options for dropping a '02 Sierra

[OMEGA_BUBBLE_JET]

Roll pan went on last weekend and now I am thinking of dropping the truck 2" in front and 4" in the rear. the rear kit seems to be shackles/hangers. on the front I have 3 options. spindles, lower control arms or springs. this is a daily driver pickup and I need the geometry to be correct so I'm not chewing up tires once a year. I am leaning towards a belltech 2" spindle kit right now for $500.
I know there are cheaper ways to do this but isn't the spindle drop the only way to maintain true geometry and factory ride?
If I go with the spindle can I still use the factory shock on the front?
I have all the tools necessary for front end work and have re-built a couple front ends, although every time I say never again.
An help or advice is greatly appreciated along with recommendations on brands.
Omega

[HavasuDreamin']

Well, I dropped my truck ('88 Chevy) 5"/7" using mostly Bell Tech stuff. The spindles say, not to be used with wheels that have more than 3.5" of back spacing. Mine are 5.5" of back spacing.
I now know why they recommend this. The inside of my rim has been ground down by the lower a-arm. I am no expert on lowering by any means, and your vehicle is different than mine, but I would not recommend just spindles if you have custom wheels with more than 3.5" of back spacing. I would probably recommend lower control arms. I would ask the sales people though about the angle issue and if the lower a-arm takes that into consideration.
Course my real recomendation would be to bag all four corners. ;)
Good Luck
One more thing..............stay away from the Drop Shop out of So. Cal. They are crooks. :mad:

[cyclone]

Originally posted by OMEGA_BUBBLE_JET
Roll pan went on last weekend and now I am thinking of dropping the truck 2" in front and 4" in the rear. the rear kit seems to be shackles/hangers. on the front I have 3 options. spindles, lower control arms or springs. this is a daily driver pickup and I need the geometry to be correct so I'm not chewing up tires once a year. I am leaning towards a belltech 2" spindle kit right now for $500.
I know there are cheaper ways to do this but isn't the spindle drop the only way to maintain true geometry and factory ride?
If I go with the spindle can I still use the factory shock on the front?
I have all the tools necessary for front end work and have re-built a couple front ends, although every time I say never again.
An help or advice is greatly appreciated along with recommendations on brands.
Omega
Are you going to change the wheels? I wouldnt recommend the spindles unless you are putting at least a 17-inch diameter wheel. If you get a wheel that is smaller diameter with more than 3-inches of backspacing then you might have problems with the rim contacting the spindle. In some cases the factory rims wont even fit back onto the truck once the new spindles are installed. If they do fit back on, they may hit the spindles and that's never a good thing because it will throw the wheel out of balance.
You will need new shocks that have the correct valving for a lowered application. I'd recommend a shorter shock with large diameter piston. The stock shocks wont cut it because once the truck is lowered the shock will be compressed and be moving out of its effective working area. Not only that, but you wont have adequate travel for the shock piston and the truck will feel like its bottoming out when you hit bumps in the road.
If it were me, I'd go with the spindles because they will help to keep the steering and suspension geometry closer to factory specs that say with lowered control arms or springs. Its the most expensive route of the three options, but it will yield the best ride quality. By the way, Bell Tech makes some of the best stuff on the market which is why they charge more than say DJM, Western, Chassis Tech etc.

[cyclone]

Originally posted by cyclone
Are you going to change the wheels? I wouldnt recommend the spindles unless you are putting at least a 17-inch diameter wheel. If you get a wheel that is smaller diameter with more than 3-inches of backspacing then you might have problems with the rim contacting the spindle. In some cases the factory rims wont even fit back onto the truck once the new spindles are installed. If they do fit back on, they may hit the spindles and that's never a good thing because it will throw the wheel out of balance.
You will need new shocks that have the correct valving for a lowered application. I'd recommend a shorter shock with large diameter piston. The stock shocks wont cut it because once the truck is lowered the shock will be compressed and be moving out of its effective working area. Not only that, but you wont have adequate travel for the shock piston and the truck will feel like its bottoming out when you hit bumps in the road.
If it were me, I'd go with the spindles because they will help to keep the steering and suspension geometry closer to factory specs that say with lowered control arms or springs. Its the most expensive route of the three options, but it will yield the best ride quality. By the way, Bell Tech makes some of the best stuff on the market which is why they charge more than say DJM, Western, Chassis Tech etc.
oh yeah, definately get an alignment immediately after lowering the truck even if you get new spindles. No matter what the truck will need it or you'll burn up your tires.

[dc96819]

Go with the 2in Eibach progressive front spring, Gemotry not much factor with only 2in.DJM control arms $$$ and a hassel,good if you go lower then 2in because it keep the same gemotry.Belltech spindles sticks out a little more so some truckers dont use it because they want the wheels to tuck under them fenders,without changing the wheel offset.Over 4in drop in rear you need a c notch.Westerns and chassis tech is a ?
heres a good site
http://www.fullsizechevy.com/

[v-drive]

On my 93 gmc I used chisolm A arms and that truck rode like a cloud. I opted for a 5 inch drop in back because I wanted to use the truck without bottoming problems and there was absolutely no way I was going to "C" the frame. My wife and I both say we should have kept that truck. :cool: v-drive

[OMEGA_BUBBLE_JET]

