WHO wants to c rear leaf springs FELX!

[Stoney]

thats right u heard me rear leaf spings flexing!!
http://www.extrememopar.com/upload/My%20Pictures0004.jpg
http://www.extrememopar.com/upload/My%20Pictures0003.jpg
http://www.extrememopar.com/upload/My%20Pictures0002.jpg
and still more flex to go!! just need to find a bigger ramp!! WHOO HOO its all bout flex!!;)

(o yea and the shackles didn't even come close to hittin the body!!

stoney

[hpi_jeep]

are those xj leafs? what kind of shackles?

looks really kewl.

[eric91xj]

What kinda rear setup ya runnign on there, those leafs look pretty long, very nice. You still using the factory front mounts? that shackly is homemade or no?

nice rig man,

ERic

[JeepFreak21]

They're chevy leaves moved under the "frame rail" and the shackle is homebrew

[redyouch]

i like the dude and his dog in the last pic looking in awe

[whitfimb]

:eek: Ohh Yea !!!! Now that's waht i'm looking for, Nice, simple, cheap Home brew spring mod that is Very functional.
Awsome excellent work...

Now for 20 questions: Ok maybe only 7.

1. Half ton 2wd Chev???

2.What legnth eye to eye?

3.What year?

4. Any ideia the rear GVW of the donar Chev?

5. Where did you locate you axle centerline, rearward 2"?

6. What drive shaft t-case mods have you made?

7. What is your current rear drive shaft legnth?

[Stoney]

1. um i don't know but i am thinkin only 2wd chevy!

2. 63"

3. i belive any year from about 89 (or so) till like 99 (about those years!)

4. ???

5.norcalxj will know

6. um jsut a short shaft kit from RE!

o yea and the guy with the dog was atlkin to his wife and was like "whoa what happened to that truck"!! ha ha it was hecka funny!

[Fergie]

what is FELX?

[Rocky]

How much lift did the leaves under the frame net you? Looks awesome!

[4ward]

How about a static lift height shot and a pic of the shackles when it's at rest. I've got a feelin' the shackles sit almost parallel to the ground when it's sittin' level. How does it do on sidehills? Has it been trail tested yet?

Sean

[CRASH]

Who needs a trail when you've got a mall parking lot?

CRASH

[4ward]

Hardcore Mall Crawlin' at it's finest :D

Sean

[MaXJohnson]

Originally posted by OneTonXJ
How about a static lift height shot and a pic of the shackles when it's at rest. I've got a feelin' the shackles sit almost parallel to the ground when it's sittin' level. How does it do on sidehills? Has it been trail tested yet?

Sean

what he said


Axle's gotta move up and down, not just down.

shackle at crappy angle = good droop + buckboard ride

[Stoney]

well the shackle does sit jsut bout parelle to the ground while at rest! but the leaf spring are just bout flat too and leaf spring don't really bend upwards so the shackle does not hit the body!

u want the shackle to b at almost parrel to the ground that way when u flex the shackle will drop forward! which = better articulation!

it hasn't been trail tested yet cuz the front axle is not done but i am sure it will do fine on sidehills cuz it is fricken stable right now!!

stoney

[CRASH]

The more shackle angle that you have, the faster the bushings in the springs will wear out. The camming action of the shackle as the leaf compresses puts tremendous stress on the bushings.

Well, I guess you guys will have to give it a test. You will find, over time, that extreme flex is very over rated, and sometimes, will put your rig in some high pucker factor situations.

Balance, it's all about balance.

CRASH

[4ward]

u want the shackle to b at almost parrel to the ground that way when u flex the shackle will drop forward! which = better articulation!

Sorry to burst your bubble, but that doesn't equal better articulation, it equals better downtravel.

It also equals exactly what Crash said.

Inboarded springs and unrestricted downtravel tend to lead to a far less stable ride. This is one of the reasons I'm looking into capturing my front coils.

I'm not trying to crack on your work, just trying to shed some light. Have fun with it is all I can say.

Sean

[Stoney]

i agree with u!
but he makes up for it by having the wide axles for a better stance!


crash
y is it so bad that the bushings wear out faster?? u can just replace them? just routine mantiance that everyone will have to do??
plus the more worn out the bushing the better artticualion right!!! :D (thats a joke;) )

stoney

[CRASH]

u guyz crak me up......

CRASH

[Jes]

Wanna see a shot of balanced "felx"?
Here ya go...
http://www.fototime.com/{9A22DE04-7CC2-4CBF-B33A-BFBF5A2CC120}/picture.JPG
... :D

Jes

[ChuckD]

I know what Stoney's tinking,

If I was there both my rear tires would have traction.

Otherwise nice shot Jes! ;)

[Beezil]

that extreme flex is very over rated

yep, exactly....

I built my first jeep to be a ramp monster, cause at the time, more flex was considered cool/better....did an honest 1200 on the ramp, which was cool....ON THE RAMP.

I can refer you to people who have built BALANCED rigs that might not score very well on the ramp, 800-900 that would basically SPANK my old rampin' monster.....rigs like Jes' some to mind.....its not showy, it might not "wow" people at the ramp, but it is nicely balanced and will embarass ramp champs on the trail

just be mindful as you build.

