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Swapping to Alcan springs

18K views 28 replies 14 participants last post by  pennsylvaniaboy 
#1 ·
Hey Guys,

Im going to order my front springs for my k5 next week, I decided to go with alcan mainly because of price.
I have been talking to Bill who seems nice but isnt giving me the feeling that he knows what I want..
I was telling him that I wanted a spring that I can use for going fast/prerunning and on the street.
I havent head him mention anything about military wraps or bolted keepers etc.. Should I be talking to a certain person?

Im going to weigh the truck this weekend to get the specs he needs..
 
#2 ·
i know your concerned about price but, if you want something thats guaranteed to perform and to make sure youre getting the right application.

why not do it right the first time and get a quality set of deaver springs??
 
#6 ·
i agree do it once. deavers are great
I hate these kind of replies. No support. No reasoning. No experience given. Just opinion.

Web wheelers make better posts.
I totally get what you guys are saying but what points to alcan not being up to par? I assume i am not asking the right questions or I just need to trust them?
And, after posting replies, no response to the OP's reasonable expectation of specifics.

This must be the Hummer section
 
#7 ·
Well, hell. I'm not sure, but I would imagine they expect you to tell them what you want, Isn't that sort of the way it's supposed to work. If you want things that are optional, and increase the price, they just aren't going to give them to you.

The bolted keepers are a nice touch, but help most in severe droop, which implies crawling..... Given your proposed usage, they aren't really needed, but don't hurt anything. Military wraps do absolutely nothing to enhance the performance of the spring, and are intended to improve durability/get you home if you break your mainleaf. Again, your proposed usage doesn't imply the need.

How about you call Bill, and tell him what you want....

Seems so much simpler than posting a thread complaining that he isn't reading your mind.
 
#14 ·
I agree ^^. Go with deavers. I have Atlas springs not alcans. But what I'm saying still applies. Just because they make springs doesn't mean they know what there doing. Nothing against Alcans, I have no experience with them. But Deaver caters to the desert/go fast trucks. They also build a bunch of class 3 4x4 full size (bronco/blazer/ramchargers)springs. Also if your up to the work/challenge, I would make new spring mounts. To run longer springs. It will only help. If going fast in the desert is the goal, I would look into spring under.

My $.02
 
#17 ·
just an opinion here...

Ive seen lots of guys with prerunner truck using deavers, even seen some using deavers for replacement rear springs...and havent seen one complaint at all. Seems like a good route to go, id do alot more searching on those tho before you buy. (I called em for custom coils but was told they only do them for suppliers.)...plus with being on the opposite end of the country shipping was too much. Even look in the ford/dodge sections for them, google searchem even. Any reviews is helpful when spending money.

I have 53 inch alcans that were made for a blazer on the front of my 83, i will say there soft and ride rather soft. They do add lots of body roll on the road. The mild offroad i used them so far there great springs. I cant tho tell you anymore since i havent used them for anything more rough than that. Usually see the alcans on rigs that flex good and rock crawl but i never seen em on prerunner trucks. I hope to test them out soon tho...hope is the word on that one..lol
 
#19 ·
Funny!

The one guy calling his post "just an opinion" provided support, reasoning, and the specifics of several experiences. I, for one, found your write-up enlightening.

Do you happen to know any differences in spring steel alloys or thicknesses between the Deaver and Alcan springs you've seen? Something must explain the difference.

fwiw, Good Job. :beer:
 
#18 ·
well after long deliberations I have a decision, considering that I dont already have the steering and brake lines to deal wit the extra travel, Im going to get that situated first then deal with the springs. I may get some DIY B52 mounts and try out some 52s heck I may attempt to make my own progressive pack. I have been down the 52/56s route on my dodge and they were loose noodles so I may take more time to dial it in before I spend any money on custom springs.
I agree with the fact that alcan isnt known for prerunner springs, that also makes me nervous because to drop that kind of money its a big gamble..

