Lifted Leaf Advice...

Nice. I can't wait to get mine in.

 

I got them installed last night, by myself. Ran out of light before final inspection and torque down so I'll be doing that here in a bit. 4 jackstands, 2 jacks, 2 prybars, and a heavy rubber mallet were crucial. I picked a terrible month to not drink.

I feel like I wrestled Andre the Giant.

 

Nice. Can't wait to see pics and your thoughts on the ride. I can't remember if you said....did you have yours built with any lift in them? Mine will have 1/2 inch of lift.

 

Trying to remember my phone conversation, but between my 800lb springs and 1" Coachbuilder shackles, I was expecting a 1-2" lift. My rake looks so ridiculous right now. It's pretty comical. Hoping it will settle a bit over a month then I'll make some front suspension changes to level it.

 

Nice. Mine will have 1/2 inch and the other 1.5 will come from the Toytec shackles. Mine are 200 lb springs to support the rear bumper, and I use a WDH for the camper. Are those the Timbren bump stops?

 

Yeah, I was looking for the smallest lift I could get. Between my SmartCap, Roadshower, bike slide, hundreds of pounds of camping/riding gear, bike rack, and yes, travel trailer, I've been hangin' ass for a while.

Oh, and those are my Firestone airbags. Alcan folks said they work great with this setup so I'll give them a try. They get me out of so many situations when towing.

 

How's your auburn and 5.29 gears working out; wanting to get a real LSD with some better gears. Heard a lot of stuff about Nitro, not much bad. However, I've been stumped on which LSD is good for tundras for "drifting" and off-roading

 

I can’t imagine that Alcan would say those are functioning properly after only 20k. Curious what they say when you reach out to them.

 

Holy crap! SO much smoother so far. Went straight to my nemesis speed humps in my neighborhood and glided over them.

 

What bump stops are recommended to go with the Alcan springs and a 2 inch lift in the rear. I was looking at the Timbrens but there are 2 different ones. The ABSOSR and the

$270 TORTUN4 Suspension Enhancement System

TORTUN4 part numbers. It looks like they are both the same height? Just want to get everything that I need to help reduce spring flattening.

 

So, as it stands, the 800lb Alcan leaf springs and +1 Coachbuilder shackles raised me up 2.25". I'm going to give it a few weeks and level the front. I would love for it to settle a hair but damn it rides so much better.

 

I don't remember how much lift the CB's give, but did you have lift built into the springs? What is the front at now?....stock?

 

Yeah, we talked about maybe an inch coming from the springs. I'm pretty happy with the rear height. It just looks ridiculous until I deal with the front, which yes, is stock.

 

Ahhh yes I see it. Leveling it will look much better.

 

I am not getting any indications of any whining or noice that would be concerning. As for the Auburn, in wet conditions and on the road (Nannies off, pedal to the floor) the rear tires hooks really well. I have not done any hard core 4X4 off road to give real mudding experience. I may have been one of the lucky clients to have a good set, got one of the initial 5 sets before they were released to the public. I have no complaints with the set up.

 

Usually when someone's springs flatten I figure they had a lift but didn't raise the bumpstops. But you've got Timbrens. Unless the Timbrens are more of an overload than a bumpstop...? I'm not familiar with them.

How much lift did you have with the springs to start with and how much do you have now?

Springs need to flex within their elastic range, else they will get permanently bent. The stock leafs are quite thick which makes them stiff and the travel relatively low. If the same steel is used, a pack with more thinner leaves should be able to flex more (more travel) without flattening. The load isn't what is important here, but how far the pack flexes. For instance you'd be fine for a very long time so long as you stay within the elastic range but a single hit outside that range will result in a permanent bend. So "mostly unloaded street" doesn't say much if you've just once hit a big bump and really slammed down hard on the bumpstops .... and, your bumpstops weren't adequate to keep the pack from flexing too far.

Not saying you did that. If they used quality steel in these packs I don't think your setup should flatten at all... unless the Timbrens will squash down significantly more than the bumpstop.

 

@Tundra234 Have you received your Alcans yet? I'm thinking about ordering a set. My OE springs are flat after adding a rack and RTT, plus I have more weight on the way that will be added to the truck.

I think you mentioned that your truck currently (in the past) had a 2" lift in the rear. What made you go with the Alcans built at .5" + Toytec shackles set at 1.5" in order to get the desired 2" of lift? Why not just have the Alcans built at 2"? I'm currently running Coachbuilder +3 (1.75" lift) and thinking of ordering the Alcans set at 2" of lift. Just wondering if my thinking is correct.

 

They should be ready soon. He said 5 to 6 weeks. As far as the lift, he recommended the .5 in the springs and the rest in the shackles. He said that the stock shackles are too short for most aftermarket spring packs so i will have a good setup with mine. I am looking into the RAS as well to install with the springs.

 

Interesting. What are you carrying and what is your constant rear weight? Also, I don’t remember reading the load cap amount your having your Alcan’s built for.

I did talk to them about shackles. Since I’m currently running the CB +3, I did not want to transfer these to an Alcan pack. They make shackles for their springs so I’m thinking of just Going with their shackles as well.

 

Daily driving with no load. My pack is being built for 200 lbs over stock to support my rear bumper that is about 140 lbs. Our travel trailer is just under 4,000 lbs and I use a WDH with it. He did not mention that they make their own shackles.

 

Good to know. Please post pics when yours comes in and you install. Thanks

 

Just ordered a set of Alcan springs to be built at 2” lift and 600 lb additional capacity. Also ordered their shackles that are adjustable from 1/2” to 1”.

Lew was very helpful and explained everything I asked about. This was nice in contrast to when I called Dobinsons the other day. Their rep acted like I was a severe inconvenience and wasting his time.

 

Just looked on their website. The warranty as stated is... not much. You have 90 days.

"WARRANTY POLICY FOR ALCAN SPRING INC. All springs are guaranteed against defects in material and workmanship by the original equipment manufacturer Alcan Spring for a period of 90 Days. The warranty period starts from the date of billing, not the date of installation. WARRANTY IS LIMITED TO REPLACEMENT Springs ONLY. NO REFUNDS. Warranty does not cover labor. Failure resulting from incorrect installation will not be the liability of Alcan Spring. If you have a problem with the spring call us with a full explanation; providing the invoice number and we will be happy to advise you on how to handle the warranty issue. You must contact us prior to repairing or replacing a damaged spring. We will not be responsible for costs to repair or replace damaged springs prior to contacting us. No return on modified springs are accepted. All returns are subject to a 20% re-handling fee. No COD returns will be accepted. We do not pay any SHIPPING or FREIGHT charges."

 

I hope their springs last. At 5 to 6 weeks build time, half the warranty is gone before you ever receive them.

 

I just realized that his are a 6 leaf. Mine that are being built by Alcan is an 8 leaf.

 

Yea, I’m not concerned with their warranty. They have a very good reputation and a much better build than the off the shelf lifted springs.

 

@texasrho83 and @unsub1 how are you doing on your springs and settling? Mine should be ready to ship soon. I keep waiting for the email for the ubolt measurements.

 

@Tundra234 i did ask them about settling today and was told that mine with a 600 lb capacity may settle only about a 1/4”. He made it sound like the higher the load capacity, the less it settles.

 

Thanks for the update. Mine at 200 lbs will probably be about the same