4" LOWERING SPRINGS 70 Suburban

[rod1701]

I've read through most of the archives about lowering springs vs cutting vs heating vs spindles vs air bags. Also all of the advise against going more than 3" with springs only on the front but here goes anyway......

I bought and installed a 3/4 kit with new lowered shocks for my 70 suburban.

I intentionally stayed away from the 3/5 kit because I wanted to keep a bit of a forward rake. Now that it is done, the front sits a little higher than the rear. It is almost level but not quite.

I have already spent a small fortune (at least on my budget) to buy and restore 6-lug rally wheels, painted body color, later model center caps, trim rings, and 275/60/15 tires. So with the 6- lug, 4-wheel power drums, I don't have a lot of options. I am looking at cutting 1/2 of a coil off the fronts to try to level or get my slight rake back.

From what I have read in the other posts, most advise against it because the springs tend to move around in their pockets or run into the bump stops. I have no problem cutting the bump stops and in the current setup, the springs aren't moving around and much to my neighbors angst, I intentionally hit the speed bumps pretty hard to check it out. The current stance is just unacceptable.

I would prefer to drop the front another 1" but I guess I could go up in the rear an inch but more people here are talking about going down than up.

I know that I may be opening Pandora's box but could use a little advise. I know that I am likely to get "don't do it unless you're gonna do it right" or "just do the disk conversion from the 73-87, it bolts up and only costs $---" but seriously, I did my homework and found those recommendations already. I have limited budget, skills, but still need a street-able/safe car. Constructive criticism please.

[michael bustamante]

would you be ok instilling 1" lift blocks in the rear?
also did you make sure the front springs are seated correct with the end of the top coil in the groove of the upper and lower control arms?
remember, over time the springs will soften some

[leddzepp]

Cut 1/2 coil off of each of your front springs. That will give you approximately 1" of drop in the front.

[4shongo]

I have the 3/4 CPP spring kit on both my 1972 Suburban and my 1966 C-10. I did cut 1/2 coil off my 1966 C-10 front springs a few weeks ago and it gave me right at a 1" additional drop. I was looking for a little more rake too. No problems at all, no difference in the ride either. I cut it off the bottom of the coil, not the top. You will hear different opinions all over the spectrum with this, I can only tell you that it worked out fine for me with absolutely no issues!!!! Try 1/4 of a coil at a time, better to cut more than too much.

Just make sure you have plenty of travel to your bump stops. I cut my bump stops off flat and have around 2" of suspension travel now after cutting the 1/2 coil off. Whatever you decide to do, DO NOT HEAT SPRINGS!!!!! I read posts for over a week all over the internet before I just decided to do it....glad I did. Looks so much better now. Hope this helps.

[leddzepp]

Never mind, I see you have 3" coils up front already. I do not know if cutting them will be a problem.

[rod1701]

Originally Posted by michael bustamante

would you be ok installing 1" lift blocks in the rear?
also did you make sure the front springs are seated correct with the end of the top coil in the groove of the upper and lower control arms?
remember, over time the springs will soften some

I have seen blocks for the rear but because of how the trailing arm sits in relation to the springs, installing a set lowers the truck instead of lifting.

Also the springs are seated correctly in their buckets within the grooves. I understand that the springs will soften and sag but it should do that at all 4 corners and not "self correct" the stance problem.

[rod1701]

Originally Posted by 4shongo

I have the 3/4 CPP spring kit on both my 1972 Suburban and my 1966 C-10. I did cut 1/2 coil off my 1966 C-10 front springs a few weeks ago and it gave me right at a 1" additional drop. I was looking for a little more rake too. No problems at all, no difference in the ride either. I cut it off the bottom of the coil, not the top. You will hear different opinions all over the spectrum with this, I can only tell you that it worked out fine for me with absolutely no issues!!!! Try 1/4 of a coil at a time, better to cut more than too much.

Just make sure you have plenty of travel to your bump stops. I cut my bump stops off flat and have around 2" of suspension travel now after cutting the 1/2 coil off. Whatever you decide to do, DO NOT HEAT SPRINGS!!!!! I read posts for over a week all over the internet before I just decided to do it....glad I did. Looks so much better now. Hope this helps.

Same CPP kit. At the current state, travel is good and not hitting bump stops (still uncut).

Heating is not an option for me. I learned that lesson the hard way. I had a 78 C-10 and being a broke kid who wanted a cool truck, a buddy hooked me up with someone who did it for $50. Heated the front coils and pulled most of the leafs from the rear. Looked cool. Rode like crap. Then I had a flat tire on the front! Trying to change a tire on a country road with 1 corner so far up in the air on an uneven surface was not a good experience.

If you have a good floor jack and a garage, no problem. When you have a bumper jack and the coil still has to travel to its full extension before the tire comes off the ground, and the rest of the truck is 6" lower...YIKES!

