4bangerjp.com
General Forums => The Mess Hall => Topic started by: drunkencityworker on March 16, 2010, 10:29:14 AM
-
YJ guys what 4" sua springs give the best flex? I am going to be picking some up and am wondering what your thoughts and regrets are. Thanks
-
YJ guys what 4" sua springs give the best flex? I am going to be picking some up and am wondering what your thoughts and regrets are. Thanks
I have the RE Standard, but I have heard great reviews about the RE Extreme Duty. It seems those are some of the best ones out there... In fact, with that lift (it's actually 4.5, not 4), and some triming, you can easily stuff up to 35" meats under your rig.
-
I'm pretty happy with my RE XD 4.5 inch lift. The flex is good and very balanced front to rear. No regrets but it will not match the flex of a TJ, so if that is going to bother you, you might as well look into SOA or a link suspension right away. I have seen the Skyjacker 4" lift provide very good flex on a CJ, but keep in mind they are known to sag.
-
I have heard the RE come extremely stiff and take a season or 2 to soften up and flex.
I was lined up to buy some skyjacker softrides. But guys mechanic is moving out of state and he sold the yj half way though soa conversion.
Here is a pic of the flex of the actual springs I was supposed to get. Can the RE's do this.
-
(http://i975.photobucket.com/albums/ae233/drunkencityworker/flex1.jpg)
-
The best over the counter kit is probably Rubicon Express Extreme Duty 4.5" kit, hands down.
Most everyone else's kits are all very old and don't take into account that people want a soft ride. Or if they do they tend to wear out quickly.
What you'll also find out is that many leafs aren't even make by the company selling them. Most are from a company called McCoy Brothers in Canada. Funny thing is McCoy Brothers will sell kits directly now. http://www.mccoybrosusa.com/. Still there are some leafs they make but do not sell. Lift lits like the Pro Comp 4" is the exact same leaf as the Rubicon Express 4" but a bit cheaper. Rubicon Express's 4.5" used to be made by National Springs which is well known for their nice leafs, but they changed that a few years after the leafs came out. I'm not sure who makes them anymore.
Leafs like Superlift and Skyjacker tend to be on the soft side and they usually end up sagging prematurely or bending under use. They have a good warranty but a 4" lift should not turn into 2.5" with sporadic use offroad. Stiff leafs can be made to ride softer. Many settle to where they put the shackle at the wrong angle and cause unnecessary stiffness. The other problem is that the factory and leaf mfg. have you overtighten the leaf spring bolts. If you use nylock nuts you can run them looser without having to worry about the bolts falling off. IIRC, stock is around 75-90lbs-ft which is very tight. Also, when installing a lift you need to make sure not to tighten the bolts all the way until it's on the ground and you've cycled the suspension a little. You don't want to preload the leafs.
The other thing to keep in mind that YJ's has 3 different sets of leafs stock. 2.5L with soft tops used the lightest while the 4.0L's with the Hardtops uses the heaviest. Most suspension mfg.'s are building their springs with the 4.0L in mind so if you have a stock 2.5L with no bumpers or winches, it will probably ride stiff. The best way to get around this is to do your own home work and buy custom leafs. Typically custom leafs are sold at a set price so you will pay the same for 1" as you would for 6". You will usually tell the builder what you do with your Jeep and about how much gear you bring. This is so they can get an idea of how much weight you normally have in addition to the Jeep's weight. You will have to source your own shocks, U-bolts, U-bolt plates, bump stop extensions and anything else necessary for the lift. If you're running stock shackles, you might want to consider upgrading as the stock shackles aren't that strong and usually have wallowed out holes. They also cup around the rubber bushings creating extra friction. If you're cheap you can get some 3/8" or 1/2" plate and make your own shackles.
Personally, I wouldn't bother with any off the shelf kit and go straight to some custom leafs. It's more work but has greater rewards.
-
The RE XD 4.5 does pretty well. Maybe custom leafs would cost about the same. If I ever have to replace a leaf spring I will most likely go that route.
Also, if you get the RE 4.5, get steel degree shims or set you pinion angle so you don't need them right away. The aluminum shims that come with the kit are not so good.
-
Also, if you get the RE 4.5, get steel degree shims or set you pinion angle so you don't need them right away. The aluminum shims that come with the kit are not so good.
With a 4" lift, I would not bother with shims at all (and you are right, my AL ones DID in fact crack!), but rather do a SYE, CV Shaft, cut the old perches off, and reweld new perches at the correct angle for the CV sahft.
And if you are looking for flex, probably the best thing to do (what I would do if I were to do the Jeep over) would be to go SOA in the front, and get a set of new custom leafs in the rear to match the SOA lift with stock springs (this way your rear will be stiff enough to avoid axle warp, but the front will flex enough so that you have great traction).
