New Frankie's Off Road Springs (1 Viewer)

[Slomo]

Just got the some of the new Frankie's Off Road springs installed and love the result. I am replacing OME heavies 850/863 with an additional 25 mm of packers in the front. I have an ARB with 9.5 Mile Marker winch in front, Hanna's and factory rear with reciever. No other significant weight on the truck. Measurements before and after came out to exactly 1 1/4" higher in the front both sides, and 3/8" on Passenger rear and 5/8" on Driver rear. The OME's were well broken in with some good trail miles on them over the last year. The after measurements are after a drive around town for the initial settling in but they have not been wheeled yet. Still have the OME shocks N73/N74e front and rear.

The ride is similar but slightly less harsh. They are firm and very controlled but lack the sharpness of the initial hit on a reasonable road bump or driveway. I am very pleased with the new stance as I can't stand the stinkbug look. I also did a quick load of stuff in the back to approx 200 lbs and only saw maybe a 1/16" of compression. Obviously I tried to duplicate as best as I could but measuring with the eyes is imperfect.

The upper end of all the springs is lacking the "flattened" style of the OME's but it does not seem to make a difference. Others more knowlegeable about springs feel free to correct or mock me. The diameter of the coil and length on the floor is about the same but the ride height and load carrying ability of the Frankie's is much better. Initial tests only of course.

The first pic is the fronts for comparison with the Drivers side of both on the right. The Frankie's USDS is a little longer.

Second is the rears.

 

[Slomo]

Next is the before with OME heavies and 25mm front.

Second is Frankie's with no spacers front or rear.

 

[fzjchase]

Wow. I can really notice a height change.

Are those 315's?

 

[semlin]

interesting. so with less coils on the springs you are finding they are firmer? that is surprising to me.

 

[MoJ]

interesting. so with less coils on the springs you are finding they are firmer? that is surprising to me.

In this case the increase in firmness is due to the increased pitch in the coil turns. Each revolution of the wire/rod is technically referred to as a turn. Firmness of a spring is affected by carbon content/material, wire gauge, heat tempering/stress relieving, and the pitch (angle) of each turn in the coil spring.

All else equal, if two coils are the same unloaded height and use the same gauge of wire but one has less turns, then the one with less turns will have less material used in its contruction. It will also have a higher pitch and will be firmer.

When pitch is increased to increase firmness it's important that other characteristics of the coil are changed as well in order to preserve longevity. Typically the two characteristics that are adjusted to accomodate the higher pitch are either wire gauge and/or carbon content. Don't know which has been addressed in the FOR product.

(I'm full of useless spring info.)

 

[MoJ]

So are the FOR springs now available for purchase?

 

[smittycrusher]

Great write-up Mo. I can SEE the difference. I can also SEE which set-up Tillie prefers. Disregard the ?'s I asked in my PM as all that info is right here.

Smit

 

[eldgenb]

what is the website for Frankie's, I have not been able to find it?

 

[stevek]

I love those wheels!

 

[medtro]

what is the website for Frankie's, I have not been able to find it?

http://frankies4x4.com

 

[semlin]

In this case the increase in firmness is due to the increased pitch in the coil turns. Each revolution of the wire/rod is technically referred to as a turn. Firmness of a spring is affected by carbon content/material, wire gauge, heat tempering/stress relieving, and the pitch (angle) of each turn in the coil spring.

All else equal, if two coils are the same unloaded height and use the same gauge of wire but one has less turns, then the one with less turns will have less material used in its contruction. It will also have a higher pitch and will be firmer.

When pitch is increased to increase firmness it's important that other characteristics of the coil are changed as well in order to preserve longevity. Typically the two characteristics that are adjusted to accomodate the higher pitch are either wire gauge and/or carbon content. Don't know which has been addressed in the FOR product.

(I'm full of useless spring info.)

thanks moj, I had no idea pitch played a role. surely though there is at some point a diminishing benefit from increasing pitch and reducing the number of turns in terms of reliable consistent compression. i would have thought that having more coil turns meant that, assuming the same intended stiffness/overall compression from a given amount of force, this compression could could be achieved with less compression per turn which would yield a more controlled overall compression and would put less stress on the metals.

incidentily, don't lx450 springs have fewer turns? I would have thought they were made to be softer.

 

[Nay]

One thing to keep in mind is these springs are designed around a suspension that has less up travel than OME...in other words, less required spring compression. I can't say whether this factored into the design, but it is my understanding that if you reduce the required compression you can open up different coil designs.

I was about to give a six month report on my FOR suspension and this is as good a place as any since we now have a second person to provide feedback.

After a few good offroad trips and plenty of highway miles the rig is still perfectly level and the original characteristics are still the same: a softer suspension response to large bumps in conjuction with excellent load handling and road manners. Offroad, performance remains excellent - getting the 80 to 35's just makes a huge difference.

