Topic: How to force droop?

[neale_rs]

My front wheel droop stops with 2" of shock travel remaining.  I already loosened the spring clamps but it did not help much.  How does this sound:

Currently the tire up travel is limited by the tire hitting the fender (metal part).  I think that if it were limited by a bumpstop, the tire moving up would be able to apply leverage to lower the opposite tire a bit more.  This, if it works, would force a bit more droop.  It would be great if limiting the up travel by say 1" would get me 2" of additional droop on the opposite side of the axle.  The first inch would get me to the current articulation and the second inch would be additional articulation not available to me now.

Do you think this would work?

Thanks

[Jeffy]

There are several things that come into play then looking at the suspention travel.  Having a bumpstop on the other side would help put leverage on the drop side.  How much, is uncertain.  Also you might want to see if the shock location is an issue.  Disconnect the shock and see if that helps any.

[neale_rs]

I disconnected the shock to verify that is had those extra 2 inches.  For now, I'll try simulating a bump stop with blocks of wood to see if it helps before making anything made of metal.  Also, basic physics would suggest that the more inboard the bump stop, the more leverage would be exerted to make the opposite side droop.  Have you ever hear of this being done?

Thanks

[Jeffy]

I disconnected the shock to verify that is had those extra 2 inches.  For now, I'll try simulating a bump stop with blocks of wood to see if it helps before making anything made of metal.  Also, basic physics would suggest that the more inboard the bump stop, the more leverage would be exerted to make the opposite side droop.  Have you ever hear of this being done?

Thanks

It should work, but I'm not sure if you'll get the 2".  You could experiment and put something 2" thick and see what happens.  What's also not helping is that the leaf spring is rotating as it's dropping.  If you have poly mounts these tend to be stiffer then rubber mounts and could account for a little of it.  Things like Revolver shackles are hated but they do relieve the torsion on the leaf spring.  All those little things add up when you're trying to get those last few inches of fine tuning.

[oldjeep]

Why do you want to force more droop?  Unless there is weight on the tire so you get some traction any additional droop is only good for impressing people at an RTI Ramp.

[Bounty Hunter]

Your leverage theory will work to a point, and may be limited by how much twist the springs and shackle bushings will allow.

[neale_rs]

Why do you want to force more droop?  Unless there is weight on the tire so you get some traction any additional droop is only good for impressing people at an RTI Ramp.

It just bothers me to be wasting 2" of shock travel.  There must be some way to be able to use it.

[neale_rs]

It may be better to save up for some lockers and just let the tires come off the ground!

Thanks to all for your comments.  It seems there is no really easy way to get the extra droop.

[Bounty Hunter]

You will also only droop until the drooped spring is parallel with the shackle, as the length of the spring and shackle combined will not get any longer.

[neale_rs]

My springs don't get to that point yet.  Maybe it is better so that the shackles don't invert.

[jagular7]

I would say that what is limiting your droop is the length of the shackle relative to the length of the spring. Compression sound like you are almost getting to a flat spring before the tire is stopped. The shackle will swing depending on the length needed by the spring. This is what makes your spring compress and expand. I would first loosen the shackle and leaf eyes bolts. You don't want to 'squish' the bushings in the shackle or the spring eyes. Next take a string. Tie a knot where the spring eye is, follow the length of the top spring and tie another knot where the leaf eye is. Follow the string to the other shackle eye and tie another knot. When the spring functions through the suspension cycle, it will flatten from a convex shape. If you had light weight capacity springs, it may even go to concave (ie GM leaf sprung front).

Have you also disconnected the track bars (panhard) from the axles. This actually pulls the leafs into the bushing and the mount.

[neale_rs]

You are correct in that the spring goes nearly flat when the tire hits the fender.  The sway bars and track bars are off when off road.  Also, the shackles are 5 inches long, 1 inch longer than stock.

IŽll check the torque on the shackles to see if that helps although they do swing up and out pretty well on compresion.

Could you explain what the string is for?  Didn't quite get it.

Thanks.

[jagular7]

The string is the representation of the leaf actual length and the shackle actual length. With the string, you can pull it taunt to represent the flat spring and with the knots to represent the eyes where the shackle and spring pivot off. This will tell you if your shackle is too short for the leaf to flatten and even to go concave during its cycle.

[Clem]

The idea of "forced droop" is addressed by running a quarter elliptical suspension set up. With your set up, there would be no way to force the suspension to articulate. You cannot force the matter by changing the fulcrum. You are trying to exert more pressure on a smaller lever to move a longer lever. The effects will be minimal at best...

[neale_rs]

The string is the representation of the leaf actual length and the shackle actual length. With the string, you can pull it taunt to represent the flat spring and with the knots to represent the eyes where the shackle and spring pivot off. This will tell you if your shackle is too short for the leaf to flatten and even to go concave during its cycle.

Thanks, that makes sense.