-
I ran the RE 4.5" springs in the rear when I was running SOA/SUA and hated them. incredibly stiff. I couldn't get them to flex at all, though since the front was SOA, but still don't think they lived up to the hype.
my $.02
-
BDS if you want the best springs you can buy ;)
-
With a 4" lift, I would not bother with shims at all (and you are right, my AL ones DID in fact crack!), but rather do a SYE, CV Shaft, cut the old perches off, and reweld new perches at the correct angle for the CV sahft.
And if you are looking for flex, probably the best thing to do (what I would do if I were to do the Jeep over) would be to go SOA in the front, and get a set of new custom leafs in the rear to match the SOA lift with stock springs (this way your rear will be stiff enough to avoid axle warp, but the front will flex enough so that you have great traction).
This is exactly what I am doing after my engine is in.
-
BDS if you want the best springs you can buy ;)
BDS's are just off the rack McCoy Brother leafs. Funny thing is they seem to be popular in the mid-west but not west.
-
BDS's are just off the rack McCoy Brother leafs. Funny thing is they seem to be popular in the mid-west but not west.
Hmm, BDS is what everyone I know runs on YJ's - the guys who offroad anyway. You would have a hard time giving away RE parts, the rep they have is extremely stiff and not very articulation friendly.
The no questions asked warranty is a plus too. Mess up a spring, get a new one.
-
These local RE reputations are interesting. I think a lot has to do with confusion over the Extreme Duty Leaf Springs and the Standard. They are very different. The Standard are known to be stiff and they seem to always give a bad shackle angle (slightly closer to the center of the Jeep on the lower end). I'm pretty sure Jesse-James had the standard RE 4" leaf springs (5 rear leaves instead of 6 and bad shackle angle in the posted pictures).
Here locally, the consensus is that almost all brands of leaf springs flex with the exception of FabTech and ProComp. Some are know for sagging like Skyjacker and Superlift. BDS is not found here in the Monterrey area so I canīt really comment on it but it must be good or it would not have a good following.
-
I'm pretty happy with my RE XD's, and I paid a pretty good price too. I got them in town at 4WP for $137/ea, I couldn't find anyone even close to that on the internet. BDS 5" springs were like $15 cheaper per leaf, but I only swapped the rears and didn't want to have too much rake in the rear from the taller leafs. I was surprised to see the XD's are a 6 leaf pack, but they're pretty darn soft IMO. I haven't done much with them but they seem to flex well.
My old Rough Country springs actually flexed very, very well. When I was running nothing other than their lift, RE shackles, and some 33" BFG's I couldn't keep the tires from rubbing (no bump stops). Even after adding TJ flares they still stuffed into the flares. But two sagging sets, the second sagging worse than the first in less than 6 months, made me go RE
Oh and if I ever have a complaint about RE I could just stop in on my way to Tahoe (They're in Rancho Cordova I believe) and tell them in perso :pot:
-
Yes, they were 5 leaf packs, bought them new but second hand so don't know for sure what they were other than saying RE and 4.5" on the outside wrapping. So you're saying they purposely carry crap springs to sell the expensive ones?
-
With a 4" lift, I would not bother with shims at all (and you are right, my AL ones DID in fact crack!), but rather do a SYE, CV Shaft, cut the old perches off, and reweld new perches at the correct angle for the CV sahft.
And if you are looking for flex, probably the best thing to do (what I would do if I were to do the Jeep over) would be to go SOA in the front, and get a set of new custom leafs in the rear to match the SOA lift with stock springs (this way your rear will be stiff enough to avoid axle warp, but the front will flex enough so that you have great traction).
I have an 8.8 and sye already. not worried bout pinion angle too much
-
BDS's are just off the rack McCoy Brother leafs. Funny thing is they seem to be popular in the mid-west but not west.
I call it the snow plow effect...in the east you see allot of fisher plows and as you get further west in the country you see more western plows
-
Yes, they were 5 leaf packs, bought them new but second hand so don't know for sure what they were other than saying RE and 4.5" on the outside wrapping. So you're saying they purposely carry crap springs to sell the expensive ones?
Yes, the 2.5" and 4" standard lifts are the same as teh Pro-Comp's, which are off the shelf from McCoy Brothers.
-
so theres no difference between any of the mcoy springs?
-
so theres no difference between any of the mcoy springs?
There are different springs but those two are the same.
McCoy Brothers makes springs for many of the other companies to their specs or they can choose one if their own.
-
I would take a good look at BDS springs simply for the great warranty. If they made a 0"-1" spring I would have them for my SOA setup.
-
anyone use the new rustys w military wrap
-
ive had bds 5.5 packs in sua for a long time and have no complaints, i like the mil wrap and the no question warranty although i have never broken one. broken several other packs and springs in differant vehicles but none of my bds packs ever broke. they are kinda stiff riding but they flex pretty descent
-
I run BDS on my Jeep. I love them, good flex and ride right out of the box!