Hmm trust me that is not the ugliest color a cruiser ever was... Mine looks like a cucumber. Actually it's not that bad, it has that rat rod color to it.
I have 4" Hell Creek springs with SOR 2.5" performance shackles. I had my hard top on for about month for a 3 day/2 night trail run in the mountains of Tennessee. My 40 was loaded down with camping gear, tools, etc. and I didn't have any issues with sagging.
NOTE: That my springs were installed back in November 2008.
The only noticable changes after the trip were mostly due to the lift "settling" in. No sagging. My shackle angles in the rear improved due to the weight of the hard top and gear, but this was expected. The front shackle angles have slightly changed, also due to settling. I have loaded down with gear (with the top off) and there is no noticable sagging with the load.
Regarding the ride. The springs were very stiff at first, however after the 3 day trip they had greatly improved. Hell Creek states the break in period is 1000 miles on the pavement, however they break in faster in off highway conditions.
Here's some pictures for you guys in Capetown. Enjoy!
Below is a picture of the first time I took my truck to test the setup. As you can see the springs are still very stiff.
I promise that you won't regret buying these springs!
Tom from Hell Creek puts together a great product and has great service!
BTW. Hell Creek springs come with a lifetime warranty.
What would be really interesting is some close up pics of your front and rear shackle angles with and without the top on or even just top off.
I fiited a set of 4" Lift Heystee parabolic springs and when I installed them, the shackle angle was 90deg in the front and even worse in the rear - so to get the optimum shackle angle I moved and rewelded the chassis shackle mounts.
Life time warranty in USA - yes, but not in South Africa, besides to freight the springs back will cost more than a second set of springs
What would be really interesting is some close up pics of your front and rear shackle angles with and without the top on or even just top off.
I fiited a set of 4" Lift Heystee parabolic springs and when I installed them, the shackle angle was 90deg in the front and even worse in the rear - so to get the optimum shackle angle I moved and rewelded the chassis shackle mounts.
Life time warranty in USA - yes, but not in South Africa, besides to freight the springs back will cost more than a second set of springs
Here are some current pictures of the front and rear shackle angles from the driver's side (LHD). When installed both angles where near 90 deg, but as stated before the angles have improved over the past 2 months. I was concerned at first, but decided to give the suspension a chance to settle down.
Please excuse the mud, I busted my radiator last weekend so I was more concerned about getting home then cleaning up.
When installing a 4" Hell Creek suspension, I have found the typical setup used 4 deg. shims on the front, and no shims in the rear. However, note that the springs were designed around stock components.
In my setup, I am currently using 4 deg. in the front, and 2.5 deg. in the rear.
When taking measurements with an angle gauge, I found the front angles around 1 deg. with 4 deg. shims.
The rear operating angles of the driveland were greater than 3 deg. with 2.5 deg. shims when measured. So, vibration is present at higher speeds (around 40 mph), but not noticeable at lower speeds. At the time, I was preparing for a trip and only had 2.5 deg. shims on hand to adjust the angles. I am "getting around to" installing the correct shims to achieve the proper operating angles in the near future.
What exactly is the optimal shackle angle? I hear people talking about it all the time, but no idea what it is? Pic? I understand the limits of the shackle when mounted to the spring and frame, is it halfway between full stop up and completely extended down? Thanks.
Good question. There are a lot of factors that effect it; length of spring, length of shackle, load conditions, etc..
I am taking the "wait and see" approach until the suspension settles down. My shackle angles started close to 90 deg. However, my shackle angles seem to "improve" each time I take it out on the trail. I am not very concerned since I have not experienced any problems.
Besides this thread, Pin_Head seems to shed light on this topic in other threads too. Do an advance search "Titles Only" on shackle angles, you'll get less than 20 results. This should help answer your questions.
IMO those shackle angles are not great at all, and for optimum suspension comfort and articulation they should have at least another 15 degress of angle
We have installed 4 of the Hell Creek 4" kits on trucks in our club and have never had any issues. Everyone was pleased and after one wheeling trip they rode a lot better. Can't go wrong with Hell Creek. He has been a great supporter of the Southern Cruiser Crawl as well.
Shackle angle is a direct result of shackle length. The longer the shackle, the more vertical the angle. With Hell Creek, stock length shackles give great angles. I went with 1.5" longer shackles and still have good angles after spring break-in. I would have to guess that 2.5" longer shackles would be close to vertical.
Shackle angle AND spring rate (flexibility) AND shock firmness all come together to create the "ride".
That being said, if I ever decide I want 37x12.50 tires, I won't hesitate to swap to 2.5" longer shackles and drop my bump stops to keep the tires out of the sheetmetal.
so i f were to purchase the Hell Creek kit, can someone please tell me what in addition to the kit will i need to have a fully functional suspension? as far as i can tell, shackles (recommendations please, with sizing) 1.5 inch longer(than stock im guessing), brake lines and what else????? are there superior shock than the "hydros" included with this kit? they look short. thanks for the info!
Are you asking what you'll need in addition to the HC package deal? Some poly bushings are included in the HC package, but not all. I think you'll need them for the spring pins. The hydro shocks are adequate, but lame IMO. You may want to ask about buying springs/bushings/u-bolts without the shocks and sourcing them separately. Tom will do that if you ask. At least he used to. They aren't HC shocks anyway. I think they come from Heckethorne. If you go with 4" springs, extended brake lines are indicated. NAPA stocks the rubber lines. Braided stainless lines are available from MAF, SOR, and several other vendors.