One thing I did learn from national was to outboard the front springs and have a shackle like the rear a tension shackle and also run them sua. I guess walker did this and the pikes ramcharger does this to get 18 inches of travel up front. thats pretty nuts for a leaf spring truck..
 
#20 ·
Actually never paid any attention except for how there stacked, it looked like there all 2.5 wide too. The springs are stacked pretty close to the same.

I did see tho looking at both sites just now that deaver doesnt just make em they also do a pile of other things with your springs like, soften, de arch, race prep, indidvidual leaf replacement...etc I didnt see that alcan does any of that except build the packs and the orbit eyes..Other than that i guess by calling is the only way to see what they offer. Both of them when i did call awhile ago do seem to have decent customer service and answer emails pretty fast.
 
#22 ·
Not necessarily leaf springs can be more reliable and livable in the range of travel my front axle can handle. if I went link the cost also goes up exponetially. Leafs counter act sway naturally and if they are military wrapped it saves you if you break a leaf unlike a link setup your pretty screwed unless specific scenarios exist.

I also dont plan on doing 900 mph across the desert.. this is a blazer and not a class 1, maybee Ill link it oneday but with a kid coming I dont see that happening soon.. so leafs are my easy way out.
 
#23 ·
LOL!!! @ outlaw rider !!

yup I'm runnin alcans and love em . I run creekbeds in my area as fast as i can sometimes , reaching 3rd gear and theses springs eat the rocks. I;ve also had them up to 90 mph on a logging road. My advice swould be sway bars as mine are soft and i have excessive boddy lean at speed. they also flex quite nicely....



 
#24 · (Edited)
QUOTE: Hey Guys,

Im going to order my front springs for my k5 next week, I decided to go with alcan mainly because of price.
I have been talking to Bill who seems nice but isnt giving me the feeling that he knows what I want..
I was telling him that I wanted a spring that I can use for going fast/prerunning and on the street.
I havent head him mention anything about military wraps or bolted keepers etc.. Should I be talking to a certain person?

Im going to weigh the truck this weekend to get the specs he needs..




If this is for a Fullsized Rig you should call Stephen Watson @ Off Road Design He can tell you all about Alcan's Spring Work, What to look for and or who to talk too. you might also ask about ORD's front Springs well front and rear, 970-945-7777
 
#26 ·
QUOTE:


If this is for a Fullsized Rig you should call Stephen Watson @ Off Road Design He can tell you all about Alcan's Spring Work, What to look for and or who to talk too. you might also ask about ORD's front Springs well front and rear, 970-945-7777
^^^ THIS :smokin:
 
#27 ·
I have Alcans in my crewcab dually. I explained to Bill very specifically what I do with my truck. Bill thought I was nuts but made a recommendation. I took his recommendation and have been very happy with what he sent me. They have taken a good amount of abuse and perform well.
-Truck weighs in at 7,000 lbs.
-I do lots of fast (a relative term) trail driving, street towing, and zero rock crawling.
-The trails/speeds that I am on/travel are such that I have never had all 4 wheels up in the air at one time. I guess I mention this because you are talking about pre-running...so I am conjuring up images in my mind of your K5 going Farris Bueller style over a hill. I have not pushed my springs or truck that hard.
-I did just pull 11,000 lbs, again, with it last week.
-Being that I am trying to drive fast down bumpy trails one day with the same truck that I am towing a decent amount of weight with the next day, I'm very happy with the springs.
-If I had to do it again I would ask him to make them a bit firmer.
-Over all, these springs are great, especially considering the wide range of tasks I ask of them.

Bill seemed unbelievably knowledgable and helpfull. When I was talking with him about my needs he was asking me where exactly my tool box was located in the bed and how much weight in tools I would have in it, whether or not my extra fuel tank was baffled, # of passengers, tires I would be running, etc.

Good luck.
gmcgixxer
 
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