87-91 used the 5-lug regardless if it was RWD or 4x4

 

87-90

 

*91 was a half year for drivetrain IIRC

 

My buddie had older, worn and probably stiffer/dry front tires on his F150 just as I do one my Dakota...he replaced them today with brand new tires and said he feels a night and day difference between the old and new with suspension/bumps so maybe that should be my next step...four new tires on the new aluminum rims I am waiting on (any time now).

 

depends on the tire. as far as performance i loved the firehawk gts that i had on my shelby daytona. for all season tiger paws were the best tire i've dealt with...even when they were bald the only problem i had was when i hit black ice at 70mph leaving the highway(fun times).

 

My mom just had a set of tiger paws on her alero. She does lots of gravel driving but still only got 40,000km out of them.

 

I know this is like anti-christ for saying this, but have you ever thought of just running bags to get the ride quality you want. I am not talking about the P.O.S drop your *** on the road style of bags but semi-preformance bags that still allows you to run and drive's like how you want and still be able to carry weight when you are in need of hauling something.

Also with your quote, cheap-soft springs and good-expensive shocks, I would advise to go agianst that, I have seen guys do that and they tend to destroy there nice shocks faster than normal. Though this is just my input and really depends on your stand point. I know for my personal reasons I will be switching over to bags pretty soon, though mostly it has to do with how bad my springs are. Also did you cut your coils and flipped your hangers because your trucks seems quite low? I have a 2-inch drop in the back from some blocks that I installed.

 

For shocks I would recommend something like the Monroe sensatracs as they will probably be tuned more for a car like ride than a more truck oriented shock like ranchos.

 

I meant to say black ice...lol I don't know how many miles I got out of mine since they came bald on a lumina I bought. I do know in a blizzard they handled better than my friends blizzaks(surprisingly)....that or he does know how to drive in the snow lol.

 

I have summer wheels so I want something low profile and wide but not low enough to compromise ride quality.

Someone said sensa-trac (coil spring-wrapped shock?) would make for a stiffer ride, but I thought maybe if I added those and removed a leaf or two it might change the softness without loosing too much load capacity.

TC I have thought about this it's just there are so many bag setups and styles I'm not sure where to start, I know a decent route is getting the suspension at least in the rear setup the way you want with the loss of payload ability then add support bags. In other words use springs, shocks, etc to get the ride you want then bags just to assist with a payload? My trucks ride height is factory, I seriously think the front springs lost an inch or two in height. Interesting you say against soft springs and good shocks as a combo, technically I baby my payload anyway always staying well under the pushing it limit and I feel as if the rear is really stiff on bumps; I will really never use all the payload capacity of the rear leafs...it's just extra capacity aka extra stiff when I have an empty bed so this week I may drop the bottom leaf from the packs and leave the smallest overload incase I need it it's just I will reach over-load capacity quicker with the bottom leaf removed....I think.