ORBIT EYES

[ShortyMQ]

Has anyone tried the orbit eyes or similar in their leaf springs If so are they worth trying and where would i get some from Any help would be appreciated

[hypo]

i read an article on these a while ago wen they were first comin out and the dude that made them said that he gained bout 5 - 6" of travel with the same leaf packs..

and i think that the yank ones r they best ones 2 get

[toymad]

Has'nt anyone on this board actually used or know someone who has orbit eyes? Do they work! Are they a waste of money, Surely someone has an opinion on these! Tony , B.J, Anyone,..
Calbar make 40mm ones which would be good for hilux's was going to try some with the new 60" springs im getting do you think these would work

[Drafty]

What are orbit eyes ? Dont talk technical, post a pic if you have one.

[ShortyMQ]

hey drafty, this is an orbit eye.they are designed to give more flex between the spring and the hanger.just wanted to know if anyone had tried them or seen them in action before i buy some

[Drafty]

They look pretty nifty, looks like they would work heaps better than a rubber bush.

Thanks for the pic :wink:

[ShortyMQ]

this site has some good info on them
http://www.aor4x4.com/orbit-eyepoly-eye.htm
i think i will just have to get some and see for myself

[Surfection]

Shorty MQ, pirate4x4 - http://www.pirate4x4.com has unlimited info on orbit eyes and other aor products, if you go there and do a search for 'orbit eye joints' or something similar you will find whatever info you want !! . From what i've read they are good but make a fair bit of noise out on the trail. Cheers, Jeremy

[NICK]

I have seen a truck fitted with them to the rear only, on side slope the truck seemed to be alittle unpredictable as the eye "ünloaded" the truck seemed to lean alot more, some times to the point where it was about to roll, other trucks with out them were alot more stable. But they do flex awesome in the abilitly they have to allow the spring to "lean"

I believe that the AOR ones are manufactured to fit there springs, so make sure they have the same eye size before you buy them.


NICK

[cplux]

just out of interest would a panhard rod help correct this situation nick talked about. I was looking at these a while ago and spoke to an engineer about it he said a panhard rod would stop side shift of axle which is possible with orbit eyes.

[ShortyMQ]

It won't matter what size the orbit eye is because being a springmaker i
can make new main leaves to suit whatever diameter they are available in. I'm not sure a panhard rod would help much as they are only designed to stop the diff moving side to side rather than stopping body roll,but i guess it's one of those things that you never know unless you try it.
I've decided to order some this week and give them a go so i'll keep ya's informed and post up some pics when it's done,thanks for the help

[cplux]

I think the engineer was saying panhard because if you were to go orbit eye front and rear of a spring it would be more possible to push the body sideways relative to the wheels in some instances, which would cause more body roll if on an angle, the panhard may help stop this movement.

[ShortyMQ]

I think the engineer was saying panhard because if you were to go orbit eye front and rear of a spring it would be more possible to push the body sideways relative to the wheels in some instances, which would cause more body roll if on an angle, the panhard may help stop this movement.

The more i think about it, the more i think you're right.It is something i'll definately have to keep in mind.Hopefully i'll have it done in the next couple of weeks so will know for sure then.Thanks for the info

[SAWZALL]

Any news???

[ShortyMQ]

Any news???

Yeah, finished off the new main leaves today and got most of the new hangers done also (extending the front of the main 100mm) I'll take some pics tomorrow and post them up.

P.S i got the orbit eyes (bollock joints) from liam at Big Balls Offroad and they are the 50mm o.d ones so hopefully they should work well

[cplux]

what are the other dims of liams on last time i checked you couldnt get that size. also do you know how much they can pivot, orbits can go 38degrees.

[Liam]

So far theres a 50mm OD and a 77mm OD.
The 50 goes to 30 degrees, the 77 goes to 37 degrees.

[bj on roids]

I hear these wear quickly and chatter a lot, make lots of clunking noises and so forth (AOR orbit ones) although i beleive liams might be nolathene and rebuildable? if so then they wont make noises!

i personally beleive if you are chasing flex, look at other parts of your suspension design first

BUT having said that, these are MUCH better than folding shackles, and i think they would be a pretty good product.
I also think they would not make your truck lean on side angles, as that is to do with spring rates and stuff, not these things nick?!?!?! maybe the truck you saw had other suspension issues!

[SAWZALL]

I recon that they would help flex. The downside is the leaning thing. Imagine if your springs only sat on (weren't clamped to) the spring pads (SPOA). If you pushed the body sideways on a "normal" bush there would be resistance but with "orbital" type joints the body would flop.

While I realise that the springs ARE clamped to the axle, this indicates the theory of instability.

[ShortyMQ]

I hear these wear quickly and chatter a lot, make lots of clunking noises and so forth (AOR orbit ones) although i beleive liams might be nolathene and rebuildable? if so then they wont make noises!

i personally beleive if you are chasing flex, look at other parts of your suspension design first

BUT having said that, these are MUCH better than folding shackles, and i think they would be a pretty good product.
I also think they would not make your truck lean on side angles, as that is to do with spring rates and stuff, not these things nick?!?!?! maybe the truck you saw had other suspension issues!

They are rebuildable and i can't see them making much noise as you can adjust the pressure on the centre ball-tube thingy, so if they wear a bit you can tighten them up a bit more and maybe get a bit more life out of them before rebuilding them.

I had thought of trying other things to get better flex but to me this seemed to be the best, easiest thing to try without changing the whole rear-end setup.That way if it doesn't work i can change it back fairly easily.

As for the leaning i think if you put them in the top & bottom of the rear swinging hanger it would make the truck move around a lot more as the hanger(shackle) would move side to side to easily and let the diff walk sideways to much.I'm only putting them in the front and rear spring eyes so hopefuly it should still be fairly stable

Ran out of time today to get pics but will definately take some tomorrow and post them

[ShortyMQ]

Here are some pics

First one is new main leaf compared to old one

[ShortyMQ]

No.2

this is a close up of the front eye with a hole drilled for the grease nipple

[ShortyMQ]

No.3

I made the second leaf longer too so it gives the main some support

[ShortyMQ]

No.4

This is a pic of my almost finished front hangers with an eye in it so you can see the angle the eye goes to

[ShortyMQ]

No.5

pic of eye in pieces

[Brad]

out of interest how much did they cost you and have you driven them yet ?

Also looking at the pictures how do they let the body slop side to side ? If the ball sits in the house and simply rolls around there shoule be no lateral movement only body roll from spring flex.

[MKPatrolGuy]

out of interest how much did they cost you and have you driven them yet ?

Also looking at the pictures how do they let the body slop side to side ? If the ball sits in the house and simply rolls around there shoule be no lateral movement only body roll from spring flex.

Also what what would a set of springs like the ones you have made cost?

[ShortyMQ]

out of interest how much did they cost you and have you driven them yet ?

Also looking at the pictures how do they let the body slop side to side ? If the ball sits in the house and simply rolls around there shoule be no lateral movement only body roll from spring flex.

I'm not sure what the retail price is for these as i think i got them at trade but just give liam at Big Balls a ring on 0414 652 769 to be sure.

Unfortunately i haven't got it finished yet so don't know what they will be like to drive on.Idon't think there will be much difference (on road) maybe just a bit more body roll than normal,but if it works better off road who cares?Hope to have it finished this week-end if all goes well

[ShortyMQ]

Had the show holiday today so i decided to pull my finger out and put my 5hittbox back together with the bollock joints. Still have a little finishing off to do but i am very happy with it so far Here are some pics


No.1 close up of new hanger 100mm forward of where the old one was.

[ShortyMQ]

No.2
close up of joint