Hi All,


Just curious, what would be the difference in setting up a truck for carrying capacity vs. off-road performance in terms of the suspension? Take the F-150 for example. I know a good stiff suspension is desirable for heavy loads or towing but would the same setup be good for off-road?

Thanks

Bob

 

No, you want them with softer spring rates for better articulation.

 

when you go with a offroad set up like pro said you want super soft spring so that you flex real good to keep all wheel on the ground as much as possible. the way this is achieved is by replacing a spring that has 4 or 5 thick springs with 8 or 9 thinner springs.

Idiomaticman

 

or you could go coilovers and get even more flex....but yea, what they said is true!

-Jason-

 

soft usually=flex...which is good for offroad...but when leaf springs are soft is usually also= axle wrap.

 

that's why you get ladder bars!

-jason-

 

or go with a longer ummmm......WTF, i just forgot what its called....umm, the spring bracket, plate, you know, where the spring hooks onto the axle...that little plate there, if you make it a little longer than the contact patch, then you can elimintate some wrap....but yes....wrap sucks, but latter bars are onle solution.....

Idiomaticman

 

You mean the spring pad? I'd never thought about that before.

 

its called a spring pearch, i since rememberd the name, sorry.

Idio

 

Same difference. In my neck of the woods, we call it a pad. lol

 

Lengthen the spring pad/perch to reduce axle wrap!?

Idio, have you been sniffing chemtool again?

Creative thinking though...do you know somebody who actually did this? The physics of it don't add up...

 

Thanks all,

What is strange, is most stock 4x4's seem to have stiffer suspension then the 4x2 equivalent. Just my observation.

So you want a little more play in the springs but I would imagine the shocks stay heavy duty.

Is most off-road < 5-10MPH?

Thanks Bob

 

pro,
ive never seen it done, but over at pirate i heard someone tlaking about trying it. it seems that if you are running a fairly flat sprinf that if you lengthened the pearch you could reduce SOME axle wrap, it just seemed like a good idea to try out, if it doesnt do anything then you are still fine. but you know how pirate is.........i personally have never seen it done, and that was the only place i have heard of it, so take it for what it is. presonally, if you are having that much trouble with wrap, then just do with latter bars, or awitch to a coil 4link design. that would solve it, but then you have to wotty about anti-squat haha....its never ending isnt it?

as for off roading below 5-10 mph, yes and no. rock crawling yes, very very slow, that is the key to crawling, you dont want to sping s tire becuase youll lose traction, and thats bad. mudding, no, you want as much tire speed, whatever going into a bog, you dont nessicarily want to hit the bog at 40, but you dont want to crawl into it either. and you want to keep momentum, this usually means that the tires will be spinning 20-30+ mph, but the truck will be moving 5ish. the excess tire speed cleans out the lugs in the wheel, the centifugal...umm, centripetal....well, anyway, one of those forces, from the tires spinning real fast like, slings the mud out of the tires so that they can grab and more mud and pull you forward. i guess wheeling if just one type of driving. you have to addapt to the different conditions to survive.

Idiomaticman

 

Ahhh, that explains it...somebodies half cracked idea over there. Yea, ladder bars, or a central housing link which serves as a single ladder bar is the way to go.

There is no set speed as Idio already pointed out.

In general, rocks = slow and mud = fast.

 

hey with a little thinking and some design you may even be able to incorporate the central link into a diff guard/drivling loop protector type thing, could turn out pretty cool........i like it.....

Idio