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Articulation with leaf springs
Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2003 6:30 pm
by bundytunna
seriously considering getting a 4" susp lift (SUA) on me 60 for a fair bit of clearance and for 35's
only prob is the set in the leaves
they dont exactly give u the best flex so my question is what is the best way to get a little more flex from them?
i now know i cant run extended shackels so what are my other options???
TIA
Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2003 8:06 pm
by modman
do a search on orbit eyes for leaf springs.
even get custom longer mains with larger rubber bushes.
longer shocks.
some guys like hinged or pivoting shackles.
take out a few leaves and have the pack reset.
endless options, depends how much ya wanna spend.
imo i'm using longer mains 50mm eyes and strangerovers slotted (holey) bushes with long shocks. easier (read cheaper) than using orbit bushes.
allthough they are the ducks guts with leaf springs imo.
i think" mk patrol" on this site has some good photos and may even make leafs i think????
modman

Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2003 9:42 pm
by 60serius
4'' spring lift is to hard no flex. You would be better off going
2'' Spring and 2'' body lift to fit 35'' tires IMO
With 4'' lift your only 1'' approx off a spring over
And a spring over works ship loads better than a 4'' spring
and you can fit 37''s
Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2003 11:29 pm
by Monty
Cool the 60 is now ready it is rear locked so good again exept some on road things annoy me about detroits.
So Grant Macdonald is coming?
That will be good if he is cause i will call him and go out with him he lives about 5 minutes from me
lift
Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2003 11:31 pm
by Monty
Talk to bob from all set springs i have seen a 60 from there flex up awsome with a 5 inch lift it was in 4wd montly about a year and a half ago in both the end part with anyone with their truck as well as an atricle around the same time on the pig pen.
I would go a 2 inch body 2 inch body or a spring over straight out
Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2003 5:43 am
by 308LUX
i bought my lux with 4" springs=
way to stiff
im know only running a 3leaf pack front and 4rear with body lift=
heaps better articulation, ride, performance
go the 2" & 2" instead
Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2003 8:17 am
by bundytunna
yeh i seen that goldy coloured 60 a while back too
flexxed real nice
i dont really wanna an aweosme flex job just sumin that doesnt hang in the air
IMO SOA is just too high for me and it aint stable enough
least with a spring lift there is still some weight underneath the axles
if theres a few options then thats grouse
thanks everyone

Posted: Sat Nov 15, 2003 6:19 pm
by dumbdunce
bundytunna wrote:IMO SOA is just too high for me and it aint stable enough

with flattened spring pack (by pulling leaves) a springover is only 3 - 4" over standard height, with less under the axles to get hung up on stuff, and buckets more flex from the softer springs and flatness of the springs. the real downsides are front driveline angles (which can be overcome with good engineering) and axle wrap especially in the rear, which is overcome with an anti-wrap bar.
the lower stability of a springover is due more to the softness of the springs and less to do with height - you can fit up sway bars or adjustable shocks to try and control the on road rollies - but really if you want good flex, you have to live with a certain amount of body roll/crap stability.
cheers
Brian
Posted: Sat Nov 15, 2003 6:37 pm
by bundytunna
yeh i know where ya comin from
my wife (the driver of the car) is very anti SOA after i took her for a drive in some
so i gotta go SUA
i spoke to bob from allset he sed use longer leaves and shackles
but there illegal but im guessin if i run em only 40 or so mm longer no one will no if they look right
thanks
Posted: Sat Nov 15, 2003 7:28 pm
by dumbdunce
it's only illegal if you get caught!

Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2003 8:04 am
by Dustin
I agree with the spring over. Look at stock toyota pickups, they are springover from the factory and work just fine. That might be a point to make with your wife. Check out the sway bars that
www.rockequipment.com sells. They make a big difference in body roll without sacrificing as much flex. A lifted rig, springover or not, is going to be less stable than a stock one. If you do a springover and then pull leaves to lower it a bit it will just make it that much softer and therefore unstable. IMO go have the stock pack dearched a little bit.
Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2003 11:31 am
by 60serius
you could always go and get a coil conversion done on it
then you wouldnt have to worry about which side of the spring
your on. Calbah does a kit for a 60 then all you have to do is
nominate a ride height (spring length)
Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2003 3:13 pm
by bundytunna
dumbdunc wrote:it's only illegal if you get caught!

and if im in an accident and the insurance co need to look at it then what happens
i wont get nuttin for me car
too much of a risk
Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2003 7:57 pm
by modman
i wouldn't worry about legalities, vic roads says increasing artic. by more than 30% is illegal. just get engineers certificates for stuff.
spoa and flatter springs sounds cool.
modman

Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2003 8:31 pm
by Sixty
60serius wrote:you could always go and get a coil conversion done on it
then you wouldnt have to worry about which side of the spring
your on. Calbah does a kit for a 60 then all you have to do is
nominate a ride height (spring length)
Any idea on what type of setup? 3 or 5 link? How much higher than standard?
Cost??
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 9:33 am
by bundytunna
call calbah (03) 9706 5400 or check their website
www.calbah.com.au
i had a quick browse through
they had kits for a 75/79 $5000
i aint gonna spend that much on it
the rig cost me only a bit more
i think i'll go 50 mm longewr mains with ext shackles
a place in qld called rhino supply ext shacks with a engineers but yet i rang up a few engineeres and they sed they wont engineer em?? go figure?
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 10:10 am
by bundytunna
just browsing through superior's site
i come up with an idea
what about leaf spring spacers?????
can ya get these to give u some decent lift ie 25-50mm?
coz then i could get 2" reset leaves and put in some spacers to achieve an overall lift of 3-4"?????????
any ideas/advice
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 10:14 am
by ozy1
the way i see it is the spacers would only lift the rig if it were spring over, or you would have to modify the spring mounts
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 10:18 am
by MQ080
Monty wrote:Cool the 60 is now ready it is rear locked so good again exept some on road things annoy me about detroits.
So Grant Macdonald is coming?
That will be good if he is cause i will call him and go out with him he lives about 5 minutes from me
Are you on the right thread?
Anyway, my 2c worth say if you have the $$$ go the SPOA, if not 2" body and 2" spring... that way down the track if your still not happy you can have both!
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 3:32 pm
by bundytunna
ok again i have looked elsewhere
i have found jeep city in qld sell ext shacks with an engineers aus wide
sooo i will prolly go 2" sl and 2" bl and then some 2" ext shacks
that wil give me my 4" sus lift and my 2" bl to clear 35'sd
but knowin me ill change me mind again lol
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 3:43 pm
by greg
bundytunna wrote:ok again i have looked elsewhere
i have found jeep city in qld sell ext shacks with an engineers aus wide
sooo i will prolly go 2" sl and 2" bl and then some 2" ext shacks
that wil give me my 4" sus lift and my 2" bl to clear 35'sd
but knowin me ill change me mind again lol
No it won't.... it will give you a 3" suspension lift and 2" body lift.
shackles only lift one end of the spring, and working on the theory that the axel sits half way along that spring, you only gain half the height of the shackle extension amount in lift (if that!).
Therefore, you will only have a 2" spring lift, and 1" shackle lift.
cheers.
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 4:02 pm
by bundytunna
thanks greg
anybody know if ext shacks dramatically lower the life of your springs
spoke to a bloke who reckons that the ext shacks will snap the end of the leaves off and bugger ur spring up real qucik
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 4:09 pm
by Area54
bundytunna wrote:thanks greg
anybody know if ext shacks dramatically lower the life of your springs
spoke to a bloke who reckons that the ext shacks will snap the end of the leaves off and bugger ur spring up real qucik
Under normal use it shouldn't change the life cycle of the componentry, perhaps the 'bloke' had seen springs that were hammered by a hard driver with lots of other mods that didn't work together. Might place a bit more side load on your mounts , but 50mm is not really that much, unless you are really loading the rig up.
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 4:13 pm
by bundytunna
nah i aint loading it up at all is aint tourer so it it aint gonna be overloaded
beside a hi mount and rear drawers
this bloke call himself a spring specialist and says thats why nobody uses ext shacks any more coz they snap leaves
go figure?
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 4:27 pm
by greg
bundytunna wrote:anybody know if ext shacks dramatically lower the life of your springs
spoke to a bloke who reckons that the ext shacks will snap the end of the leaves off and bugger ur spring up real qucik
I would suggest that perhaps he was refering to "extendING" shackles - not extended (i.e. longer) shackles.
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 4:33 pm
by Jonathan Ferguson
anybody know if ext shacks dramatically lower the life of your springs

For each Setup there is only one correct length for the Shackle. - 90 degree Rule

Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 4:36 pm
by bundytunna
I would suggest that perhaps he was refering to "extendING" shackles - not extended (i.e. longer) shackles.
ahhhh yes u prolly right their greg
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 6:57 pm
by 60serius
Did the SOA 60's that you test drove have the sway bar's connected
Cause with the bar's on, mine drives very stable
Then when ya pinch it off the missus pull the disconnects
and away ya go
cause it sounds like your not gonna be happy unless it's 4"_ 6"
in the air and the best way to do that is SOA

Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 7:16 pm
by bundytunna
i drove 2 both with swaybars and looked at 3 or 4 incl yours
i just dont have the moolah for an SOA either
i can get a 3" susp lift for 1200 so i figure thats cheaper
i know i can do an soa for round 700-800 but then i gotta get track bars do sumin with the steering and buy sumin to fix the track width off set rims or wateva
i think i might go 3" sus lift and 2" body that way the springs arent too stiff and if i find it too low i can always add some ext shackles
and if it dont flex well ill just get swaybar disconnect for offroad
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 7:24 pm
by ORSM45
talk to rod at total 4wd for coil conversion. think youll be pleased at some of his ideas. i was.