Leaf Spring help

[maxamillion2345]

I know this isn't like super hardcore but I'm not sure it fit anywhere else.

I know there's guys here with a lot more leaf spring knowledge than myself and I'd appreciate any advice.

So my 1/2 ton 63" set up worked awesome off road, very flexy, no complaints. However, it was too soft for on road and then I added a tire carrier and some other stuff and it got to the point it was sitting a few inches lower than the front. I tried to bastardize the pack but that didn't work so well and ended up with some 3/4 ton 63" springs. These seem to hold the weight and handle better on the road and I can still stuff them but they're not as flexy unless I unbolt the clamps. I'm assuming that's probably too much weight for just the main to handle though and I'm concerned that I'm going to break the main off at the ubolt plate. Just looking for feedback and ideas.

Full droop with the bolts in the spring clamps I was getting 11" of shock shaft showing out of my 14" shocks. With the bolts pulled I was getting 13" and it was easy to bounce a little on a tire to fully extend my shock. With the bolts in, I could bounce pretty hard and not use the full travel of my shocks.

With the spring clamps unbolted, flexing one side, front or rear, I don't quite use all that shock shaft but I know I use all my up travel when I bottom out the rear. If I stuffed one tire in the front I would have 12" shock shaft showing on one side and a few inches on the other (and use up all 14" of my c/os in the front). If I stuffed one tire in the rear I would have about 10.5" of shock shaft showing and a few inches on the other side (and the front used all travel). Some or none of this may be pertinent, IDK, just throwing it out there.

The obvious answer here is to link the rear and that may happen in the future but for now I just want to get these leaves set up half decent.

So... bolts or no bolts? Will I break a main leaf? Can I add clamps else where? Should I? Would a longer shackle help? What else would change? I could probably raise the ass end up another 1" or 1.5". I may need to anyway. It is sitting pretty level for now.

I had originally looked into getting a set of leaves from Deaver but the wait just wasn't going to work for me. They're a ways out, and it was pretty pricey. I didn't realize 3/4 ton 63" springs existed and so not seeing any other options I decided to order a set of fox 2.0 air shocks from down south. I was hoping they'd help up the ride height a touch, help with body roll, and damped as well as these 5125s I'm running. I was looking for another set of unmolested 63s when a friend told me he had a 3/4 ton diesel chevy pickup and I could have the springs if they'd fit... sure enough... Anyway so now I'm almost thinking I don't need the air shocks at this point... They should be here early next week. Not really sure what to do there either. I could see about selling them to pick up some resi 2.0 14" shocks... or I could just run them and see what happens. I had talked to fox and they said they thought it would work out great for me (with the original 1/2 ton 63 pack). With this pack I'm not sure how much nitrogen I'd want to add and I don't know how low you can go... I know fox had said they'd try like 40 psi or so, not sure if theres a minimum. I assume they're going to cavitate regardless of nitrogen pressure and I won't be doing anything crazy high speed, just some washboard roads and stuff.

I should also add, I have an anti-wrap bar.

Thoughts?









Thoughts?

 

[cruiser guy]

I was in the same boat. Ended up running 1 ton 63"s with not overloads. I did notice a little less flex but not alot. I weighed that the on road manners were worth the inch or so I lost in droop. As for the bolts, I would say run them, they are there for a reason. Your spring life span will reduce if the are not working in the proper way they were designed. Lengthening shackles will lift your rear and give you less steep of a shackle angle, which means more stuff and less droop in a way. For every inch longer shackles you gain half of an inch of lift. I personally run 7s and they work great for my rig but it's all in how your rig preforms. Play around with a few sizes and see

 

[BionicCruiser]

can you put in some limiting straps for the rear? keeps the shocks from bottoming and you can dial in an extra inch or so over what the pinned distance is so the springs aren't much past the pinned distance.
or as cruiser guy said, keep the pins, an extra inch or 2 won't make a huge difference when crawling. just my limited experience opinion.

 

[maxamillion2345]

That's what I'm gathering else where as well. I'll leave the pins in I guess.

Thanks guys!

 

[GLTHFJ60]

If you cut or remove the overloads, you'll lose some weight capacity but you'll be able to stuff the wheels a little bit better.

Leaf springs weren't really designed to flex like we use them offroad, so eventually you'll wear them out, no matter what you do. If you need that little bit more of droop, remove the bolts from the rear of the pack, not the front, so if you do break a main leaf, at least the section from your u-bolts to your hard mount will be in-tact. Alternately you could build some revolver-style shackles to allow more droop with the bolts in-tact.

Think about it this way. Even with the bolts in, you get a good bit more suspension articulation than with the stock suspension!