Skyjacker rear coils

[foosh]

The resting spring is the same with a spacer or not. The spring has the same weight and compresses the same, the only difference is the body is being pushed up the hieght of the spacer, or the axle down depending on how you look at it.

[Zero]

understood. thanx for the explanation jd.

[Trail X]

Tom beat me to it. But he got it correct.

There's a lot of misunderstanding of how springs and suspension actually work... just trying to correct it one small step at a time.

[The Roadie]

I absolutely thought that springs got stiffer as they were compressed, since as an electrical engineer I got to skip that mechanical class that discussed Hooke's Law. But now I know that the spring rate is constant for most springs versus displacement, and that variable rate springs depend on some coils compressing to the point of touching. Then the effective spring rate goes up because the displacement per coil goes up when you have fewer moving coils.

The Z71 springs we're buying actually are variable rate, but with airlift bags inside mine, I don't think I ever get to the displacement necessary to collapse any of the coils. That's why the Z71 springs have the blue protection sheath on the closely-wound coils, right JD?

[Trail X]

Well, keep in mind that adding a spring spacer will not compress the spring any further. The ride height of the spring will not change unless you add more weight. A spring spacer does not "simulate" adding weight in any way. Just because the spring sits more compressed inside the strut when you install it does not mean the spring remains more compressed once the vehicle weight is on it.

The Z71 springs are variable rate for exactly the reason you stated. The lower, thicker coils will barely displace/move under increased load while the smaller diameter coils will displace a lot under load. As you said, they are able to collapse onto themselves in order to transfer the load directly to the lower coils. Exactly why they have rubber on them.

[teebes]

they are too stiff, and as roadie has always said, the avalanche shocks suck! keep in mind i have E load rated tires, so my ride is pretty harsh as it is. so some softer rear springs would be really nice. plus i want more lift but i dont want to use spacers to increase the spring rate anymore. i would rather have a slightly longer spring with the spring rate equal to or a little lower then what I have now to compensate for that extra height. i am a big fan of adjustable shocks so i have been looking into the rancho 9000xl 9 way adjustable shocks.

I would give different shocks a try before changing around your springs again. Change one component at a time till you find the sweet spot for the ride you're looking for.

I recently fell into some new beefier rear shocks and wow, what a difference. I'm still running the z71 springs and there is a world of difference now. I absolutely love the feel.

Let us know if you proceed w/ the 9000xl's...

[Zero]

i def plan on changing the rear shocks but that probably wont happen till early next year when i start my next film. gotta get a bit more cash flow. pluss ill need to find someone that will want to buy my avalanche shocks to help with the cost.