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Thread: Effects of less lift

  1. #21
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    Default Re: Effects of less lift



    ExplorerTom previously posted:
    "Stiffer shocks I don't think would do anything because they can't stop lean, they just slow it down. This could be beneficial for a lean caused from bounce, but a slow steady state tip needs a stiffer spring to help control it."

    I suppose thats true. I've read recently that a lot of the suspension tuners for KOH and other offroad racing series have been asking for MUCH lighter spring rates compared to the past, and can often dial out the downsides with shock tuning. That said, they also say the springs need to be just heavy enough to suspend the vehicle and carry the loads it needs to. I do know that bunch of guys in Colorado have started going with the "light spring" method with their buggies and harder core offroaders it seems like its paying off in both slow and fast speed applications. It is certainly a fine line to tread sometimes though.

    One way to get a bit of the best of both worlds is to look at progressive springs that start out softer and get stiffer as they compress. Also, as you get stiffer springs, you'll have to worry about getting into coil bind (where the spring compresses fully and you get a hard stop) so it could possibly limit your suspension travel too. I'm not saying this is happening, just that its stuff to think about. Torsion bar style sway bars like the Curry Anti-Rock ones are worth looking at since they are designed for long travel applications and have varying length arms so you have more options on where to put them.

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    Default Re: Effects of less lift



    cutting coils is bad.
    you heat them as you cut. thus siftenning them.
    go get a set of coils from a full size bronco.
    the stock set wiil get you what you want.
    they will lift a TJ some 3+ inch so you might need a 2 inch lift set but they are much stiffer and thicker thus leaving you the option to heat and soften them.

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    Default Re: Effects of less lift



    dieseldoc previously posted:
    "cutting coils is bad.
    you heat them as you cut. thus siftenning them........they are much stiffer and thicker thus leaving you the option to heat and soften them."

    So which is it? Will heating stiffen or soften them? I don't mean to be a dick but both are incorrect.

    A spring rate is dictated by the thickness of the wire, the length of the wire and the modulus of elasticity of the wire. Modulus of elasticity is how much the material will defect with a given load normalized by the cross section. It doesn't care how hard the material is, a steel at 20 HRc has the exact same modulus of elasticity as a steel at 65 HRc. The only way you can change the spring rate (aka soften or stiffen) of a spring is to change the length of the wire. Actually you can really only decrease the length which will increase the spring rate. You can't make a spring softer by heating it, you can however decrease the yield strength to where you can plastically deform it, at that point you've ruined the spring though. Please don't take a torch to a spring to try and soften it.

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    Default Re: Effects of less lift



    I think what he means is most people cut off the progressive rate part of the springs and therefore they become stiffer.

  5. #25
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    Default Re: Effects of less lift



    Well I accomplished my ultimate goal. I swapped the soft Rubicon Express 5.5 XJ coils with a set of firmer 7.5 ZJ coils from Iron Rock Offroad. Leaving the ZJ coils as is would have given me an additional 2" of lift and would have still been a little softer than I wanted. But after plugging the numbers into the spring rate equation, I discovered that if I cut 2 coils off, I would be at about the same height as before (maybe 1/2" lower) with a resulting spring rate of 280 lb/in. I was shooting for 290 lb/in, but 280 is close enough.

    I know now I lost some flex, but I've still got a ton. The on-road manners have been greatly improved. I'm much happier overall with this setup now.

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    Default Re: Effects of less lift



    Will be interesting to see what you think of the change on the trail.

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