did a lowering kit on my truck with lowering keys in front and 2" shackles and blocks taken out of rear

truck still has more rake than i like, but problem is my front keys right now are turned all the way up so id have to get differnt ones to go any higher. Id like to bring the rear down a bit more but i know i only have a few options

my truck is a 05 so it has rear welded front hangers, i know going to 3" rear shackle will be very close to the bed and prob wont give me quite enough

dont wanna deal with cutting off front hangers and welding on any other ones, not a huge fan of flip kits

some have suggested heating the middle leaf and making it flat, im looking to get an extra 1-2 inch more at max.

Love to hear some ideas/suggestions. Thanks in advance

 

Flip kit & notch, put the stock shackles back on.

 

Removing the overload or clamping it is an option. Most people drop about an inch. Don't heat the springs that is a terrible ricer move.

 

i hear removing the overload will make it bouncy and soft, any truth to that? My truck only has 2 main springs and the overload. I still want to be able to tow if needed

 

i was told you dont need to notch until a 6" drop. Im just looking for an extra inch or so from where im at now

 

here is my truck for example

 

Unless your truck is a garage/trailer queen, you'll need a notch for everyday driving & being able to haul light loads, etc. Having the axle slam into the frame "once in a while" and saying "Oh, it's not that bad" is bullshit IMHO. Do it once, do it right.

If you remove the overload, you'll go down almost one inch. But then you'll introduce some pretty bad spring wrap. Then you'll need traction bars. When you preload the bars, it will lift the back of the truck back up another half-inch or so.

I've lowered quite a few 4x4's, if you go lower than you are now, you'll need a notch.

 

im not going to notch anything im not a fan of that. Im doing traction bars and i wont be towing anything extremely heavy . will the ride be bouncy without the overload in there?

or possibly adding a helper bag in if i take overload out

 

With a traction bar and good shocks, the ride quality is good.

I dug up an old pic of my half ton 4x4 for reference. Front drop is keys, cranked all the way up. Don't remember the brand, but sounds like you may have the same ones. Rear drop is blocks removed, shackles, and overload leaf removed. I added Cal-Tracs for the spring wrap, and one-half turn of preload on the bars. This is the end result.



I have lots of pics from different angles. Tires in this pic are 275/70R16, which is a 31.5" tire IIRC.

 

what do you mean by axle wrap? like front to back or side to side? And just curious on how putting preload on traction bars would lift the truck?

what rear shocks do you suggest? I was looking at DJM calmax