ALCAN Leaf Springs 2020

Hello TW I am new to this site and I am happy to be here! I bought a 2017 Tacoma TRD Off Road 4x4 Double Cab Long Box in December of 2019 and WoW I am so in love with this truck!! After I bought this 4x4 I knew I wanted to upgrade it and make it a bit more off road compatible. I started with the suspension. I also knew I did not want to change the ride height too much because I did not want to deal with diff drops, or carrier bearing drops, or shims. I wanted my cv's to stay safe and the center of gravity to stay low. So I then dove into options for putting new suspension on my truck.

I searched all over forums, videos, and talked to friends about what the best route would be? I ended up choosing Bilstein 6112's up front and now came the hard part (for me at least) what should I put in the rear? Knowing I wanted a bit of a lift I set the front coilovers to 1.5in and the rear I wanted 1in of lift to give the truck that traditional truck look rake. I looked at ARB, Deaver, General Spring, SD Truck Springs, a few others, and finally settled with Alcan's. The main reason I am writing this post is to set some minds at ease if they are in fact considering Alcan Leaf Springs. I found so many different reviews and posts and it look like half said they are good to go the other half said stay away. Plus many of them were from over a decade ago. I am happy to report that my experience with them has been very positive!

I called up and talked to Bill on the phone when I wanted to place an order from Alcan. He was very polite and made sure to address all my concerns as well as get all the info he needed to make sure they made the exact springs I needed. I told him I needed 1in over stock height, stock payload capacity, and I would be using this truck for light to moderate offroading and a daily driver. All my info was in and then they charged my cc for $660 thereabouts. About a 5-6 weeks later (not crazy about the wait time but they are custom made) my cc was hit with another $140 for shipping. Because of this Covid 19 I had to change my delivery address a couple times and the gal who handles the shipping was super sweet and got everything taken care of which I am very grateful for!

Next, I picked up the new Alcan Springs from UPS and drove em home. There were a few spots that the paint had come off in shipping but it was no big deal for me to spray them with some high temp Rust-Oleum and let them dry. I wanted the peace of mind of knowing they were a bit better protected from water and rust. The red bushings came installed and were greased up ready to throw on the truck. Then came the waiting game. I was waiting for a set of front and rear Durobumps for about 2 weeks as I had only ordered one extra set of Ubolts. The install went fairly well and took my brother and I who had never done this before about 3.5 hours. We torqued everything down and took it for a test drive. I noticed the ride was much smoother compared to the factory leaf pack in conjunction with the Billy 6112's up front it yields a superior ride over stock! There is no squeaking and the ride height is exactly 1in over stock which is exactly what I asked for. So Alcan does have my vote. I would buy from them again and anyone who is in the market for a new set of leaf's give Alcan a call, tell them what you need, and they will build it per your specs.

 

Looks great

 

Great write up, I’ll keep this in mind when purchasing my suspension lift

 

Also had a great experience with bob and bill @ Alcan. Would not think twice about ordering from them again.

 

This is awesome! I had no clue and they are very close to me. Thank you for sharing!!

One question!

edit: How are you doing on vibes? did your truck have the factory wedge in the rear? did you leave in the wedge or go with a large one?

Thanks again!!

 

Rumor is they’re selling their company, order while you can

 

*I meant to put this into the original post I wrote up and forgot. I have not experienced any kind of vibrations what so ever and my truck did not have any wedges installed from the factory. I simply set the leafs right onto the axle and it was good to go. I did have some concerns after reading about the possibility of vibs but after almost a week now of commuting 65 miles to work and back each day on the SoCal freeways I am not feeling anything abnormal with my truck. Hope this helps u!

 

Alcan is a brand name of aluminum foil here in Canada, I was expecting a very different thread

 

Alcan is also the Alaska highway as well. Alcan is what Alaskans generally call it. Later eh

 

I didn't want to create my own thread so I'm tossing my 2 cents in here (sorry not sorry for reviving a year old thread).

I went with Alcan leaf packs as well and recently got them installed. Absolutely love them. They're 10x better (to be expected) than my old stock pack with icon AAL. Even fixed some axle wrap that I suspected I had with the previous setup. Driving also seems smoother for some reason (probably just in my head). I was very impressed with the coating they put on the packs. Seems to be a semi-rubberized coating. It's not just spray painted, they have a machine that dunks the leaf packs into the "paint" which ensures full coverage.

The previous owner, Bill, sold the company to Lew Weldon in September of last year (2020). Lew was great to work with. He was very polite and knowledgeable. Gave him my specs and had a couple concerns/questions that he cleared up. My quote was $766 so prices have gone up noticeably since the OP. But it's still a much better deal than going with Deavers (and they're custom built to your specs). Build time was 5-6 weeks as OP stated but I said screw that and paid a $200 expedite fee to make sure they were delivered before my next trip. Shipping was about the same as OP. The springs were at my door in just over a week after expediting. Worth the extra cost to me!

All-in-all, very happy I went the Alcan route and will likely buy from them again in the future should time not change my opinion.