Slomo, are you keeping the OME shocks or going to a different shock to allow 35's?

Nay

 

[redcheetah]

Springs

Are the springs available now for purchase?

I emailed Frankie's about a week ago and he informed me that it would be a few weeks before the kits were available. Are just the springs available?

Either way, your rig looks sweet. There is a noticeable visual difference.

 

[landtank]

For comparison sake, would you mind measuring the distance of the spring perch to the inner spring bumpstop on the front and rear. I have Slee's 4" springs and similar ARB + winch on the front but also have a Kaymar + tire carrier on the rear. I'd like to see how these sit compared to mine.

Thanks

 

[Nay]

For comparison sake, would you mind measuring the distance of the spring perch to the inner spring bumpstop on the front and rear. I have Slee's 4" springs and similar ARB + winch on the front but also have a Kaymar + tire carrier on the rear. I'd like to see how these sit compared to mine.

Thanks

The measurements I took compared to FJ Ben's rig with Slee 4" (both rigs relatively "unloaded") was a .75" difference with Slee's being taller. Willl be interested to see another set of measurements.

 

[medtro]

incidentily, don't lx450 springs have fewer turns? I would have thought they were made to be softer.

He said "less harsh" in the first post. Doesn't it mean softer, not firmer?

 

[MoJ]

I emailed Frankie's about a week ago and he informed me that it would be a few weeks before the kits were available.

I've been hearing "a few weeks" for several months.


Frankie, are they ready yet?

 

[Slomo]

Wow. I can really notice a height change.

Are those 315's?

Yes they are 315's, and I too love the new height.

interesting. so with less coils on the springs you are finding they are firmer? that is surprising to me.

They are actually about the same firness but the initial hit is slightly less harsh.

So are the FOR springs now available for purchase?

Yes they are but I am not sure how many of the first batch are not spoken for. Have to check with Frankie.

I love those wheels!

Thanks, the price hurts a little but I do love them for thier practicality and looks. The also add 1/4" backspacing each which doesn't hurt either.

 

[Slomo]

One thing to keep in mind is these springs are designed around a suspension that has less up travel than OME...in other words, less required spring compression. I can't say whether this factored into the design, but it is my understanding that if you reduce the required compression you can open up different coil designs.

I was about to give a six month report on my FOR suspension and this is as good a place as any since we now have a second person to provide feedback.

After a few good offroad trips and plenty of highway miles the rig is still perfectly level and the original characteristics are still the same: a softer suspension response to large bumps in conjuction with excellent load handling and road manners. Offroad, performance remains excellent - getting the 80 to 35's just makes a huge difference.

Slomo, are you keeping the OME shocks or going to a different shock to allow 35's?

Nay

I am keeping the OME shocks for now but will switch to Fox non emulsion external resesoir shocks with custom mounts when $ allows, which will probably be awhile. I am hoping to get the Fox's with the same or simliar valving as the Bilstiens. Thanks for your input earlier regarding the Frankie's springs. Also definitely worth noting that my experience with Frankie and the service I got was fantastic and I can not speak highly enough of his desire for a quality product and top notch customer service. Definitely worth the wait.

For comparison sake, would you mind measuring the distance of the spring perch to the inner spring bumpstop on the front and rear. I have Slee's 4" springs and similar ARB + winch on the front but also have a Kaymar + tire carrier on the rear. I'd like to see how these sit compared to mine.

Thanks

No problem I should be able to measure today and post them up.

I've been hearing "a few weeks" for several months.


Frankie, are they ready yet?

I also heard "a few weeks" many times but Frankie does deserve credit for waiting for them to be just right with all of us 80 freaks breathing down his neck. I think most of that was his manufacturer and supplier telling him "a few weeks" also. FWIW also see above regarding the service. We are lucky to have so many outstanding products and service in Slee, IPOR, Frankie's etc.



Edit: Forgot to mention the OME's are already spoken for.

 

[Slomo]

For comparison sake, would you mind measuring the distance of the spring perch to the inner spring bumpstop on the front and rear.
Thanks

Ok, just got them. The front measurement is exactly 5 3/8" from the spring perch to the main body of the bumpstop. Didn't count the little ridges in the contact part of the bumpstop. The rear is exactly 5 1/2" between.

Also worth noting the progressive rate of the spring is readily visible once they are installed. The top 1/3 of the coil has less pitch than the bottom 2/3 of the coil front and rear. I tried to take a picture but with the angle needed to see the whole spring they were worthless.

Just noticed that there are two bumpstops per side in the rear. I can guess that one is for level compression and the other articulated compression? Anyone clarify this for me?