Leaf Spring ording

[KevinSweeney]

Looking to order new leaf springs for the 77 k10. The plan is 6 leafs in the rear, 4 in front. Would this effect the ride in a negative way? the other option would be 4 in rear, 2 in front; my mindset is more the merrier.

Edit
After some scanning, found a older post. Stated that adding more leafs makes the ride harsher? Can anyone give me there take on the increase load capability to ride discomfort level? how bad is it? worth it?

*keep in mind i got the stock trampoline seat still*

 

[Charlie]

 

[74 Shortbed]

Welcome to the site..

 

[Craig 85]

Welcome. Are you trying to lift it or leave it stock? I had a set of Tuff Country 4" springs in this truck with stock 6 leaf rear and a block. It was the best riding lifted square body I had. I don't recall if it had 3 or 4 leaves in front, but they all were tapered at the end and had plastic guides in them.

If you use at least a 2" lift you can use ORD's sway bar correction/disconnect kit. I think this has a lot to do with the ride. I takes away the fixed position of the sway bar and creates and end link like most other vehicles have. The second picture is the same set up in my K30.

http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/swaybarkit.htm

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[KevinSweeney]

Awesome k30 and thanks for the warm welcome
I was looking for a way to increase the rid-ability from stock height
New shocks + Shock Braces
+ bushing kit
But the leaf springs are probability over kill without a lift kit huh?

 

[Derrick]

welcome I don't have a square but I do have 2003 1500 with 4 leafs in the back and I can tell there is more bounce when there is no weight don't know how much that helps but that's all i got on this topic

 

[KevinSweeney]

that’s he awnser I was looking for thanks

 

[theblindchicken]

Welcome!

When I started driving my truck it had the stock 3 leaf pack in the front and 6 leaves in the rear. It was set up to continuously haul an over the cab camper. Those added leaves allowed the truck to sit level. Was estimated around 1000-1200 lbs to sit level.

Got rid of the camper, and jumping on the bumper as hard as I could wouldnt flex the truck more than an inch.

Removed a pair of leaves from the rear as well as adding the ORD 4in shackle flip kit with poly bushings and new shackles. Now I can jump on the bumper and move it at least 4". Much more comfortable. Doesnt kick you in the back as much when hitting a speed bump. New shocks helped a ton too. Before it felt like you had no suspension at all in the rear.

Also, I went for the softest springs in the front as possible to make for a comfortable ride too.



Obviously more leaves make it a heavier duty pack which means a stiffer ride (excluding specialty packs with their flexible leaves). Unless you plan on hauling all the time or frequently, I would avoid adding more leaves than stock if you aren't sagging already.

 

[75gmck25]

Leaf count is a good measure, but most spring packs will also have a load rating that gives you a good idea of how much deflection you will get. The stock rear spring ratings on my K25 vary from 2150 lbs base to the 2775 lbs rating of my Camper Special with the high load-rated springs. In '75 the half ton had spring ratings as low as 1775 lbs.

I need about 1000 lbs in the bed before the ride begins to get a little less bouncy. However, I've also taken 2700 lbs of junk to the waste disposal and the truck still did not have any sag under load. My truck also has the factory 14 bolt FF rear axle and 10 ply rated tires to take the heavier load.

If you pull up your truck on the Rock Auto site you can look at the factory options for leaf spring load ratings and leaf count. That may give you a good idea where you want to start.

Bruce

 

[KevinSweeney]

Thanks Bruce that rockauto tip is a great place to start, always good to know lbs rating

Blindchicken I'm surprised to hear that a shackle flip kit would add comfort, even better then just leaving it stock and adding new shocks? how much did you end up spending on the kit if you don't mind me asking, looks nice but seems expensive for my blood

 

[theblindchicken]

Thanks Bruce that rockauto tip is a great place to start, always good to know lbs rating

Blindchicken I'm surprised to hear that a shackle flip kit would add comfort, even better then just leaving it stock and adding new shocks? how much did you end up spending on the kit if you don't mind me asking, looks nice but seems expensive for my blood

Apologies for the misinformation in previous post. Truck had 7 or 8 52" leaves with an overload and a 3/4" block. I took it down to a 6+1 leaf pack. I flipped the overload spring to allow the pack to flex more while still having the overload with a pretty heavy load. Some say to not to flip the overload, but I haven't noticed any issues yet. One thing I noticed with the rear shackles is the bushings in them are designed to grip the springs and spring hanger to prevent them from moving to allow for a heavier carrying load and possibly more control on a rough road while carrying a load.

I installed the OffRoad Design 4" rear shackle flip and their HD shackles with greaseable bushings. For shocks, I have the Rancho 9000XL's for their adjustability. One advantage to the shackle flip is that I can unbolt it and swap them side to side and run a set of 56" springs no problem for an even smoother ride.

For the front end, I installed a set of Tough Country 4" EZ Rides since they had about the lowest spring rate possible. Would allow for a nice flexy front end to give a comfortable ride on the highway and allow the suspension to flex when offroad as well. Tough Country doesn't recommend them if you plan to run a winch or heavy front plate bumper since they may sag too much.


Cost wise? I'm not too sure. Looks like it's $379 (4" Shackle Flip + 4-1/2" HD Shackles + greaseable bushings) plus shipping from Colorado for the rear. I got the Rancho shocks on sale (something like Buy 3 get 1 Free) from 4Wheel Parts. EZ Rides were ordered via Summit Racing since they had the best price at the time.


May not have been the cheapest lift you can get, but it rides better than any rear 4" all-spring lift short of a custom spring pack.

 

[Camar068]

Thanks Bruce that rockauto tip is a great place to start, always good to know lbs rating

Don't forget we get a 5% discount there as well.

 

[86Apache]

How about more leafs, same load rating? Same ride, harsher?

 

[theblindchicken]

How about more leafs, same load rating? Same ride, harsher?

If you compare two spring packs that contain equally thick leaves and same eye to eye distance, the pack with more springs will have a heavier carrying capacity as well as having a harsher ride.

Most spring packs utilize similar thicknesses of springs. Custom packs may utilize varying thicknesses of springs to give the packs different characteristics. If you run a pack of 10 leaf springs, but thinner than regular packs, you'll probably end up with a much softer spring pack designed for flexibility, not necessarily weight capacity. Good examples would be Deaver Springs, Alcan Springs, and Offroad Design.

The shorter the eye to eye distance of the spring, the more resistance to the spring flexing you'll have. Stock rear 52" springs found on most C10's, K10's and K5's are a lot less flexible than the 56" springs found on the heavier trucks. The downside to longer springs is the tendency to have an increase in axle wrap due to the higher flexibility of the spring pack.

If you were say, desert racing or extreme crawling, but still wanted to utilize OEM leaf springs, you may opt for the Chevy 63" leaf packs since you'll have a considerable amount more of flexibility in the spring pack.




So to sum it up, there are several factors that change the ride and load rating of a leaf spring pack. Typically: Shorter springs are harsher than longer spring packs. Fewer leaves have a lower load rating than many leaves.

Comparing different brands is where you get it a little tricky since it's hard to measure the spring rating of an uninstalled leaf pack.

Hope that helps.

 

[86Apache]

Thanks!