Odd question.. leaf springs

[stockk5]

this might come off as a dumb question but i am looking for some 2" leaf springs, i wanna keep my truck low as possible. Right now i have a 2" block, stock spring and 4" diy4x flip so i am at 6-7" of lift.. I am putting in a zero rate and want to get rid of the block. My friend has 4" spring for sale, but that would put me up at 9" of lift, i wanna keep it at the 6-7" now. If i took 2 leafs outta the 4" spring pack how much would u think it lower it down? I ask this because i could prob get a good deal on the springs. Thanks guys!

 

[boise k5]

Ive played that game way to much, there is really no way to tell until you start taking the spring pack apart and experimenting with it. Different lift manufacturers use different spring rates and different amount of springs, my current configuration was perfect for about 6 months but after time and use my extra long top spring that came out of a 6" lift spring pack that had alot of arc didnt have enough support when I put it in a smaller spring pack and has now sagged another 2" from where it was when I first put it together.

 

[dremu]

It'll vary from spring to spring, too, and they do settle with age. If your buddy's set has been mounted for a while, they're prolly "broken in" ... but if you were to, say, mount them on your truck with one leaf removed each side, you might find your truck sitting higher or lower, and one side might be different than the other.

There is not so much science in tuning leaf springs -- at least for us shadetree engineers (aka "rednecks") -- as there is trial and error. And it's a hell of a lot of trial. I still have a pile of 3/8"-24 grade 8 bolts with the heads rounded in the grinder in a wide variety of lengths , all from making my own spring center pins as I fiddled with my springs. My 56"s started out as a nine-leaf set off my crewcab and ended up as six leaves, I think, and my 52"s are a composite of two pairs of stock rears. I seem to recall spending an entire afternoon just juggling the leaves from left side to right and back to balance the truck to more or less level.

The other thing is that if you reduce the number of leaves, sure, your truck gets lowered, but it also gets flexier. This is okay for a while but at some point you end up bending the springs into an S shape or just breaking one off, which kinda ruins your day

-- A

 

[stockk5]

yeah my friend has 4" tuff country springs BRAND new just didnt use them. I think im gonna go with em.

 

[70jimmy]

I would put the spring on as is and see what it does over a little time. Tuff Country's do sag a little. I started with one inch extra lift in the rear and have added a zero rate and extended shackles just to get it close to even. (that is on a jimmy so a little different than a truck)

You might also look at trading out the 4 inch flip for a 2 and 1/2 if you still need to drop.