty far from the mark if you ordered 2" lift springs. I dont have any lift springs, and never worked with ORD either, but pictures may be able to help clear some stuff up. I'd hate to see you keep throwing money at something that it sounds like you may not fully understand.

[akart]

Originally Posted by obijuan

There are so many things mixed up here. You could have avoided all of this by contacting bilstien and asking your simple yes or no question. But now your truck specs are all wonky and completely overcomplicated. Sounds like ord has offered to help and fix this pretty well. It seems like even if you get the correct shocks you probably won't be happy because you messed with everything in really strange ways.

This is a very simple system. ord is only as good as the information they are given. And there are many of us with the same stuff and no problems.

Did ORD put you up to this. I messed w/nothing. Original truck frame and springs. 1974 K20 stock.All I wanted was smoother ride,furnished all the specs asked for a 2" lift which they recommended. ORD says that they checked my spring specs 100 times (really??) and I still have a 7" lift in the back and since they checked my specs 100 times they say they would send me the same springs. I am currently asking exactly what the specs for those spring are and am waiting for a reply. They have worn me down and I will just settle w/what I have. Just want shocks. Please understand that.

[akart]

Originally Posted by Bent77

Bilstien has shocks fir that application too

I’d recommend ORD
Posted via Mobile Device

Note the 2 post history. Looks like ORD is getting some fresh support. Maybe they can get more people to post.