[norcalxj]

jes- sorry that is not even close to balanced flex.....if you drive up a rock forward the front is doing 60% and the rear is doing 40% if you back up a rock your front is doing 80% and your rear is doing 20%. on side hills- before i put the axle and leafs under it it felt really tipsy on a kinda steep hill... after i put the axle and leafs on went on a steeper part of the same hill and hit felt way more stable as before on the less steep hill. and for the shackle angle- it drives way better than it did with a steeper angle around town and on the free way....the shackle only needs to move up 1 inch until the spring is perfectly flat then the shackle will start coming back down....so im not loosing any uptravle at all and it wouldnt matter anyways if i was, cus the tire rubs my fenders and my fenders are cut.

i will post another pic when it sits on flat ground and one of the shackle when its flexed.

[Economos]

Jes, nice LEDs.:D

[Stoney]

Originally posted by Beezil
yep, exactly....

I built my first jeep to be a ramp monster, cause at the time, more flex was considered cool/better....did an honest 1200 on the ramp, which was cool....ON THE RAMP.

I can refer you to people who have built BALANCED rigs that might not score very well on the ramp, 800-900 that would basically SPANK my old rampin' monster.....rigs like Jes' some to mind.....its not showy, it might not "wow" people at the ramp, but it is nicely balanced and will embarass ramp champs on the trail

just be mindful as you build.

I AGGREE but what bout having flex with a rig that will do just as good as jes's??
also most of 4 wheelin is driver not rig so y not make u rig cool!! and just learn to drive!

stoney

[Beezil]

point I was makin' is that sometimes, rigs that flex beyond a certain limit, perform CRAPPIER than a rig built similarly with less flex.

That's just what I've found...

I believe flex is just fine up to a certain point, for me, I'm thinking that is around 850-1000 on the ramp. When I got to 1200, while i might have wowed some folks at the rent, I truly believe it set be BACK on the trail....

Just notice I'm speaking in terms of "some" and know better than to say "all". Each rig is built differently, with different components, and is drivien differently on different trails.....as they say "YMMV"

have fun!

[basalt51]

Originally posted by Stoney

also most of 4 wheelin is driver not rig so y not make u rig cool!! and just learn to drive!

stoney

or you cold just learn to drive :D

[korda]

How much of that is actually the leaf flexing and how much is just that 36" shackle dropping?

[jimmy forbes]

thats some nice flex, its always funny 2 see peoples reactions when u flex in a parking lot

[JeepFreak21]

Originally posted by korda
How much of that is actually the leaf flexing and how much is just that 36" shackle dropping?

http://www.extrememopar.com/ot/laugh.gif

[Jes]

Originally posted by Economos
Jes, nice LEDs.:D

Bling bling, yo. ;)

[simonsxj]

Just want to say one thing. If you have all the travel in the world and are not locked up in the diff area it won't get you anywhere. I drove a friends YJ up some trails in Tennesee it only had a lift kit but had lockers and gearing, it was keeping up with all of the fancy built buggies that were there, and doing it easily. Just my 2 cents.

[JeepFreak21]

Originally posted by simonsxj
Just want to say one thing. If you have all the travel in the world and are not locked up in the diff area it won't get you anywhere. I drove a friends YJ up some trails in Tennesee it only had a lift kit but had lockers and gearing, it was keeping up with all of the fancy built buggies that were there, and doing it easily. Just my 2 cents.

1. The 14b is welded and I'm sure something's going in the front. and 2... "fancy built buggies" without lockers???

[norcalxj]

Originally posted by korda
How much of that is actually the leaf flexing and how much is just that 36" shackle dropping?

that is almost all sprung and the part that isnt still has alot of force from the leverage of the other spring......if you know how suspensions work you would understant and that shackle is only about 3 inches longer than most of everyone elses

[Jeff 98XJ WI]

Just as a note about longer springs; I installed 2001 Dodge 1500 leaves on my '98 xj recently and they are working out quite well. I left the overload on just like these guys did with the Chevy leaves. I believe mine are about 7.5" longer than stock. I actually mounted them backwards with the center pin moved 1" forward via a 2" block. I mounted the rear of the spring in a 1.5" lift shackle and then positioned the front of the leaf in order to get the tire to sit just rear of center in the wheel well. The front of the spring is mounted to the side of the "frame" similar to stock, but it is mounted lower and has a bolt that goes all the way through the spring and the frame. The frame is covered with a 3x5x 1/4" U channel and the spring bolt passes through a sleeve installed in the frame. In any case, the leaves do not flex as well as I had imagined they might, but did work our very well on BOTW II. They carry weight better than any other springs I have used and don't ride bad at all...empty or full. I am getting around 7" of lift with the 2" block. Pics can be seen at:

http://photomail.photoworks.com/sharing/album.asp?Key=1~FQQ4aBru.cLaih/ApqxL25fHaNJE.9/0rrBEQr6mHFcynwuM8f3Ksy0pKKwfO8xA

Jeff