HD Front Springs

[jlb]

So I have a 2011 1500 that I want to make a little beefier. I tow a lot, and haul a lot, enough to justify a 2500, but that is another story.

I want to upgrade the front springs on my truck to something with maybe a 25% or so higher spring rate. I am hoping this will give me about an inch of lift, maybe 1.5, but also significantly reduce dive/squat in cornering, and braking, especially under load.

I was wondering if, a) anyone has done something like this, and has some springs to recommend, and b) for those who have done lift kits, etc, what kind of changes has the lift made to camber/toe? Have you all gone, and gotten professional alignments done after installing the systems or have any of you done the full job yourself? Of course this is based on the assumption that our trucks have a non-infinite instant center for the front a-arms, but I truly have no idea.

Also, to make her match on all four corners I am going to add a set of air bags to the back, and an on-board compressor. Any recommendations on which set of bags is best in terms of overall cost, and quality?

Thanks for all your input.

 

[GhostRam94]

Air bags bud, they work wonders

 

[jlb]

Ya, but do they make them for the front? Plus, I would rather have upgraded springs up front to airbags anyway. Airbags would pose problems with the constant/non-permanent adjustment of height, and they tend to ride pretty hard, so I would want to let some air out, then camber would probably be all messed up, etc. Having air in the front on an independent suspension truck is too much of a drama I think.

I know they have them for the rear, and I was wondering what brand comes most highly recommended. Plus, Air on the back makes sense since most of the load changes occur here anyway, and since it is a solid axle, no camber/alignment dramas to worry about.

 

[GhostRam94]

Ok sorry didn't realize you wanted for the front... There is a bunch of as around where I'm at that only run firestones. I put my through some pretty da,n heavily loads and they worked damn great, I had them for a year and one of the best purchases I ever had, as far as the front, I have no idea

 

[jlb]

Naw, it's all good, I know most people don't do much to the front other than lift/level with spacers, so it's kind of an odd question.

I have had firestones in the past for a couple trucks including my old 2005 3500 ctd, but I have noticed there are a lot of brands on the market sporting some pretty low prices so I was wondering if anyone had tried them out to reasonable success, or failure.

 

[GhostRam94]

Yea not sure you would even need them in the front since there is no extra weight added, as far as I know spacers is about the only thing to get that lift you want, then for cornering etc you could go with a better sway bar

 

[jlb]

Actually the extra weight is a major part of the reason I was hoping for heavier springs. I have added a custom bumper, a hi-lift jack (mounts to the bumper), and a winch (also on the bumper). In total I added probably 200 lbs to the front end, maybe even 250 over stock.

Plus with trailering or hauling a larger anti-roll bar would only help in cornering. but not necessarily with dive. I am currently living in NYC and a lady walked out from behind a bus without even looking and I almost hit her as she just "appeared" in my lane. When I hit my brakes my nose dove bigtime, and the rear end of my truck climbed in response because my trailer was pushing me. I know this is to be expected some, and maybe this is just the reality of using a half-ton since their front suspensions are pretty soft compared to the bigger pick-ups, but I think a major contributor is the change in slope of the truck from all the weight I added to the front

 

[bloombloom88]

So did you find any springs to lift the front?

 

[RamSLT]

I'm in to know also would love to do that upgrade also.