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longer leafs

O

old yeller

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I was wondering if anybody might know how to find the leaf spring lengths of a number of diff. vehicles w/o actually going out and measuring them. I'm looking to put a new front hanger and about three inch longer springs on the front of my blazer. I'm sure there's a vehicle out there with just the length I want, but I'm not sure how to find it. I put '98 1/2 ton springs on the back with new hangers and a shackle flip and it works great. Now I'm hoping to do something similar on the front, just a little less extreme.
Let me know if you have done this and how you did it. Thanks. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Maybe stock 52" rear springs on the front like other are doing?? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
Go to BDS Suspensions, scroll down on this page and you'll see a breakdown of their spring dimensions. The lengths given are unmounted so you'll need to find a Chevy spring and compare everything to that (not the actual length of what's on your truck). You'll have to bounce back and forth from this spec page to the various catalog pages but all the info is there.
 
These aren't any longer than stock, but they sure do ride nice. I took that Sub to Baja for the B1k two years ago and flogged the snot out of it. Like 45-60mph down washboards for an hour or more, and silt bowls you could loose a Sub in and not find it for a week. They still work great.

That post was in response to a post by Triaged who was compiling a spring file. Don't recall the contents of it though.
 
My Blazer is a '72 so I think the front springs are a few inches shorter then the springs yall are talking about. I'll be home in a few weeks. I'll have to measure 'em them. If that's the case, maybe I could just upgrade to a later model spring? /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Actually, it's borderline but IMO not clearly in or out. It is not among the things specifically eliminated from CoG (like bumpers) and it is about work on a custom suspension rather than an ordinary lift. That's why it's still here.

Steve and I discussed this sort of thing back when the forum started, and the result was that these borderline posts are left to "cook" for a while to see where they may go. If they remain shallow with no depth or value that makes them a good fit for CoG, they get moved. But if this were to turn into a discussion containing spring lengths, rates, pin offsets, or other good stuff useful to people designing custom leaf suspensions, it would most certainly stay. Somewhere along the way I have to make the call, does it fit, or not? Unfortunately for me, it's purely subjective and I have no objective basis to make most of the decisions, especially borderline stuff. As it stands so far, I will likely move it to Second Gen (where Steve wants most "general tech" posts) in the next few days …
 
Why not put a set of 2nd gen K5 springs in your 1st gen. They are about 2" longer then you 1st gen stuff. It will help the shackle angle and make it ride nicer.

Are you looking for a spring to flex like mad or what is the goal?

TheRobZilla runs hybrid Jeep/Chevy springs in the front of his 1st gen and it flexes like a demon.

Harley
 
good call. I'll probably end up trying that. The end goal is probably first to get that marshmellow ride out of the springs, controlled by shock stiffness, not spring stiffness. I realize I can get that out of some low rate stock length leafs. But I was over at aor and they convinced my to go with their orbit eye in the front end of my spring. So, since I have to weld on a new hanger anyway, I figured I would use that extra few inches I have on my frame. The plan for the back of the front spring was to throw on a slightly longer shackle, and hopefully with the longer springs, I can get the shackle to point down and not forward like it is right now. That combined with the orbit eye on the front and the longer softer spring should give me what I'm looking for in ride and flex. Of course, possibly the biggest issue is keeping the axle centered in the wheel well. I was able to move the rear axle back about three inches by modifying my perch. If I have to, I'll do the same up front. And if all goes as planned it will be about an inch forward of stock location. I was curious if anyone out there is running the aor orbit eyes??? The one worry I have with them is it looks like there is no rubber or eurathane bushing in the set up. Could result in a jarring ride. Exactly what I don't want. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
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