What CCOT told me about their HFS Springs

[BBQ BOY]

I spoke with them today. For some reason their springs and shackles really intrigue me. I asked them about having to lengthen my drive shaft and they told me me that if I install their 4" SUA kit with 1.5" shackles that I would nit have to extend the brake lines or drive shaft. Hmmmm. Sounds like a nice way to go.
They also told me that the way their springs are designed is to have the springs to sit out further than everyone else's springs. I would get a forward and backwards rocking motion but I can reverse my shackles to cancel out that motion. What are shackle reversal's?

 

[metalonmetal]

i run the same setup. i needed to extend my brake lines and my driveshafts. if you don't now, you will on the trail.

 

[BBQ BOY]

How do you like your set up? Do you have the 4" with 1.5" Shackles? What shocks do you have? I mainly will be driving it on the road. About 75%. Tell me about it's road mannerisms.

 

[metalonmetal]

i think the setup's solid. i have the 4" springs, 1.5" shackles setup. i think the shims they recommended were a bit too steep for the front driveshaft. a good coat of paint before installation would be a good idea. the shocks i'm running are the ones that came with the kit. they're alright, the paint on the housing's chipped and is starting to rust after a short while. would replace with bilsteins. haven't experienced anything bad on the road or off the road. no bump steer with the shims.

 

[BBQ BOY]

They offer a couple different size shims. Which ones did you get?
Again I am sorry for repeating myself. How does the set up handle bumps in the road. CCOT says the set-up will be stiff but what does that mean? Jolting? Rigid on the road? I will be going Bilstein 5125.

 

[SD_rdcruzer]

Usually a 4* shim will work for your front springs. Make sure you get the steeel shims, the alum. ones will crush over time.

On my lift, I did not find it necessary to lenghten the driveshafts, my brake lines were junk so I replaced those with longer ones.

I found the answers to many of my ?'s here < this is a link
FAQ is a wonderful thing

 

[cruiser user]

driveshaft and e-brake cable

I'm runnin HFS 4" lift and shackles on my 82 bj. Love the ride , very comfortable, but my rear drive shaft is about 1-1/2" too short . The emergency brake cable still works too but had to take it out of the front body clamp next to the transfer case . These are small problems and easy to fix . Just haven't had the time yet. Good luck, Tim

 

[Blue77FJ40]

I won't say that they are lying to you, rather they are severely misinformed. I had to lengthen both my driveshafts and install longer brakelines. I also had to install really long rear shackles (~6" eye to eye) to level out the squat that developed. It's all good now, but need to replace the crappy shocks that came with it.

Yes, a 4° shim will be needed for the front, otherwise the steering will be squirrely. If you query, you can find my writeup. YMMV.

 

[BBQ BOY]

How much should it cost to extend the drive shafts?

 

[Cruiserdrew]

How much should it cost to extend the drive shafts?

Roughly $100 each.

New axle to frame brake lines are $20-$30 each.

 

[bsmith123]

hfs lift

x 2 on the brakes, my driveshafts hooked up okay but I need to research how they should really fit for travel purposes. I just hooked them up to move it around in and out of the garage.

I used stock length shackles and it sits level and has a decent shackle angle considering it is not brokle in or fully loaded yet.

CCOT told me not to worry about the shims unless I had steering probs or increased shackle length. So since I am still building I am waiting to see.

I put in the cruiser lean block and actually went from no lean to having a lean so I need to pull it back out!, my fault I pondered over it and decided to go that way and with a 50/50 shot well you know!

Best of Luck

 

[kissmyaxle]

I had 5.5 on my 79 and the brake lines did need to be longer for any bending you may do on the trail. Its a quick fix and I recommend it now as opposed to having to deal with it on the trail as metalonmetal stated. Good luck.

 

[bakocruiser]

If you lift your vehicle, just expect problems. I did the MAF 4" w/shackle reversal, I had to extend the front driveshaft, install a CV style rear and extend both brake lines. The front rides great, the rear is too stiff, hope it breaks in after a few more miles. My 33x10.5 tires are all over the drag link when crammed in the fender. Just an excuse to install a Saginaw PS conversion. Its all part of owning a cruiser. Have fun and get our your check book.

 

[Poser]

I spoke with them today. For some reason their springs and shackles really intrigue me. I asked them about having to lengthen my drive shaft and they told me me that if I install their 4" SUA kit with 1.5" shackles that I would nit have to extend the brake lines or drive shaft.

I do not agree that the brake lines do not need to be longer with a 4” lift and shackles.....




The 4” HFS lift springs and longer shackles were installed on this truck and the front and rear brake hoses to the axle were too short and replaced with new longer units.

Picture of the front hose that was way too short:

 

[BBQ BOY]

That truck looks great. Is the rear lower?

 

[BBQ BOY]

are those tires 33x10.5 or 33x11.5?

 

[Poser]

That truck looks great. Is the rear lower?

No, just the way the picture looks I guess....

are those tires 33x10.5 or 33x11.5?

33x10.50's

 

[Poser]

And would you look at that!


That low-mount 8K# Warn winch on the front was replaced with an 8274-50....

 

[bsmith123]

sweet

nice rig

I have heard those shackles with the H are not the best cause they mess up handling

what do you think of them?


hmmm got to get a set of those mirrors later

 

[Poser]

I have heard those shackles with the H are not the best cause they mess up handling

what do you think of them?

I do not believe for a minute that the design style of shackle with a bar tying the two sides together does anything to create poor handling conditions.


The fact that the shackles are longer decreases the caster angle on the front axle, which if not compensated for with a shim between the axle and the leaf spring, (thick part forward) will create all sorts of wandering/poor handling conditions.