[Average Joe]

IMO there is nothing wrong with cutting up to 1 full coil off a stock spring. Im not sure I would cut a 3" drop spring though. Like others have said if you do cut be conservative. In my experience 1/2 coil only got me 3/4" drop on a newish stock half ton spring. When I cut the other half off after driving for two months I gained 2 more inches of drop for a total of almost 3 inches. The ride was only slightly firmer afterwords. You may want to consult a trusted alignment shop to be sure your camber can be corrected if you do lower more. Have you considered a firmer spring in the rear specifically for a Burb or panel? Supporting vendor GMC Pauls sells rear drop coils in 3 or 4 inch drops that compensate for the additional weight. Another option would be a 2 inch lowering block in the rear with a stock coil. You can build your own or buy them from Borris in the suspension market place. HE goes by way2low2.

[rod1701]

So, I went with 4shongo's advice. I took down the A-arms and cut of 1/2 a coil on the front springs. I will admit that with all the warnings against cutting lowered springs or going lower than 3" on the front, I was nervous. In the end I figured if i screwed it up it would cost another $100 for another set of springs. Money I would rather spend on something else but in the end that would be about it.
I did have to cut off the bump stops and the ride is pretty stiff but the springs aren't bouncing around in the pockets and it seems to have brought the front down to a level I can live with. I would still like a little more of a rake but I think I have pushed my luck as far as I dare.
Hopefully my pics will attach. I bought this truck just over 2 years ago. Timing was all wrong as we were moving into a new place that needed some semi-major attention but the price was sooo right. As with most projects, it got put on the back burner for all of life's other things. It is nicknamed "Rusty" because of his color and condition.
Over the last few weeks have installed the CPP 3/4 drop kit and springs. Then went back and cut 1/2 a coil off the front springs. Also added the distressed/vintage door logos. At the same time I wanted to do something a little more trick with the 6-lug truck rally center but after much frustrating research, for and there were not alot of options so bolted on come centers from a 90s model. Not the look that I wanted but cleaner and lower profile than original centers.

[4shongo]

Glad it worked for you too! Nice looking Burb

[fourspeedwagon]

Rusty looks good there Rod. I'm gonna have to compare the final pics to mine and see how similar. Mine sits on torched springs from the PO. I think it looks good but it sure doesn't ride well.

[Billyburban]

Originally Posted by rod1701

So, I went with 4shongo's advice. I took down the A-arms and cut of 1/2 a coil on the front springs. I will admit that with all the warnings against cutting lowered springs or going lower than 3" on the front, I was nervous. In the end I figured if i screwed it up it would cost another $100 for another set of springs. Money I would rather spend on something else but in the end that would be about it.
I did have to cut off the bump stops and the ride is pretty stiff but the springs aren't bouncing around in the pockets and it seems to have brought the front down to a level I can live with. I would still like a little more of a rake but I think I have pushed my luck as far as I dare.
Hopefully my pics will attach. I bought this truck just over 2 years ago. Timing was all wrong as we were moving into a new place that needed some semi-major attention but the price was sooo right. As with most projects, it got put on the back burner for all of life's other things. It is nicknamed "Rusty" because of his color and condition.
Over the last few weeks have installed the CPP 3/4 drop kit and springs. Then went back and cut 1/2 a coil off the front springs. Also added the distressed/vintage door logos. At the same time I wanted to do something a little more trick with the 6-lug truck rally center but after much frustrating research, for and there were not alot of options so bolted on come centers from a 90s model. Not the look that I wanted but cleaner and lower profile than original centers.

Was wondering if your rear axle sits on the bumper stops ? I got a CPP 4inchHD coils in the back of my 7O suburban an its sitting in a the rear axle

[rod1701]

Originally Posted by Billyburban

Was wondering if your rear axle sits on the bumper stops ? I got a CPP 4inchHD coils in the back of my 7O suburban an its sitting in a the rear axle

Didn't notice it at first but was under there this weekend and it is sitting on stops. Thought about cutting them but was afraid it would shift my rake back to the nose being a little too high so left it alone.
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[Billyburban]

Yeah I spoke with CPP and all they told me was to C notch it and put the pancake stops. I'm going to put air shocks now

[rod1701]

Originally Posted by Billyburban

Yeah I spoke with CPP and all they told me was to C notch it and put the pancake stops. I'm going to put air shocks now

Guess you get what you pay for.
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[4shongo]

Mine doesn't sit that low in the back. Every vehicle is different I guess. Air shocks should help. Or get a 1" spacer on top of the springs. I have spacers on mine, they look like a donut with a hole in the middle; nothing fancy. I don't have any info on them, they were on my Suburban when I bought them and just left them on when I installed the HD springs in the rear. I like the rake mine has. Let us know. Good luck

[Billyburban]

What do you have ?

[4shongo]

Originally Posted by Billyburban

What do you have ?

72 Suburban. I have some pictures on some other threads. Check it out to give you an idea of the rake I have.