remove leaves on 4" lift to make 2" lift with better ride?

[guitarfreak235]

long story short the centering pin must've come loose on my drivers side spring pack. the 2" add a leaf is literally sliding out of place. The add a leaves have been nothing but trouble. they squeaked and never even set flush with the spring pack anyway, looked horrible. Since I have to fix the missing centering pin issue, im doing away with them.

I still want the 2 inch lift, otherwise i'd have to get stock length shocks. I'm trying to go the cheapest route, so I'm considering getting rough country springs. I've read they do indeed ride very rough. Is it possible to get 4 inch springs and remove the bottom leaves until I get the desired lift, with softer ride to boot? anyone tried this? perhaps even with 6 inch springs? (know a guy whos getting rid of some)

 

[skysurfer]

Never heard of it being done and it doesn't sound like a good idea. You're going to sack the top leaves until you get the height you want? That might work for a vehicle that was never driven, but imagine how it will handle around corners and going over dips and bumps. You'll probably be smacking the bump stops pretty hard since the springs will already be flexed beyond normal and there will be nothing underneath to support them. They won't last long, eventually they will crack and then break off. I had it happen on some delivery trucks I owned that were regularly overloaded.

 

[hirschdalechevy]

Why don't you just go with super lift 2 inch springs from summit , 68.00 each . I myself am not a fan of super lift but for that price who care's , you would be good to go and if you don't like them down the road you could save up for good springs.

 

[MadOgre]

Superlifts are pretty rough riding. Get some Zone springs. They have pads between every leaf to keep the leaves from binding on each other.

 

[bucket]

My crew cab has Superlift springs and it rides exceptionally well. I'm sure the long wheelbase and engine weight help out some, but there are certainly stiffer lift springs out there.

 

[MadOgre]

My crew cab has Superlift springs and it rides exceptionally well. I'm sure the long wheelbase and engine weight help out some, but there are certainly stiffer lift springs out there.

IMO Superlift springs are good quality. Even though mine were made in India. Now they are all made in the USA. But they are stiff springs and only ride nicely when you have some weight on them.

When I had the ol 6.2 they rode like a caddy. Now with just a SB they ride like a tank. But tough and durable they are.

For a nice soft ride with a SB they are not the spring I would go with. You need something that is soft right out of the box.

Also the Superlifts do bind. I sprayed a bunch of WD40 in between all the leafs on my Superlifts just for giggles one day and I was very surprised at how much better/softer they rode. First time it rained all the WD40 washed out and they stiffened right up again

 

[guitarfreak235]

I was talking about just removing the bottom leaf. If a particular set of springs are much stiffer than stock, removing just the bottom leaf would bring it closer to stock stiffness, more or less. But I see what you're saying about the potential overload issue. Still it seems like since just one leaf actually attaches to the frame it would be strong enough. Doubt I'll risk it though.

Other than super lift and tuff country, who makes 2 inch lift springs that you know of?

 

[MadOgre]

I was talking about just removing the bottom leaf. If a particular set of springs are much stiffer than stock, removing just the bottom leaf would bring it closer to stock stiffness, more or less. But I see what you're saying about the potential overload issue. Still it seems like since just one leaf actually attaches to the frame it would be strong enough. Doubt I'll risk it though.

Other than super lift and tuff country, who makes 2 inch lift springs that you know of?

Even if the bottom one broke right on either side of the axle, your spring would still hold the truck up because the U bolts clamp all 3 or 4 or 5 leaves together to act as one.

That being said its the springs binding on each other with the friction of being stuck together that creates a harsh or stiff ride with an arched spring. Stock springs are flat so they really don't bind like an arched spring can.

Any spring that utilizes pads at the end of each leaf to separate one leaf from the next will be a softer ride then those that don't use them. Because they will not bind on each other.

That is the trick to having a softer ride with arched leaf springs. Having some weight on them also helps a lot!


But removing a bottom leaf from a spring pack is a very bad idea! For one you would probably end up with a bouncier ride then you want and the reaction of the spring would cause bad road manners. On top of that you would likely end up with a broken leaf pack soon after and the ride height and pay load capacity would be diminished.

BDS, ZONE, EZ RIDE, and I think even Tough Country have soft riding leaf packs. Im sure there's a few more companies too that make nice soft spring packs. Actually I think I saw Superlift advertising a soft riding leaf the other day too. But if the pack doesn't use the pads to separate each individual leaf it will always bind once you get a bit of corrosion or road particulate in there.

 

[shiftpro]

It could be possible. For example 4" Tuff Country comes in standard and HD. The HD is the same spring AFAICS, with the addition of an extra short leaf on the bottom. Why not give TC a call and ask them?

Also in my experience, TC springs have the best ride and most flex after Deaver.