Deaver vs. Alcan for Tacoma Springs

[HongerVenture]

I know Scott B. has the Deavers and Baja has the Alcans. Why one over the other? I'm curious what the advantages/disadvantages are of each. Baja, were the Deavers just not offered when you went with the custom Alcans?

I'm looking toward the future and replacing my OEM leafs... blech! Obviously, with a T100 my choices are rather limited. I'm 95% sure of going with Alcans. My fear is that if I up the payload capacity (for when I'm out with the shell and deck installed for trips) that I'll be way too stiff when I'm unloaded (I like to take the shell and deck out for daily use).

So... thoughts on your Deavers and Alcans (to anyone who has them). Other thoughts on springs in general welcome.

Joel

[erin]

I don't think one is necessarly better then the other, but either way, you will be very pleased with the performance over the stock kidney busters.
I choose the Deaver 7leaf pack when I installed the Donahoe package. Although the coilovers made a huge difference in ride quality overall, it was the rears that made the most noticable difference. Articulation was vastly improved, as was rebound/sway. I'm sure also that the Bilstein shocks helped the rear greatly, too. I do wish now that I would have went to an 8leaf pack for better load handling, as I get alittle more sag than I thought I would with a load. But Deaver did warn me there would be more initial sag due to the fact that the 7leaf is more for performance, not hauling.

Good luck in your selection.:coffee:

[Desertdude]

Scott Born over at Deaver will actually listen to your needs and custom build a spring pack to your vehicle and weight loads. I started with an 8 leaf upgrade - After having increased the weight requirements on my 04 Tacoma - - I bought a ten leaf ( without consulting Deaver) - I decided that the ten leafs were not quite right - I called Scott at Deaver and discussed my Tacoma - he then custom built and acceptional 11 pack with a nice soft spring ride that will hold well over 1200 lbs in the truck bed - Deaver stands behind their product 100% - Now that is what I call service!

his contact info below

Scott Born
Sales and Marketing Mgr.
(714)542-3703
(714)542-2898 FAX
scott@deaverspring.com
Deaver Spring Inc.
902 E. 2nd Street
Santa Ana, Ca. 92701

[BajaXplorer]

I have Deaver 9 packs to support a camper shell and several hundred pounds of gear in the bed. I like them very much, but do not think they are particularly better than Alcans. Between the two, I don't think you can come up with a list of good and bad differences. Springs are not rocket science. What is, to me, probably the most important thing is that they are progressive setups. Each spring is arched and a little smaller than the one above it so that as you add weight (or flex) the leaf pack offers a little more resistance. Whether empty or loaded the suspension flexes. On the other hand, the OEM (and OME for that matter) both use an overload setup. There are 3 - 5 leafs then a massive overload leaf which serves as bottoming out point to limit flex and for the leaf pack to rest on under load so there is virtually no suspension flex.

Erin, Although it is a PITA (for you) the good folks over at Deaver like satisfied customers and are always more than happy to add leafs to your setup for very little cost. Just take them off and drop them at Deavers while you go to Disneyland or just wait for them.

BX

[BajaTaco]

I agree with what BX said. When I decided to get my Alcans, the Deaver service for the Tacoma scene was relatively new (at least on the internet) and they had just started making production leaf packs which started out as very flexy packs more for the lightweight (fast) desert trucks. At the time, the heavier load carrying packs from Deaver were not heard of so much and were custom. I knew of quite a lot of people who had used Alcan with success, and their price was good, so I went with them. I have some commentary on my experience dealing with Alcan HERE (http://www.bajataco.com/alcandowney1.html). I have had them on the truck for over two years now, and the ride height has not changed and they still work very well. I think getting custom springs via mail-order for a heavy truck is a little bit of a gamble regardless of who you buy them from. Without having your truck in their shop to measure from and test on, they pretty much have to try and hit the mark you want based only on numbers and what they have to go from using the packs they have already made for others. Which seems a little tricky to me. I think you have a very good chance of being satisfied with either Deaver or Alcan though. I can't say my customer service experience with Alcan was very good, but I hear that Deaver is very good (DesertDude is a great example above).

Switching back and forth from an unloaded bed to a loaded one is a tough situation to deal with on a 4wd (street + trail) truck. I'm don't know of any good solution to that.

[HongerVenture]

Desertdude, does Scott at Deaver do custom set-ups for any vehicle or just for Tacomas and others listed on their site? Since I run a T100, I had ruled them out but was asking to see what people's thoughts were on them in comparison to Alcan. If they will do custom for the T100 I may have more options.

Yeah Chris, I realize that switching back and forth is a tough situation to deal with. The ideal solution is some sort of airbag arrangement. When I'm under load I can inflate the bags... and when I'm unloaded I can leave them deflated. I'd also upgrade to better springs. The problem with this is that I'm not sure how much articulation/flex airbags allow for. I only need flex when I'm on trips... which is also when I'm loaded down and would need the bags inflated.

Maybe I need to resign myself to always keeping the shell on the truck. Although, a custom rear bumper could add some ballast to the rear as well.

Hmmm...;)

[Desertdude]

HV - I have not asked Scott that question - But Deaver makes springs for all types of vehicles. I would guess the T100 is not out of the question. Scott is real easy to talk with or email :)

[Westy]

I have Alcans on my 86 Toyota. They are 4+ years old and been under a longbed truck that isnt light. Custom bumpers front and rear, sliders, winch, dual t-cases, camper shell, full exo cage and a good amount of gear. They just plain work well, flex well and ride great.

