Heystee Parabolic Springs experiences? (1 Viewer)

[coldtaco]

Anyone got any experience with the Heystee Automotive Parabolic Springs? The good, the bad, what's special about them? Thanks.

 

[lowenbrau]

I'm going to try to make this the last negative post about Paul's product because I am not on a witch hunt. He is a friendly guy with a cool product. In some circumstances the leaf pack sag under Land Cruisers. It doesn't seem to happen to everybody and it doesn't seem to happen to other models. Cruiser a probably the heaviest vehicle they are made for and have the most unsprung weight. I understand that Paul has worked with people who had problems to correct them. In my case, we (Prairie dog Parts) looked at becoming a N American supplier for the product and brought one kit in to sample. We had also bought OME, Ironman, Belton, and Fireflex, for evaluation. The TIC parabolic kit went under a HJ61 with no real modifications except a long range tank. The initial ride quality was good, lift height was maybe a bit lower than the competitors but right around 2" over stock. In about two or three months the rear suspension sagged until the truck would hit the overloaders on even the most subtle bumps. This would happen when the truck had no passengers and little fuel in the tank. We had heard some other reports of sagging from a high profile USA Land Cruiser vender that specializes in Sprungover, V8 40 series and had tried out the product as well. We concluded that the product needed further development and not solid enough for us to distribute.

If you are looking for a custom solution for your truck and are willing to remove and replace the leafs a number of times to get it just right, this might be en excellent product for you. I'm confident that Paul will work with you on any problems that you might have.

buckroseau ran into problems in very short order in his 45LV and finally replaced them with OME this weekend. https://forum.ih8mud.com/showpost.php?p=2161206&postcount=2950

 

[Tapage]

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Ron R]

Anyone got any experience with the Heystee Automotive Parabolic Springs? The good, the bad, what's special about them? Thanks.

I have a set of these.
Make your own descision after you've read my story.
Bought the set (front and rear) with bushings and shackles but without shocks from Paul who has his business about 20 km from where I live.
At that time the set consisted of three blades each side at the front and four each side at the rear. These pack are modular i.e one can add or remove blades 'at will'.
My goal was to get a softer ride, not lift. The old packs were in a poor condition.
According Paul I could do with three blades at the rear, despite I told him I was going to travel from the Netherlands to Kazakhstan and back. Total distance about 15000km. Mostly road, partly offroad, carrying extra fuel (max 175 liter) and camping.

During this trip (total 8 rigs) we had quite some technical problems varying from punctures to one rig completely breaking both the rear packs (Dobinson 2 years old).
My rig performed very well. Had no major problems although I've been driving up front large distances in bad terrain and therefore running into bad passages without warning however never really extreme battering.
At the very end the rear looked to be sagging a bit at both sides.
Back home I showed this to Paul. He admitted that he had underestimated the conditions and replaced the total package front and rear, because to his opinion there was also some misalignment in the front.
The package I received as a replacement are newly developed and now consist of four blades at the rear (still three up front) that give the same smooth ride as the three blades used before.
I'm very pleased with this new set, but have to add I've not really put them to the test yet.
I can add that, due to my experience, one of my friends replaced his packs with the same I have and made a tuff trip to the Algerian desert (stone and sand) with a total distance of about 8000 km's and is very pleased.

So this is what I can tell about HST. I cannot and will not tell you or this product is what you are looking for. As said before...that descision is your's.

 

[paulheystee]

Hello Lowenbau,
What is your point? You are talking about a od set that was bought 3 years ago! My reconds show that Prairy Dog ordered it in 2003 and shipped in early 2004.
The owner talked about "big plans" to import my products and sell them "big time" but seemed hollow words. They just wanted to impress and get a special 30% discount price for the two sets. Then behind my back telling everybody that my product is not good. They did not even take the time to contact me and discuss possiblities and solutions. I should have know'n it. I feel stabbed in the back. I guess the discount was not big enough.

My product is a top quality "fit and enjoy" package and fully developed. The springs Ron had where from a differen factory, which I am no longer using, hence my offer to replace his springs with the latest and final version. Now ALL springs are made in the same European factory and check on quality extensively.

 

[Tapage]

I'm always interest in know about parabolics .. I thought is a great suspension tipe and I always read throught the " net " diferent storys, some are positive about parabolics .. and other not.

IMOP all depends about settings .. I read from friends that destry OME spring packs .. and other ( as me ) that really love it.

 

[roscoFJ73]

I'm always interest in know about parabolics .. I thought is a great suspension tipe and I always read throught the " net " diferent storys, some are positive about parabolics .. and other not.

IMOP all depends about settings .. I read from friends that destry OME spring packs .. and other ( as me ) that really love it.

