Lowering w/o a kit.

[Kurt]

I want to lower my truck just enough that the tires and wheels just cover up the wheel wells and still look stock. is it easy to do without a Kit? or are kit the best way to go? any suggestions would be great.



http://www.s10v8.com/images/smilies/smileJap.gifr http://www.s10v8.com/images/smilies/icon_hammer.gif

[ZZ4Blazer]

Only way to lower without buying anything is to cut the coils, and remove a leaf or 2. Cut the coils with a cut off wheel, or saw. Don\'t use heat of any kind. Do a little bit at a time, then reintall it in the truck, and see your drop. Cutting too much will result in having to buy new coils.

[360hp350]

You can make your own blocks to install in the back. You\'ll have to buy new u-bolts too.

[4more]

most block kits are like 20 or 30 bucks i have cut the front springs but dont cut to much a rule of hillbilly thumb is with the spring standing up on the ground cut 1 in of free height for 2 in of installed height so like 1/2 a coil may be 3 or 4 in of installed height

[whiner3]

i bought a block kit for the back... if you take a leaf out it tends to make the back suspension really loose and sloppy... as for the front i cut out exactly one coil on my 2.8 springs and it dropped it about 3 inches with the V8 in compared to stock hight with the 2.8... it only dropped about 1/2 inch when i put the V8 in

[whiner3]

oh and cut them with a hack saw so they don\'t heat up it doesn\'t take that long

[rudedogg]

my other blazer i took 1.5 coils off the front and the rear i dearched the springs the ride was really good suprisingly grand total spent on that day was$6.00,well you know i had to eat lunch after.also noticed on the rear if you dearch the leafsprings the axle does not wrap as it with the bolcks,on the hoe i have now i have supension tech.3\"springs and 2\"spindles out back the springs are dearched and the ride is sweet although the front x-member gets hammered on the ground under HARD braking will fix that soon......

[rudedogg]

i really dont think you should waste your life away with the attempt of using a hacksaw if you can cut through a coilspring you are a big bad motha or just plain bored

[JW]

If you don\'t have a kit...you don\'t have much, and your truck will ride like a lawn mower

[Colby]

go with a kit. The torching and cutting process never gets right and you loose alot of ride. plus kits are pretty inexpensive. I dont see how takin gout rear leaf springs could change ride when all the do is take load from when you have your rear end loaded down. So ide take out leafs if you want to save $$$.

[justin]

I\'m guessing that using heat to squish the springs is bad? I haven\'t done that but my friend did on his \'02 s-10. What is wrong with doing it that way?

[fasrnur]

If you check out my pictures you will see what cutting one full coil with a cut off wheel

and 2\" blocks will get you. My ruck rides like a cadilac compared to a blazer I had with dropped coils and springs. Don\'t forget to cut the snubbers up front and add shortened shocks up front.



I have under a $110 total in the whole drop.



Jeff.....

[whiner3]

On 2003-02-12 22:03, fasrnur wrote:

If you check out my pictures you will see what cutting one full coil with a cut off wheel

and 2\" blocks will get you. My ruck rides like a cadilac compared to a blazer I had with dropped coils and springs. Don\'t forget to cut the snubbers up front and add shortened shocks up front.



I have under a $110 total in the whole drop.



Jeff.....





what he said ^ my truck still rides really nice, buy the block kit for the back, you could take out leafs but YES it does get sloppy, beleive me i\'ve done it, the spring rate goes waaaaayyyy down, and they will bottom out by hitting the slightest bump, on the other hand you\'ll have really good weight transfer, but i cut one coil out on mine and 3\" blocks take a look at my pics, my truck also has the payload package so it sat about an inch higher than stock to start with so most trucks will sit about an inch lower than mine does

[whiner3]

On 2003-01-11 17:47, rudedogg wrote:

i really dont think you should waste your life away with the attempt of using a hacksaw if you can cut through a coilspring you are a big bad motha or just plain bored







ha ha, actually they aren;t that hard as long as you have a sharp blade, and it won;t heat them up at all, if you do use a die grinder with a cutoff wheel onl;y doa little bit at a time, just to cut down on heat, heating the springs makes them loose their tention and they will sag really bad and be really soft, by cutting the springs it will increase your spring rate a little tiny bit because of the fact that it will have one less coil to cusion, but it make the truck handle really nice with the v8 in it, higher spring rate with more weight is better anyway, http://www.s10v8.com/images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif just thought i\'d mention that



\"your tranny is slipping\"

\"no dad i\'m pretty sure thats the tires\"

\"wow, thas a lot of smoke\"

\"thats a fun smell\"

the conversation between me and my dad on the way back from the exhaust shop

[Trickten327]

As for lowering the rear without blocks, there is an old racers trick you can do. Remove one of the leafs and cut it off behind the spring perch would normally sit and reinstall the half leaf. Doing this lowers the rear a little and still helps prevent axle wrap (wheelhop). Personally, I\'d go with blocks

[bcc]

ure a reciprcating saw, if your going to cut the springs

[350blazer]

I have heard that if do a lot of racing and hook up realy well at the track blocks in the rear will break with ease. I am running them right now and avent had any probs however.