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63inch springs on the front of a k10?

GNEEnterprises

GNEEnterprises

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colorado springs,co
I am considering putting 63 inch springs on the front of my K10 tuff truck (truck will never be on the street). Has anyone done this? I searched around and all I found were posts about putting 63 inchers on the rear. I think some diy4x weld on spring hangers would work for the front and possibly 6 inch shackles with a diy4x fabricator set for the frame. I want the absolute maximum travel possible with a leaf suspension and I think this is the hot ticket.

63incher_Onfrnt_rear.JPG

63incher_Onfrnt.JPG
 
Anything is possible. Take lots of pictures and make a write up on it. I'm sure your gonna need to have the front hangar WAY forward to get the wheel anywhere near center of the fender though.
 
Make sure you keep it off the street. That long of a front spring will flex side to side. You may need a panhard link.
 
Yeah after thinking about it it almost seems a little overkill. Have you ever seen pictures of how well 56 or even 52in front springs twist up?
 
I have seen some 52" spring do well. I need buttery soft suspension with the absolute maximum amount of travel I can get, not so much twistability as I will have a stiff anti-sway. I think a 52 would be a great improvement but when I can get the 63's for 15 bucks each, I can't think of a reason not to try it. I researched the spring rate on the 63 inchers and it is somewhere between 150-200 lbs/inch.
The axle wrap might be noticeable as well as lateral deflection. I will probably end up running a panhard and traction bars.

This truck will run the Tuff Truck events at Penrose and Adams county. I might take it to the C.O.R.E. park out east of Denver for their 100 mile races, if the truck is built pretty good by that point.

I am debating roll cage design. I want some type of exo-cage because the truck will probably end up on its side at least once in the Tuff Truck events. Where is a good source for 1.75" or 2" HREW tube (near colorado springs if possible)?
 
With the first race approaching fast, I think I will put the 63's in back and go with the 52's in the front for now. I need to move spring bads on the 14 bolt and rig up some sort of anti-wrap (I am only using 2 leafs in the rear so I get a lower static height). I am going to try to use some pro-comp nitro shocks on each corner (doubled up). I am not racing the Baja or anything but I need to be able to jump this thing like the you see in this pic (photo belongs to a tuff truck racer over on the colorado4x4.org site).

tuff_truck_blazer.JPG
 
I am still waiting on the spring mounting hardware from diy4x...:( I mounted up the rear shackle flip in the stock location which means I need to push the front mount about 11 inches forward which will shorten my wheelbase my about 5 inches.

I might as well start on the D44 truss.. Anyone got good welding plans?
 
d44 :eek1:

I think you need to rethink this. Yes a d44 is a very viable axle, hell I'm running one with 36's locked and love it. Infact I'm about to buy yukon chromo shafts and superjoints for it so I'm a big advocate of that axle with a 37in tire or under BUT not running a 60 for a competition like tough truck would be ludacris.
 
May be flexy, but what about your approach angle. How about the leaf spring center pin? If you put the front of the 63 in spring in the same location of the 52" where is it going to put your axle? I would find answers to these questions before i make my mind up on it.

Also traction bar. These are really soft , so i think a tractio bar gets moved up even farther on the list.
 
I am moving the front spring mount forward 9.5 inches so the wheelbase will be about 4 inches shorter. Traction bar is in the plans for the rear, as well as a truss for the 14 bolt.

As far as the front axle, I think the biggest concern would be bending the tube when landing from a jump. I dont think I will have a torque issue with tires no bigger than 33". I also would like to keep unsprung weight to a minimum so if I can get a trussed D44 to weigh less than a stock D60 then I should be good. The strength of a D60 is much better than a D44 when considering torque and rock crawling applications. I do have a D60 I could throw under it but I would hate to tear that up because it is worth more than the whole truck!

Pics coming soon...
 
I agree that in a tough truck, your main issue will be bending off the tubes with a D44. I don't see torque or shock loading being an issue (as long as you stay off the gas and brake in the air). I assume you are going to run it open?

I don't think approach angle will be much of an issue either - the jumps won't be that steep.

x2 on the traction bar though. A four link would probably be best for lateral location of the axle and to prevent axle wrap, but I think you'd at least need a panhard rod and traction bar.
 
I guess i should have specified on where to put the traction bar. I was talking about the front. The rear is a gimmie. Tuff truck you want your wheels planted.
 
The front traction bar will be a simple tube that bolt to a pivot on the u-bolt plate and the bottom of the rear shackles (forming a triangle). Since I will be running a modified anti-sway bar, clearances will be tight.

On the rear I will try a "V" that mount is two places on the frame and one place on the top of the 14 bolt (forming a triangle). This will handle the axle wrap and the lateral loads. On the back of the frame I will fab up an anti-sway.

Still waiting on my diy4x parts...

Here is what the 63" springs look like on the rear:

tufftruck_rearSusp.JPG
 
The shock load of landing has no affect on balljoints?

I mean torque load doesnt matter as long as you spin the wheels rather than biting, thats true.
 
I'm sure it does, but with a light weight truck, small tires and soft springs. I think you'd be OK.
 
I have not seen anyone bust a balljoint, but I have seen tubes bust out of the diff housing and spindles break off.

I finished the axle truss and 8-bolt conversion on the front. Pics coming soon.

Since the ability to make a 90 degree turn is critical, I will run almost bald rear tires with a spool and meaty fronts. This should allow me to burn through a corner like sh&t through a goose! Who has a decent mini-spool for the 14 bolt?
 
GNEEnterprises said:
Who has a decent mini-spool for the 14 bolt?
Click to expand...
Ouverson Engineering has the only good unit I could find, judging by several searches on different sites. The one I got from them seems very stout (about $200), but a crapload of guys on here will just tell you to weld the spiders. Keep in mind that the mini-spool won't fit a gov-lock carrier either, so make sure you have an open carrier if you are gonna order one.
 
Update: I went with 52's front for now since I could not find a good set of 63's. I did notice that the 52 inchers are way softer that the stock legth springs. They dont give much lift, maybe 3". If they droop at least 8 inches I think I will be okay as far as overall travel.

I also built a ghetto twin stick for the NP203. It seems to work fine but I am not sure it will keep from popping into neutral when bouncing around.

In the pics you will see the diy4x front hangars tacked into place. I might put a piece of 2" square tube across the frame rails and move these hangars under it. It would give me more strength and about an inch of lift.

6inch_shackle.JPG

52FRT.JPG

ghetto_twin_stick.JPG
 
Lookin' good. :waytogo:

Most 52" spring packs are softer than the stock front leaves.

Questions:

What length shackle are you running up front?
Looks like three leaves in the 52" pack, correct?
Is that just the lower part of Kert's B-52 brackets?
Front shackle hanger in stock location?
Did it move the front axle forward any?
 
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