Lowered Leafs, Coils, Or Bags

[peeblesj]

Hey Guys,

I have been searching on here for a couple of weeks and I cannot find exactly what I am looking for. I currently have a 69 lwb with leaf springs and a flip kit. The leafs are really worn and need to be replaced.

My options are :

1. New stock leaf springs
2. New lowered leaf springs from CPP, POL, or Western Chassis etc and drop shackles
3. Coil spring/trailing arm swap
4. Trailing arm swap and bags

My thoughts are as follows:

1. New stock springs are about the same price as lowered leafs and shackles.
2. With my flip kit, I am sitting lower in the rear than in the front and would ideally like to bring the back end up 1". Flip kit got me about 6.75" drop.
3. We have a few parts trucks with trailing arms and mounts etc around the house so I could in theory salvage all needed parts to swap that over. But I would have to remove the posi in my leaf spring rear end and put it back into a coil rear end (or change the axle pads).
4. I would love to go with air bags now, but in the future that is more likely.

I want a more comfortable ride than I have now, hence the replacing the worn leafs. I have shocks for the drop already installed which helped, but still quite a rough ride.

I drive the truck multiple times per week to work. LS swapped, but will never be a major power plant. Just want a reliable driver that is comfortable.

So my questions are:
How is the ride on lowered leaf springs?
Are coil springs a better/smoother ride than leafs?
How is the ride quality of a basic air ride system (manual up and down in the front and back)?
Is a basic bag kit worth the money? I would be willing to spend around $1000 for a kit, but right now my budget does not allow for the auto leveling expensive kits.

I was all set to just replace the leafs with lowered leafs, but I am open to suggestions. Thanks in advance you guys!

[Overdriven]

I bought my 67 lwb with a cheap fbss air ride kit from airbagit.com already installed but it is otherwise totally stock trailing arm suspension. The truck has a nice ride that would only be better with some new shocks as the ones on the truck are done for. Do not buy the airbagit.com kit or any of the others with the same components from other vendors. There's a few threads giving fair warning and you're getting mine as well. The compressor is junk, I've got 2 valves that like to get stuck, a couple leaks, just can't recommend this kit. Also your current ride height matches what my truck is aired out, ride height for my truck is 1-2" lower than stock. I currently have stock height spindles and the rear bag mounts are these 3-4" tall things that add a bunch of height.

As for the rest of the leaf spring stuff I can't comment on much, but don't springs generally lose stiffness over time? I would think even new stock springs would be stiffer making for a harsher ride. You're not hitting the bump stops or bottoming out right(?) as that can cause a rough ride. If it were me I'd raise the rear with shackles and try to live with it until you can swap in trailing arm with air ride as you want air ride and that's the cheapest way to do it. Just get a manual air ride kit from one of the vendors here and avoid the airbagit and similar ones.

[67 chevelle]

"I want a more comfortable ride than I have now, hence the replacing the worn leafs. I have shocks for the drop already installed which helped, but still quite a rough ride. "

Switch to coils

[peeblesj]

Thanks guys for the responses. I appreciate it. Overdriven- Thanks for the heads up on airbagit.com. I have read similar reviews about them. I was looking at the kit that Travis at azperformance.com recommended. It is the Pro Performance Basic Kit. Components seem to be name brand.

67 chevelle- I am thinking that I will swap over to the trailing arms and coil springs for this year. Hopefully I can go ahead and further the swap by installing the air bag kit eventually. I am mainly concerned how the trailing arm set up performs. I have never had a trailing arm rear end, just the leafs. Sounds like the ride would be more comfortable at least.

Thanks again for the input. I appreciate it.

[Haru]

Originally Posted by peeblesj

Thanks guys for the responses. I appreciate it. Overdriven- Thanks for the heads up on airbagit.com. I have read similar reviews about them. I was looking at the kit that Travis at azperformance.com recommended. It is the Pro Performance Basic Kit. Components seem to be name brand.

67 chevelle- I am thinking that I will swap over to the trailing arms and coil springs for this year. Hopefully I can go ahead and further the swap by installing the air bag kit eventually. I am mainly concerned how the trailing arm set up performs. I have never had a trailing arm rear end, just the leafs. Sounds like the ride would be more comfortable at least.

Thanks again for the input. I appreciate it.

Just finished working with Travis myself (thank you). I spent way more than I intended to but WTH