One of the local 4wd shops had some parabolic springs for sale ,they were blue so maybe they were from HST.
I dont why,but no one seems to use them here. Maybe they are too radical and no one wants to be a test pilot.
I would try them if I got an unconditional guarantee of satisfaction.
There is a Malaysian company called APM selling parabolics in Australia also.

 

[Ron R]

Rosco,
Indeed, these look like the Parabolics as produced by Paul Heystee.
From the picture however, it's difficult to see or these are the old types, but it looks like.
For my 73 the old type (4 blades) was too stiff for what I wanted.
I therefore used three blades as explained in my previous posting.
I now have the new type, also 4 blades. The ride is as smooth as the three blades of the old one. My shocks are Koni's Heavy Tracks.
Load capability is still beyond original.
Heystee now also delivers his 'own' shocks. Fully adjustable and if you want you can take these apart for servicing/repair/ adjustment.

I don't know about unconditional warranty in Ozi, but as you can read from my previous posting, Paul Heystee stood up for his product and replaced even more than I expected.

 

[Tapage]

Interesting to see if OME offer a full no question waranty when they try to start with the suspension business ..

Anycase I thought any new branch that have to show the " superior performance " on any product need to start with full no question waranty .. most in our aplication. Why .. ?

You can back from trail with a coil or broke spring pack to claim your product each time .. you wanna be sure that you have a good quality product for the trail/expedition amchine.

 

[coldtaco]

So, what is the claim to fame for the Haystee? What makes them "superior" to conventional style springs? Or, why where these designed? To do what differently?

 

[roscoFJ73]

So, what is the claim to fame for the Haystee? What makes them "superior" to conventional style springs? Or, why where these designed? To do what differently?

Basically they are using engineering principles to use less metal.
They makes the leaves thicker where its needed.

Conventional leafs spring packs just put more leaves where they are needed.

Still there to do the same job,they are just using shapes to create strength

 

[coldtaco]

So. theoretically the parabolic springs should be lighter and still do the same as conventional springs?

 

[Ron R]

So. theoretically the parabolic springs should be lighter and still do the same as conventional springs?

They are mucht lighter than conventionals.
If I compare my pack against the old ones the difference is huge. I never weighted them, but my guess is they are at least 20-30% lighter.
The ride is so much smoother that somebody even said they behave like coilsprings. Well, that's not my opinion. I think it's an in between leaning towards coil.
According Paul Heystee these packs I have can carry more than the originals.
To be honest, I allways try to travel as light as possible, because my wife and I sleep in the cruiser when we are doing an off-road trip. Therefore I need to keep the stuff I carry with me as compact as possible. So my rig is never loaded till max or even above.

 

[lowenbrau]

I think the big advantage is the lack of interleaf friction. In a typical leaf pack, each of the leafs is forced to slide past the others to flex. Some manufacturers use teflon pads to reduce this. Some people use stips of UHMWPE between the leafs or a teflon type coating to help things slide. Grease helps but it also traps dirt. Parabolics have very little friction between the leafs because they only contact at the middle and ends.

 

[Tapage]

Parabolics have very little friction between the leafs because they only contact at the middle and ends.

I believe that it's the real advantage .. I I hope someday have the chance to test this suspension concept.

 

[roscoFJ73]

With all those alleged benefits its a wonder parabolic springs are not found on more OEM applications.
The weight savings alone would be a good enough reason

Maybe thats why most of them went coil

 

[Ron R]

With all those alleged benefits its a wonder parabolic springs are not found on more OEM applications.
The weight savings alone would be a good enough reason

Maybe thats why most of them went coil

Parabolics are more expensive to produce and AFAIK tolerances are pretty tight.
So from the manufacturers viewpoint not very attractive.
Coils are simple and give a lot of travel and comfort.

An other point is that many regard the parabolics to be difficult to 'repair' in the field.
In case of a broken leave, they think it's impossible to temporarely repair the package because nobody out there has an parabolic leave laying around.
What is the problem of putting an ordenary leave in the pack just to make it home?
Or just put a clamp on (even easier than with ordinary packages because parabolics have spacing in between leaves)

 

[audaciousduo]

Parabolics

I may give them a shot. Before becoming a Toyota convert I used them on some series Land Rovers I built. The increase in articulation was huge despite the lousy shock mount location that Rover designed. The shocks would bind against the frame when the springs really articulated. My 80 has great articulation but my 70 with a Belton lift doesn't articulate to my liking. Here is a shot of my old rover with parabolics. They flexed like crazy and I never had an issue with them. I'm looking into revolver shackles as well.

 

[hoser]

Seems like people either love them or hate the the parabolic springs. I look forward to your review.

 

[Clint79]

Seems like people either love them or hate the the parabolic springs. I look forward to your review.

X2 the few cruisers ive been in with them a 75 series and 60 series they were both ruff as guts to ride very uncomfortable

but the might make one for diff load ratings