Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Hi

Could I ask for some information, I have bent my front springs on my SPOA Samurai and the rears don’t look particularly happy either. Are there any springs that will hold up to SPOA properly or am I likely to have this problem with all the ones I get for my truck? I have a traction bar, correctly placed bumpstops and moved shock mounts. I also have missing link shackles, the main problem is a bend that occurs half way along the rear half of the front spring, where it looks like the spring has been forced up and bent.

Do you have any recommendations of specific springs that are good for SPOA?

Thanks

Stoo

Stoo wrote:Hi

Could I ask for some information, I have bent my front springs on my SPOA Samurai and the rears don’t look particularly happy either. Are there any springs that will hold up to SPOA properly or am I likely to have this problem with all the ones I get for my truck? I have a traction bar, correctly placed bumpstops and moved shock mounts. I also have missing link shackles, the main problem is a bend that occurs half way along the rear half of the front spring, where it looks like the spring has been forced up and bent.

Do you have any recommendations of specific springs that are good for SPOA?

Thanks

Stoo

Ditch these crappy things and you may find an improvement in spring life. i have watched a set of these destroy a set of springs over a weekend. They are a rubbishy way to gain flex

get rid of the missing links, and go for sum longer springs to gain more controlable flex, dont no whats available in ur part of the world but you could start with ome springs.

i agree ditch the shackles thheyre crappy bloody things if you want extra flex go buggy leaf in the rear and maybe rears up front

Cheers guys that has confirmed my fears about the missing links.

Ok so its bye bye to the shackles, I orginally bought them to cure a lack of flex when my truck was SPUA and had exceptionally hard springs. When I went to SPOA with flexy springs I thought what the hell and threw them on anyway - guess its not a great idea. I'm happy to lose a bit of flex to be honest, if I see a longer spring life.

I will run a normal shackle instead then, or is it worth running an extended one if I get some new +2" springs? If so how extended should I go?

Stoo

dont extend more than 1" (1/2" lift)... it changes preload on the spring and reduces spring life. im sure many will disagree but its my opinion, and if you look at it logically it makes sense.

by adding height to only one end, youre effectively changing the weight distribution on the leaves and loading one side up more than the other - this creates a bumpier ride and stuffs one end of the leaf before the other.

alien wrote:dont extend more than 1" (1/2" lift)... it changes preload on the spring and reduces spring life. im sure many will disagree but its my opinion, and if you look at it logically it makes sense.

by adding height to only one end, youre effectively changing the weight distribution on the leaves and loading one side up more than the other - this creates a bumpier ride and stuffs one end of the leaf before the other.

Run extended shckels front and rear and there is no problem

Go for 2" extended, its a good compromise between height and flex

um, the rear of the spring is a fixed point =)

picture this:

______|______/

the bit in the middle of the line is the centre pin, the / is a shackle, if you run a taller shackle, the front end of the leaf is doing all the lift, hence the front end is working a LOT harder, and the actual central force of the weight on the leaf no longer goes through the centre pin, but offset from it slightly towards the shackle - which causes a rougher ride as its pre-loading the spring with weight.

alien wrote:
dont extend more than 1" (1/2" lift)... it changes preload on the spring and reduces spring life. im sure many will disagree but its my opinion, and if you look at it logically it makes sense.

by adding height to only one end, youre effectively changing the weight distribution on the leaves and loading one side up more than the other - this creates a bumpier ride and stuffs one end of the leaf before the other.

(Sorry don't know how to do the little box thing)

I havent really looked much into this but as far as i can see this maybe the case on the highway, but once your offroad ( well at least when i'm offroad ) the weight distribution is all over the place anyhow. Anyone with Ruf's or have redrilled their springs to move the axle forward will have "chaged their preload" as well but i havent seen much of any problems from the guys that have done these mods. My rear shackels are about 6-7 inches all up ( not sure how much over stock this is ) but seem to be fine. (My Zook is SPUA)

Tim

alien wrote:um, the rear of the spring is a fixed point =)

picture this:

______|______/

the bit in the middle of the line is the centre pin, the / is a shackle, if you run a taller shackle, the front end of the leaf is doing all the lift, hence the front end is working a LOT harder, and the actual central force of the weight on the leaf no longer goes through the centre pin, but offset from it slightly towards the shackle - which causes a rougher ride as its pre-loading the spring with weight.

You will find it has a very small impact on the springs alien. The taller spring shouldnt affect which end is working harder as the force is still applied at the same point, the thing that will change is the arc on which the sping opens and closes as the springs flex. 2" extended shackels is what most people run. Also most leaf packs have there "centre" pin acctually offset

its true what you're saying, that yes its a minimal effect, and most springs are offset pins - but this applies to larger vehicles - zuks are so lightweight...

i noticed a bumpier ride straight away when i extended my shackles...

Ok this is handy. Over here in the UK adding longer shackles is a common way to lift zooks on standard springs but its kinda frowned upon for altering castor angles and ruining springs.

All I was thinking is on SPOA with flexy springs would a shackle say 3/4" longer improve flex/spring life or make it worse. I had heard somewhere that curved uprated springs should run with a longer shackle, on the basis that they should be longer to be curved so when they need to extend they require a longer shackle. Does any of this make sense?

All I'm really trying to achieve is enough flex to make it stable, enough room for my tyres and a reasonable lifespan from my springs.

Cheers guys.

Stoo

SPOA yeilds around 4.5" of lift...

run RUF and the springs flat as possible... (ie old saggy leaves)

thats my opinion.

alien wrote:its true what you're saying, that yes its a minimal effect, and most springs are offset pins - but this applies to larger vehicles - zuks are so lightweight...

i noticed a bumpier ride straight away when i extended my shackles...

My ride went smoother ride after bigger shackles, Mind u this is after i did ruf as well.

I agree on flat leaves on SPOA. I believe u are only running 31/32's.

cheers.

Nic

nicbeer wrote:

alien wrote:its true what you're saying, that yes its a minimal effect, and most springs are offset pins - but this applies to larger vehicles - zuks are so lightweight...

i noticed a bumpier ride straight away when i extended my shackles...

My ride went smoother ride after bigger shackles, Mind u this is after i did ruf as well.

I agree on flat leaves on SPOA. I believe u are only running 31/32's.

cheers.

Nic

flat springs work best

extending shackles 2" is really a height thing. with spoa you shouldnt need height. If your running stock oringinal springs then original shackles will suffice. If your running lifted springs which are slightly longer then you will want shackles to deal with the extra length in the spring.