 

Very cool!! I would like to get another set but made to handle 200lbs over stock. I found that going on extended overland trips all my gear almost puts my frame on the bumpstops just leaving my driveway. The 1in over stock with the Alcans and 1.5in with the 6112's up front put the truck about level which I like and it is not jacked up super high so the CV's are in a great position sitting perfectly horizontal.
The smoother ride is not in your head. The 8 stacked leaf's make for a very plush ride which I enjoy on and offroad. Also when off the asphalt the flex with the Alcan's is way way way better then the stock springs. Nice choice going with Alcan. I am still very happy with mine over a year after I wrote the original post. Take care and enjoy your investment!!

 

Nice write up. Don’t forget to trim your u bolts before a rock does.

 

thanx!
i trimmed the bolts the following weekend. it would be nice to get a flip kit and trim my exhaust too.

 

How have they held up?any issues over all this time? Any leaning?squeaking ? Anything at all. Any axle wrap

 

Hey, I apologize for the late response. Life is super busy right now!
The Alcan's are still AMAZING!! With only 1in of lift in the rear and up front I still sit lower to the ground then I like. The Mobtown skids get a lot of use lol.
The articulation I can get out of these springs is really good!!! I just drop the tires to 17psi put her in 4LO and I have not had trouble climbing up any hills. Ever!
This is largely due to the Alcan's ability to keep my rear tires on the ground. These springs just reach and reach and reach until they hit the ground. Very impressive. In the front with no sway bar, JBA UCA's, and Bilstein 6112's with the 650lb spring my front tires stay on the ground. That's my receipt for climbing hills lol.
The only one issue I had was one of the spacers feel out on the Mojave RD and the drivers side squeaks now but I do not mind that. FYI they also told me they would send me replacements and they never sent them. Sooo... maybe the new owners are IDK.. busy?
Anyhow. You will not regret purchasing from Alcan.
Kinda too long this reply is but I want you to know they are good to go and my next purchase will be from them.

 

Right on .im very interested in the alcans or dobinsons ...did you mean replacement leaf springs or replacement spacers that you were told would ve sent but never got sent??
Also how do u like the bilstein 6112?? A little rough?? Have u ever had any other bilsteins? I have the bilstein 4600s and they are great but a tad stiff at slow speed..i am curious about the 6123 but now sure if theyd be even stiffer at slow speed or if maybe they use less psi bec its more area and it feels the same??Any thoughts are appreciated

 

I have a quote for some Alcans and they're definitely on my short list of upgrades.

Just curious, what made you choose Durobumps over another bump stop?

 

In answer to your first question they forgot to send the spacers. I messaged them through an Insta reply so I am not really holding it against them. I could call them I guess if I really wanted.

The 6112's were soft in my mind with the original springs. 600lb. Not so soft that the nose would dive when braking but kinda squishy I guess and that is off road with the tires aired down. On the road handling is solid and the ride is much better then factory. Since I have full steel skids, steel bumper, and sliders I knew I needed the 650lb springs. So I ordered those and swapped em out. Now with all that weight and the new springs the truck feels solid again but before the spring replacement my nose would dive when braking.
The biggest difference in my mind that I can feel is the truck swaying because of the sway bar delete. Doing this has improved the trucks ability to keep the tires on the ground offroad but onroad it feels like a boat. That being said I have taken the truck up to 90 MPH with no sway bar on a straight shot and it feels comfortable to me.
I have only had factory and 6112's up front. The rear I did have the 5100's at first them swapped em for the 5160's. I do not notice a difference with that except for the heat. With the 5160's I noticed it took longer for the shock and reservoir to heat up. Sometimes they do not even get hot but I usually do longer trips so they eventually get hot/warm to the touch.
I would go for it if I were you and if you can find them. The Bilstein 6112 front and 5160 rear combo is a winner! They have lasted a year of weekend offroading, DD, and overland adventures without spending $1000's which I do not have. I feel like this is the best deal you are gonna get in that price range. Plus you can change the height, change the spring weight, and they are 60mm(2.65'') and they look badass with the front bumper cut away. Of course you can do all those things with the 5100 but the 6112 are designed for rougher terrain. I hope this helps you!!

 

I think those Duro's came out for the 3rd Gen right before I bought them. They were the "new thing" to try. I will say when I hit hard the truck does not have the same shocking slamming feeling as the stock bump stops. I looked at SumoSprings, airbag system, and finally decided on the Duro's since they were specifically engineered for Toyota's by a Toyota enthusiast. The material they used is some kinda future space rubber because I see no cracking or fading and they still perform like they did the first day I installed em. When I drove the Mojave Road I started the trip just barley sitting on the Duro's because of all the shit I did not need in the back. Water and firewood were the heaviest so after our first stop I unloaded all that and the springs went back to normal. The whole drive to the start of that track I was worried because I was resting the bump stop but I had no need to worry because the ride was still surprisingly smooth. Same with the first 30 miles of the trip offroad. It still felt like smooth sailin. So IDK if this helps you? I like them and hey it's another item to add to the Mod List LOL.