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All The 52" Threads Right Here

Someone link me to JEK browns 52 thread, so I can see what the **** I'm doing. thanks in advance.
 
No problem. Just figured I'd point it out since it was the first line of the entire thread. :haha:
 
thought this could be brought back to top since lots of questions come up on the 52" swap. Great info here.
 
crap.... i wanna pull out a notepad and read through all these theads but i need SLEEP... and cant look at work cuz i already got "talked to" about being on ck5 too much ;)

thank you much for putting all this together.
 
I'm bringing this back to the top with some questions I couldn't find answered in any of these threads

1) If the 52" spring is 4" longer than stock and you are moving the axle forward 2", then the front spring mount is moving 4" - although I can't find anybody spelling this out. This means that the rear spring eye is in the stock location. Yet everybody is saying to move the rear mount forward to improve the shackle angle. So why shouldn't everybody with stock or lift 48" springs rush out and move the rear hanger forward?

People say that the 52's "don't ride as good as they should" when they don't move the rear hanger. So how much would stock length springs benefit from this same mod? How much of the flex/ride improvement is from the spring and how much from the geometry change?

2) Many people don't want to move the axle 2" forward. It seems that the B-52 bracket could be used to put the axle in the stock position with the rear eye 2" back from stock. Shouldn't this be a decent shackle angle with no movement of the rear hanger? I can't find any posts on this option. If 56's give a good shackle angle with the front mount pushed 4" forward (and the stock rear mount), then the rear spring eye is 4" back from stock. It seems those moving the rear mount for 52's are moving it 4" forward. So keeping the axle in the stock position with 52's is a compromise on shackle angle right between stock and this "good one".
 
So why shouldn't everybody with stock or lift 48" springs rush out and move the rear hanger forward?

1)They should! For better shackle angle.

2)The biggest reason for moving the axle forward is for tire to firewall/fender clearnce. Also, some people like the increase in wheel base. I plan on someday doing exactly what your talking about. b52 front brackets and stock location shackle hanger. THis way, the axle ends up in the stocklocation and the shackle angle is good without having to move the shackle hanger. Mine would be mostly for improved ride quality( i even plan on keeping the sway bar) and i wont be running crazy big tires or looking for tons of flex so i think it should work out really well!
 
Using the law of sines, if the stock shackle is straight up and down (0 degrees) and 4" long, then we move the hanger 4" forward and swap to the popular 7.25" shackle with 52" springs, the shackle angle becomes 33.1 degrees. With the 6" shackle, it's about 42 degrees.
 
The stock axle location looks stupid to me imo. It doesnt look centered. And moving it forward is a no brainer since it isnt hard to get a tire up into the firewall, plus any extra lenght os gonna help the fro t driveshaft.


I actually thought about moving my rear hangat forward for my stock lift springs, but went to 52s instead.
 
For better shackle angle.

"For great justice!"

Seriously however, what IS a good shackle angle? I assume that the top should be forward of the bottom, i.e. inside the spring ... but what's good, what's bad, and why?

My 52"s are scary flexy/wobbly, and I'm trying to sort out what to change to make them streetable.

-- A
 
If you're not planning on crossover, then you can only move the axle forward so much (and 2" is probably too much).

I'm just starting to wonder what portion of the "scary flexy/wobbly" ride with 52's is from the extreme shackle angle. Anybody with B-52's ever test this theory?

What's wrong with locating the front spring hanger directly under the body mount (with 52s) to move the front axle forward 1" and get a slightly better shackle angle than stock?

People seem to say that 30 degrees from vertical is a good shackle angle and 45 degrees is too far, but I've never seen math to reinforce this. It makes good logical sense that the rig will handle bumps better with some shackle angle since the spring is moving in the same direction the wheel wants to move.
 
One problem is that by changing the length of the shackle, you change the castor angle, so experimenting with the shackle means you'd have to have a stack of various shims, or else you're changing two variables.

Folks who says a leaf-spring suspension is simple and idiot-proof should be beaten soundly about the head & shoulders... simpler than e.g. coils and links, sure, but there's still lots of ways to screw it up...

-- A
 
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