Going back to stock lift/ride

[Chrimbus]

Hello,

I am considering removing the lift and tires on my truck, and going back to something closer to stock. The tires on it now are 36" superlug, and while they do look very cool, they ride very stiff in combination with the rough country EZ ride suspension. It's kinda surprising because I've read the EZ ride is smooth!

The biggest reason I'm considering going to a smaller tire and stock suspension is because the acceleration is pretty slow. It has the SM465 and 3.07 gearing. I pretty much always have to start in 1st gear, which I don't think is super normal either. You definitely can start in 2nd, but it lugs briefly if you don't rev it high enough.

Would going to 31-32 near stock tire size help at all? The engine seems pretty healthy, and the clutch feels like it has more life to live. Also, would the suspension setup from LMC be the best similar to stock setup? I might buy all the stock suspension parts from them, since searching local has been a bust. I would try and find locally but I'm not seeing many options here in Petaluma, CA.

This is all for a 1972 K10, with the 4" lift from Tuff Country and EZ Ride springs. 36" Superlug STA tires on 16" steelies. 3.07 (I think?) 12 bolt rear and a definite 3.07 Dana 44 front diff. Thank you for reading!

[Palf70Step]

35 is a big tire for 3:08 for sure and probably is close to gutless. Smaller tires like the 31 or 32 will help a good bit on what your low end/start off feels like. I am one of those that prefer stock height, 2WD or 4WD. Changing from the lift springs back to stock height would be cheaper than redoing the front and rear gears. It all depends on what you do with the truck. Do you need the lift or is it just for looks?

[A1971Blazer]

My '70 Blazer had a 4" BDS lift with 35" tires and 3.07 gears when I bought it.
It was the same way, very sluggish and also really tippy on curves and turns.
I dropped it to a 2½" Tuff Country EZ ride kit and 33" BFG tires, also re-geared to 3.73 and added a sway bar from a square body truck.
The difference is day and night...it rides and handles so much better now

[Ol Blue K20]

3:07 is too high of gear for 37" tires. 33" will help but optimal gear ratio would be 3:73.

[Chrimbus]

Thanks for the replies! At this point the lift is strictly for looks, it came that way when I got it. Switching to an all stock spring setup seems a bit expensive if 33s would look good still. I’ve looked at some other trucks in the stance thread and it seems like it could look alright. I might go that route before a regear.

If I did look into regearing to 3.73, is there a certain vendor online who has a good reputation? Where did you guys have it done? Thank you, this information all helps a ton!