Deaver or Alcan..you cant go wrong. I'd say give them both a call, get quotes and decide from there. I've only heard good about both companies products.
I'm pretty sure Alcan prefers to get vehicle weight, front and rear when you order as well as well as other specs??

Brian

[BajaXplorer]

Good point Westy! Deaver wanted to know what my total running weight was, plus how much weight was on each axle. Easy to get at a public scale.
BX

[Scott Brady]

I have heard great things about the Alcans. I know Chris has had great luck with his Alcans.

I can vouch for the service and quality of the Deavers. Scott Borne is a saint!

[Westy]

I found these for sale on Ebay. I realize they are not custom fit to your exact T100...but it might be worth it to give Alcan a call and see what they say about them...
The price is right, so I thought I'd post them up

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/93-98-Toyota-T-100-3-5-inch-lift-leaf-springs-by-Alcan_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33584QQitemZ80086 44069QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V

[HongerVenture]

Wow, great find Brian! It is quite rare to find parts like that for the T100. In a world with very few aftermarket offerings for the T100 that is quite a good find. 3.5 inch lift is more than I want unfortunately... but thanks a bunch for posting them up. That also gives me an idea of how much a set of Alcans will cost for my truck. I am going to contact Scott at Deaver as well... but this mod is probably not going to happen until end of this coming summer (once the beast is paid off).

Thanks!:victory:

[kcowyo]

Yeah, good find. T100's are definitely neglected by the aftermarket community.

.....not sure what you could do to the front though, to get a matching 3.5 inches of lift...??

The only IFS kits available (that I'm aware of) are 4 inches. Spacers and 25MM t-bars won't give more than 2 inches and a body lift in front and not the back wouldn't be a real good idea.

Wonder what the person who ordered those had in mind......:confused:

[HongerVenture]

Yeah, good find. T100's are definitely neglected by the aftermarket community.

.....not sure what you could do to the front though, to get a matching 3.5 inches of lift...??

The only IFS kits available (that I'm aware of) are 4 inches. Spacers and 25MM t-bars won't give more than 2 inches and a body lift in front and not the back wouldn't be a real good idea.

Wonder what the person who ordered those had in mind......:confused:

Yeah, Alcan is going to have a hard time getting $340 for those... though I guess you could put .5" spacer blocks on... or a slightly longer shackle to get 4" to match the IFS front kit. Heck, grab those Alcans KC, some shackles, and then a discarded and cheap Toyota Pick-up 4" IFS lift off of Pirate and I'd say you have yourself something.

Joel

[Westy]

I think you will find thats a smoking deal on the Alcans, at least last time I checked a couple years ago, and Deavers are even more $$

As for 3.5 lift...that is based on a stock vehicle, no added weight of bumpers, racks, larger spare, camping gear, extra equipment, etc.

Alcans are generally a soft spring and it will settle alittle, especially since your rig has more weight than the avg tacoma. Id be willing to bet you could pull a spring off that pack, and with bj spacers in the front and tbars cranked just alittle you could net a nice ~ 2.5 lift.

[HongerVenture]

I think you will find thats a smoking deal on the Alcans, at least last time I checked a couple years ago, and Deavers are even more $$

As for 3.5 lift...that is based on a stock vehicle, no added weight of bumpers, racks, larger spare, camping gear, extra equipment, etc.

Alcans are generally a soft spring and it will settle alittle, especially since your rig has more weight than the avg tacoma. Id be willing to bet you could pull a spring off that pack, and with bj spacers in the front and tbars cranked just alittle you could net a nice ~ 2.5 lift.

Stop it!:exclaim: You are making me consider it! :p
The only problem I see in your suggestion is the tbar crank... this really limits your downtravel. I'm not terribly concenred with downtravel in an expedition platform vehicle but I prefer to keep my suspension versatile. Granted, I will be cranking the tbars a little to level the truck out once I install the HD tbars. The TJM and winch kind of weighed down my front end.

[Westy]

I know how that goes...sometimes its hard to pass up a deal - you know you need the Alcans! A couple months ago I found a new ARB and used ARB compressor a guy was selling for $550 and had to pick it up...then just last week I found another ARB for sale private party, couldnt pass it up either. :ylsmoke:
I gotta ditch the spool in the rear...

as for the Alcans...yeah I'm not a fan of cranking the t-bars, stiffens the ride and limits travel but for an economy lift it works ok, gives good clearance and when combined with the ball joint spacers it works alot better.



Stop it!:exclaim: You are making me consider it! :p
The only problem I see in your suggestion is the tbar crank... this really limits your downtravel. I'm not terribly concenred with downtravel in an expedition platform vehicle but I prefer to keep my suspension versatile. Granted, I will be cranking the tbars a little to level the truck out once I install the HD tbars. The TJM and winch kind of weighed down my front end.

[Scott Brady]

The only problem I see in your suggestion is the tbar crank... this really limits your downtravel. I'm not terribly concenred with downtravel in an expedition platform vehicle but I prefer to keep my suspension versatile.

Joel,

Wise choice. I would recommend retaining a minimum of 70mm of down travel. This is very important for these heavily loaded expedition rigs, as hard unloading of the suspension can damage shocks, ball joints and steering components. Downtravel is also required to retain suspension balance and articulation in crossed axle terrain. It is also hard on the CV's to operate at extreme angles.