bare bones solid setup? opinions please. longwinded preferred lol

So i am finally looking to narrow down my suspension plans for my truck. I'm looking for a solid and predictable setul but not all out race car(truck).
 
The platform is a 1st gen reg cab short bed with a 2.5 5 speed. Looking to keep the drivetrain til suspension is done then your basic v8 and 8.8 goodies. Might keep a stock s10 rear but who knows. Now for where i need opinions on stuff.

The front I'm planning on
- 2 inch spindles possibly modded for more steering angle
- 2 inch coils (opinions on best spring rates? Brands etc)
-  also plan on doing all ball joint mods and arms for such.
- big sways cut endlinks
          Thats pretty much what i have for the front. Any place you would change or maybe add? Shock recommendations aswell for front and rear?

For the rear i plan on.....
- 3inch drop leafs. I have questions on the different brands. Summit has their house flavor i assume are just a different brand maybe djm or belltech eith summit stickers. Then are bellyech and djm much different? I have seen some djm ones for sale used but havent heard much about them performance wise.
-with the leaves i had planned to add cut leaves to the front and then clamp. Would caltracs be better then this? I had originally planned for caltracs but fell down a rabbit hole talking bout clamping and adding cut leaves. I have also heard that caltracs arent great for cornering? True?

- big sway in the rear with cut endlinks and good shocks all around the truck.
- have also thought about a panhard if the lateral support isnt great enough but would be a later step. 
Now that i have it all on the tzble what do you guysthink

Cont..... I also forgot to add 1in or 2 in blocks probably if i cant figure out a way to move the leaf mounts aswell as sliders for the leafs. Typing on my phone it missed some stuff and is hard to go back an edit whats already been typed. Anything you guys would change or add feel free to say. Ive kinda narrowed this down to something i can do weekend to weekend and not kill the bank at the same time. Thanks for any help and ideas guys!

Sounds like you've done your research. The front setup seems fine and you probably want something around a 650-700 lb spring (maybe higher with a V8).

My only comment on the rear would be the sway bar. The design of the links on the ZQ8 rear bar would make them difficult to cut but you may not need to anyway. I've found the rear bar makes the truck very prone to oversteer. It can be fun but will slow you down on something like an auto-x so you may want to consider your application.

I don't know anything about the aftermarket leafs but I've heard the belltechs can be pretty soft. I run Z85 leafs with two leafs pulled and 3" blocks but mine is definitely not the optimum setup. Clamping leafs can help with hop but it also causes them to bind so it's not a great way to go. Shocks can really help with wheel hop as well but it may not end up being a problem.   

So in my case would a set of homemade caltracs be good for the rear? Then maybe a panhard instead of the sway? I am wanting to build the truck more drift oriented but if i just have a predictable and solid suspension I'll be able to do what i want. I would perfer to tune the rear for under steer and putting it into oversteer on my own so it will have the tendency to come back and should make it less snappy on transitions.

Do alot of guys get springs from the circle track guys or something then cut them to their desired height? It seems most off the self stuff that lowers these trucks is for just that with no performance gains in mind.

What kind of valving do these trucks like on the shocks and what seems to be the consensus around here? Not trying to reinvent the wheel just what to make the wheel work for me haha

Also not trying to get spoon fed i just cant seem to find these answers myself.

P.S. most of the threads i end up reading all have you in them and i was glad when i seen you replied to this thread! T

I get all my info from the guys on this site, I basically just do what they tell me to do (within budget/skill constraints). I auto-x the truck a lot but I don't have any engineering or mechanical training.

The rear sway bar won't make it unpredictable, it will just make it much easier to powerslide. I ditched it because I found I couldn't get the power down out of corners at auto-x. The truck actually feels better with it on but my times were always slower. With the rear sway bar on and the long wheelbase of the extended cab it was super easy to hold a drift. Fun but not fast!

I've never tried caltracs but I've read that they're not a great handling option. The experts will chime in on why. I think they limit spring movement more than is optimal for handling.

Most guys use some version of stock spring or coil overs. bbcc used circle track springs with weight jacks on his blazer and that seemed to work well for him. Lowering springs are a bit unpredictable and the chevy lean is always a problem.

I run single adjustable QA1 rear shocks and like them. Adjustable is probably the way to go, I don't know if enough people have experimented to give a consensus on  shock valving.

I'll be curious to hear more about the caltracs. It makes sense that it will affect the spring in ill ways but wouldn't think about it til mentioned. I always though of using it as a poor man two link kinda.

The sway bar will probably go on and see how the truck likes it but it may make it to oversteery and would have to come off. Its funny most people would want to do all the things to make it oversteer if they want to drift and i perfer it pretty neutral/ understeer. Can drive faster that way even in drift.

I think my next area of hard research is really going to be shocks and 17inch wheel choices. Would like a nice sticky set to drive on and just rotate rears for drifting.  Any ideas and any good links on the shocks? Long reads welcome haha

all the pro drivers set up to push in formula d otherwise they wouldnt be able to hit the entry speeds they need. they have enough power to get as sideways as they want on demand.
im assuming you wont have quite as much power, so you'll need less tire or a looser setup.

The power wont be there for a longgg time. Maybe 250-350 but good torque. I plan on some skinny tires for the back. Going to play around on price and sizes. 225+/-  probably on 15 or 16s. Hell maybe 14s like i have now lol the feont i do want a nice tire like a sticky 245 or up. Going to do alot of trial and error