drew4x4
1/2 ton status
for your consideration - TNA also has a zero lift shackle flip.... i plan on using those and the same 6" springs you've got
http://www.totallynakedauto.com/GM_Adjustable_Zero_Lift_Shackle_Flip_Kit_p/zerolift_shflip.htm
CK5
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ORD leaf springs. Installed!
- Thread starter mattrains
- Start date
for your consideration - TNA also has a zero lift shackle flip.... i plan on using those and the same 6" springs you've got
http://www.totallynakedauto.com/GM_Adjustable_Zero_Lift_Shackle_Flip_Kit_p/zerolift_shflip.htm
mattrains
MRAINS
Great point. I didn't think about that. I don't have the axles built yet but I have gotten all 4 springs installed.
The only thing Alcan about the ORD custom springs is that they are built by Alcan. The design and specs are all ORD.
It's really very normal to have to compress the springs somehow off of the vehicle and install a bar of some sort between the eyes of the springs in order to get them to meet the shackle and the front hanger.
Leaf springs are measured down the entire length of the spring not straight from point to point across the arch. With enough arch a 65" long leaf can measure 42" across the arch.
scottystills
1/2 ton status
Ah ok that makes sense. My only point was the Alcans we had before weren't pre-flat-spotted.
Looks like this is pretty well hashed out but here are a couple more things:
Stretching the springs a little is not great but happens when they're flexible and have higher lift amounts. In this case you wouldn't think a 6" lift is a lot but it's at the limit that we can work with for the rear springs and almost there in the front unless we stiffen the pack so we can build them with less initial arch which pretty well defeats the purpose. There's a good chance that after all has settled in they will bolt up but probably just barely and that doesn't help you out now so doing what you did is the drill. We've used a jack and a heavy item to flatten the springs and then stuck a piece of tubing/2x4 in it to hold the eyes apart on install. I think someone mentioned this before and it's a legit way of doing it.
If the front shackle tries to invert on you a simple bumpstop on the frame can keep it from kicking forward, no big deal. It looks like things will settle in fine and we really do a lot of the 6" fronts and don't have problems with that.
The mounting width discrepancy on the main eye is one of the dirty little secrets of the chevy world. The factory spring eye is about 3 5/8" and everything in the aftermarket is built around 3.5". Not sure who misread the tape measure in the beginning but we're stuck with it now. On a fresh truck that has stock springs we sometimes put a washer next to the spring eye to avoid bending the outer ear. Any truck that's had a lift already has the custom bent ear to make a 3.5" spring width work.
Last thing: a compression shackle with this type of spring will cost you wheel travel. Shackle flips have a place and this is not it.
Stretching the springs a little is not great but happens when they're flexible and have higher lift amounts. In this case you wouldn't think a 6" lift is a lot but it's at the limit that we can work with for the rear springs and almost there in the front unless we stiffen the pack so we can build them with less initial arch which pretty well defeats the purpose. There's a good chance that after all has settled in they will bolt up but probably just barely and that doesn't help you out now so doing what you did is the drill. We've used a jack and a heavy item to flatten the springs and then stuck a piece of tubing/2x4 in it to hold the eyes apart on install. I think someone mentioned this before and it's a legit way of doing it.
If the front shackle tries to invert on you a simple bumpstop on the frame can keep it from kicking forward, no big deal. It looks like things will settle in fine and we really do a lot of the 6" fronts and don't have problems with that.
The mounting width discrepancy on the main eye is one of the dirty little secrets of the chevy world. The factory spring eye is about 3 5/8" and everything in the aftermarket is built around 3.5". Not sure who misread the tape measure in the beginning but we're stuck with it now. On a fresh truck that has stock springs we sometimes put a washer next to the spring eye to avoid bending the outer ear. Any truck that's had a lift already has the custom bent ear to make a 3.5" spring width work.
Last thing: a compression shackle with this type of spring will cost you wheel travel. Shackle flips have a place and this is not it.
Stephen,
I've been emailing Chris at ORD about these custom springs. I, too, am considering 6" of lift. Currently I've got the ORD 2.5" shackle flip and 6" shackles. I want to make sure I understand your last sentence. Are you saying (in this instance, with rear ORD springs) it would it be better to go back to the factory tension shackle setup and run a 6" spring? Versus, say, the shackle flip and 2" springs?
Long travel rear leafs benefit more from a tension shackle. A lot of prerunners guys will run a 4" lift spring and a 2" drop shackle because it's longer. Gives you full use of the springs arch.
In general the tension shackle is preferable with the custom springs but we still have to make them fit and a 4" lift is about the limit of what we can do with a 52" rear spring and get it to bolt up reasonably. The reason the tension shackle works better is that the tail end of the spring will drop till the shackle is roughly horizontal at full droop. Imagine a 6" long shackle on the end of the leaf that is about vertical when at ride height and horizontal at full droop. This lets the tail of the spring drop about 6 inches which translates to about 3" of total travel. With a compression shackle it can be pushed back 20-30 degrees on compression and forward roughly 30 degrees on droop which puts the spring eye at the same elevation for both situations and gives you no extra travel. Depending on shackle angle you can also build the tension shackle to have a dramatic rise in rate at full compression that is a little harder to do with a compression shackle but this is less of an effect than the total travel gain from shackle drop.
One downside to the tension shackle is the deeper spring arch it requires gives more axle steer under articulation but in a rear suspension this hasn't been a problem, just a feature.
In your case snoozer, with the taller lift we really need to run the flip to drop the arch in the spring unless you go to a 64" spring length at which point we can do the 6" lift because of the longer length giving less relative arch. We've done a handful of K5 suspensions this way (kauzenkaos in this thread is one of them) and had good results with it.
One downside to the tension shackle is the deeper spring arch it requires gives more axle steer under articulation but in a rear suspension this hasn't been a problem, just a feature.
In your case snoozer, with the taller lift we really need to run the flip to drop the arch in the spring unless you go to a 64" spring length at which point we can do the 6" lift because of the longer length giving less relative arch. We've done a handful of K5 suspensions this way (kauzenkaos in this thread is one of them) and had good results with it.
