My advice on lowering your truck static.

[thecodeman]

Originally Posted by bigburb

i want to do a 3/4, possibly a 4/6 on my 93 suburban. it is very important to me to keep the stock ride/better. what is the best way to go? i've heard so many options so far... spindles, coils, lca's, flip kit, shackles/hangers, and leafs. i'm not very experienced in suspension, but i am mechanically inclined. of all of the options, what is the best way to go, and what brand is best for my needs?

also, what's this about shock extenders and new sway bars?

You'll need shock extenders to give the shock more travel and a better ride. If you dont, you'll end up with like 3" of shock travel at the most, wich sucks.
You can negate this with shorter shocks, but that can lead to a stiffer ride too.


You dont need new sway bars, most people just take this oppertunity to upgrade them to a bigger bar. I still have my stock one with airbags and I had my stock one on my 3/4 and 5/8 static drops.

IMO, the 3/4 drop with 2" spindle and 1" coil or 3" coil would be the best way to go. Stay away from coil and lower control arm drops - the DJM lowers for our trucks are trash and this combo makes them worse.

I had a 3" coil drop and 2" shackle/2" hanger drop on my truck for a short while and it was a very realistic daily driver with no issues.

[bigburb]

even though i won't have to notch the frame with a 4 inch drop, am i going to want to? i bottom it out sometimes now even with the stock ride, and there are some major bumps in houston.

[CKTA]

Originally Posted by bigburb

even though i won't have to notch the frame with a 4 inch drop, am i going to want to? i bottom it out sometimes now even with the stock ride, and there are some major bumps in houston.

I would, and I'd also add helper bags.

[thecodeman]

Originally Posted by CKTA

I would, and I'd also add helper bags.

[JustinHall444]

Hey guys, can anyone e-mail me some ideas on what i can do to this truck with a reasonalbe amount of money..........my e-mail is football_stud04@hotmail.com Well crap i dont know how to put images on here its a 1997 gmc sierra short wide. its white

[1badgmc]

Originally Posted by JustinHall444

Hey guys, can anyone e-mail me some ideas on what i can do to this truck with a reasonalbe amount of money..........my e-mail is football_stud04@hotmail.com

What truck?

[jpstreetracer95]

i got a 95 s/b ex. cab and i bought a 3/4 drop from spring tech. it came with the 3" coils and the shackle/hanger combo. so far i have the back done and i plan to tackle the front tomorrow. if anybody reads this don't buy a spring tech drop kit. they are pieces of crap. the shackles went in normal. they say everything is supposed to bolt up and go together fine. well, a 2 hour job turned into 8. this was also due to lack of good tools but it was mostly the hangars fault. i had to cut part of the new hanger off and then notch the bed/body mount bracket where it is welded to the frame. if its a bolt in kit you shouldnt have to modify the hanger or the truck. the holes for it didn't even quite line up right either. springtech also sends you crappy hardware so i had to go buy some better nuts/bolts. so if you want to drop your truck spent the money and buy a good kit. i will try to post a pic of what i had to do but i definately dont think that was a normal installation.

[jpstreetracer95]

[POR2GZO]

OK Guys ... all the advice I can get the beter ...

I am trying to convince myself to lower my truck but dont know what to do. Part of me wants to go with a 2-3 drop the the other part wants to go 4-6. Which one should I do !!!

This is coming from someone who can really care less if the truck is lowered and also uses the truck to go Dirt Bike riding.

The main issue that I have is that I have a brand new set of Michellin tires on my wheels and have barely broken them is so I dont want to spend money on new tires and dont know which level of lowering will clear my tires.

I have 17 inch Denali wheels with some 265/70-17 tires on them ... Please Help !

After looking at this web site http://www.sstire.com/tireheights.html
Looks like my tire size is equivilant to the ones below

Size Height
265 70 17 31.61


295 50 20 31.61
305 40 22 31.61

see pictures below of the current hight of the truck ....

[POR2GZO]

Ok Guys ... thanks for all the advise, I really apreciate it all. I have decided to go ahead and replace my factory shocks with some Monroe Sensa-Trac's $130 for all 4 and instal a 2 inch drop shackle in the rear to even out the truck and get rid of the rake.

After talking to Nick I think that the ride problem that I have is that I have worn out my factory shocks and the truck is riding really rough. I have 85,000 miles on it may be time for some new ones.

The reason I had posted this thread was because people had told me that by lowering the truck I was going to get a much better and smoother ride and now I hear different

Let me know what you all think... I hope to have it all done this weekend and I will take pictures of the finished truck.

[POR2GZO]

OK Guys ...

I installed the DJM drop shackles and some new shocks that I got today and here is how it came out.




Tell me what you all think.

[firechkn]

i found some good advice in this thread. is anybody using belltech lowered rear leafs for NBS? i have a 01 ECSB that i want to lower 3/5 ;spindles/coils in front and leafs,shackles in rear. i haul occasionaly,and plan on towing my firebird with it in the future, and want to know how much it decreases your hauling/towing capacity. and hows the ride compared to stock?:

[Nick]

Originally Posted by firechkn

i found some good advice in this thread. is anybody using belltech lowered rear leafs for NBS? i have a 01 ECSB that i want to lower 3/5 ;spindles/coils in front and leafs,shackles in rear. i haul occasionaly,and plan on towing my firebird with it in the future, and want to know how much it decreases your hauling/towing capacity. and hows the ride compared to stock?:

You should be fine towing as long as you get helper bags and a notch.

[blacktruck]

I currently have an 05 gmc reg short with a 2/4 drop. I want to go lower, and right now i have belltech spindles in front, and shackle/hanger in the back. It seems the easiest solution is to return rear to stock and use a flip kit. With the notch, what kind of travel will I have? has anybody on here towed with that kind of set up? any ground clearance issues. I just want to make sure i can still tow a small boat. Other wise i'll just lower the front.

[Nemesis8]

are mcguaghys drop spindles the same quality as belltechs?

[CKTA]

Originally Posted by Nemesis8

are mcguaghys drop spindles the same quality as belltechs?

Better.

[Nemesis8]

Originally Posted by CKTA

Better.

thanx homie

[orangehauler]

I have a 3/4 drop i want more though, where do u find a 5/8 drop at with more parts from belltech i can do a 5/6

[thecodeman]

Originally Posted by orangehauler

I have a 3/4 drop i want more though, where do u find a 5/8 drop at with more parts from belltech i can do a 5/6

Use a flip kit and shackles in the back.

[bigbear]

i had a 98 scsb dropped 5/9 i had torq thrust II's 18x8's in front and 20x10 in the back and firestone helper bags for hauling my fourwheelers i drove this truck like this for atleast 50,000 miles with no problems i did have to change 2 balljoints around 120,000 but that was due to torn boots that i didnt take care of