Originally posted by cyclone
Are you going to change the wheels? I wouldnt recommend the spindles unless you are putting at least a 17-inch diameter wheel. If you get a wheel that is smaller diameter with more than 3-inches of backspacing then you might have problems with the rim contacting the spindle. In some cases the factory rims wont even fit back onto the truck once the new spindles are installed. If they do fit back on, they may hit the spindles and that's never a good thing because it will throw the wheel out of balance.
You will need new shocks that have the correct valving for a lowered application. I'd recommend a shorter shock with large diameter piston. The stock shocks wont cut it because once the truck is lowered the shock will be compressed and be moving out of its effective working area. Not only that, but you wont have adequate travel for the shock piston and the truck will feel like its bottoming out when you hit bumps in the road.
If it were me, I'd go with the spindles because they will help to keep the steering and suspension geometry closer to factory specs that say with lowered control arms or springs. Its the most expensive route of the three options, but it will yield the best ride quality. By the way, Bell Tech makes some of the best stuff on the market which is why they charge more than say DJM, Western, Chassis Tech etc.
thanks for all the advice;) the truck has 17" Denali wheels on it. I believe they are 17 x 7.5" I guess maybe I should contact belltech and speak with one of the techs regarding clearance issues.
I'm not going radical on this drop 2/4 and that's it. I still need to be able to drive in high water (Texas). I am really just looking for the best way to do it.
So from what I have gathered from all the responses. spindles are the best and most expensive way to do it. lower control arms are a little cheaper, and springs are the cheapest.
Now on the shocks. Are there any brands that come recommended? I don't want something that will beat the crap out of me, looking to keep a factory ride or something very close.
Thanks for all the opinions and advice.
Omega

[cyclone]

bell tech has their own line of shocks that'll work great for ya.

[Hotcrusader76]

You can always go bagged and body dropped:D
Does DJM still make spindles?

[OMEGA_BUBBLE_JET]

Originally posted by Hotcrusader76
You can always go bagged and body dropped:D
Does DJM still make spindles?
yeah yeah yeah. DAILY DRIVER!!;) I would love to but I just don't think that is the best option for a daily driver. More chit to break and way more $$$$. I'm not looking to put it on the ground just get down a little lower. damn thing looks funny with the roll pan and not being lowered. It looks 10' tall in the ass.
Omega

[cyclone]

i drove every single one of my body dropped trucks daily. except for all the tickets i got, they were fairly reliable. :D

[Hotcrusader76]

I will have to agree. Crazey Customs did my work and I believe I only had a problem the first day with a bad solenoid, replaced it and I was up and towing on a regular basis.
The key was getting the right shocks for the job....KYB was the only way to go. No rubbing, no leaking, no popping.
I will say that I sat a little higher in the cab.

[HBjet]

Originally posted by cyclone
i drove every single one of my body dropped trucks daily. except for all the tickets i got, they were fairly reliable. :D
Yeah, they look like daily drivers too...
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/500/20mike001-med.jpg
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/500/20mike002-med.jpg
This is a daily driver... even though it had it's fair share of A/C problems...
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/500/20truck-med.jpg
HBjet:D

[cyclone]

aw hell i miss those trucks. thanks for the reminder jackass!:D

[moonridge]

I lowered my 01 silverado with belltech springs in front. I also went with the 2-4 drop. It was a daily driver. After 1 year of driving it lowered it is now lifted 6 in. I couldnt handle the horrible ride. I like the way it looked just couldnt stand the ride quality. I would strongly recommend that anything with 4 in or more in the rear you use a C-notch. I was constantly on the bump stops. Good luck.

[396_WAYS_TO_SPIT]

Go with the belltechs and if you want to go a little lower then use a dropped lower control arm. For the rear everyone is right you need to c-notch it. make sure you have someone weld one up for you. i have bagged alot of trucks with the bolt in c-notch and they broke:eek: After I told them. make sure you check geometry and shim if needed for the camber. Then take it to a reliable alignment shop.
396

[BLUBYU]

If your only going 2 inches in the front the drop coils work fine and are a lot easier and cheaper than spindles. If your doing a 4 inch in the front they tell you to use 2 inch spindles and 2 inch coils to get your 4 inches so if your only doing a 2 inch drop just use the coils. I've done a 90 1/2 ton, 99 1/2 ton, 99 Tahoe, 91 S-10 Blazer, and 93 S-10 extended cab. Used both Bell Tech and Western Chassis 2 inch coils and they all drove and rode great. Ordered most of them from Sport Truck Direct with no problems what so ever. While it's not an extreme slam, it does give your truck a little attitude with everyday driveability.

[goneboatin]

I had a '99 Silverado (new style) that I originally lowered (2/4) with springs, shackles and hangers. It rode good, but there was not enough adjustment for the camber and the tires wore on the insides. After 2 years of wearing out front tires I spent the bucks on Bell tech spindles - what a mistake!
I lost the ability to make tight turns, I couldn't go through some drive-thrus; and if I was turning and hit a bump, the brake calipers would make a horrendous scraping sound on the upper control arms. If I did it again I go with the lower control arms. I also had the rear c-notched and bagged so I could put some weight in the back or tow without bottoming out all the time.

[fourspeednup]

Originally posted by goneboatin
I had a '99 Silverado (new style) that I originally lowered (2/4) with springs, shackles and hangers. It rode good, but there was not enough adjustment for the camber and the tires wore on the insides. After 2 years of wearing out front tires I spent the bucks on Bell tech spindles - what a mistake!
I lost the ability to make tight turns, I couldn't go through some drive-thrus; and if I was turning and hit a bump, the brake calipers would make a horrendous scraping sound on the upper control arms. If I did it again I go with the lower control arms. I also had the rear c-notched and bagged so I could put some weight in the back or tow without bottoming out all the time.
Wow, I had been led to believe that drop spindles were the ultimate answer, due to the alignment issues associated with teh other lowering methods.......learn something new every day:)