Am planning on giving my 1989 C1500 to my 16 year old. We want to lower to a level still comfortable for driving but not scraping the bottom. (1) What's a good distance to lower and (2) what is the prefered method? Don't plan on any air bags, just dropping it. Also, what does 2/4 realy mean, ie how far and from what.

When you hear them refer to 2/4 or a 4/6. that is in refernce to how far down from factory height the truck is dropping ( 2" in front and 4" in rear or 4" in front and 6" in rear ect). A typical 2/4 kit is generally a set of lowered spindles and a shackle and hanger kit in the rear. Me personally, I do not like 2/4 kits at all. There are too many draw backs with a 2/4 kit. 1. Half the time they dont even look like they have been lowered. 2 The distance between the axle tube and the frame is decreased to much. That causes a bad ride from consistant bottoming out and pretty much leaves your truck worthless because you can no longer tow anything or really load anything without constant bottoming out. Plus anyone that has taken the time to install a front hanger kit knows that it is a pain in the *** when compared to doing a flip kit.
A 4/6 drop usually consists of 2" lowerd spindles with 2" lowered springs in front and a flip kit in the rear with a C-notch. The flip kit, flips the axle ontop of the leaf springs effectivly lowering it 6" in the rear. If you go with a 4/6 drop, you will actually have more towing capabilites because the C-notch is giving additional axle travel plus you can add an airbag helper system to a 4/6 to where you can not bolt one on with a 4" shackle and hanger kit in the rear. A good quality 4/6 kit, will give the truck excellent handling qualities and will still give you adequate ground clearance for daily driving. I would suggest using Bell Tech components...... You can reach those guys at 800-445-3767

Tony...

BCF....I have a 2/4 drop on mine. I can snap a side pic if you want to see what it looks like. What changed was the coils in front and in the rear I have flipped shackles so the springs are on top. It rides a little stiffer than stock but it is not harsh nor does it have that real bouncy ride you see when a lot of them are slammed down. I did look underneath mine today and did notice that is is just about sitting on the rubber snubber on front. What makes mine look lower though is that I have ground effects also so that adds to the image.

Kevin

I have a 92 Chevy 1500 two door shortbed with the 4/6 set up and air shock supplement in the rear. I have noticed if the air shocks are below 15 psi I tend to bottom out in the rear. The ride is a little harsh, but I attribute it to our fine Michigan roads. The front wheels sit about 2 1/2" from the frnder liner and the liner shows signs of rubbing ocasionally. The air shocks in the rear are very helpful for those occasional heavy loads. One thing to watch for is to make sure the camber is set right. I have found the forces on the modified front suspension tend to change the setup and put stress on steering linkage. But overall the performance is very acceptable and the improved handling and appearance make up for the occasional tire rub on the body. Go for it!

Do you have a c-notch in the rear. If not you might want to look ito one that will solve the bottoming out problem.