front coil spring

[SMOKIN-U]

i have heard of guys putting coil springs out of a half ton on their trucks. i was wondering what the difference is? are they shorter, softer? whats the benefit of doing this? thanks

[SKYNYRD]

the coil springs out of the 1/2 tons is a softer spring and will lower the front end of the truck about a inch or two. lowering the front end will help with keeping the weight down on the front of the truck and pull more level. kinda like blocking the rear.

[Lucky Jeff]

Originally Posted by SMOKIN-U

i have heard of guys putting coil springs out of a half ton on their trucks. i was wondering what the difference is? are they shorter, softer? whats the benefit of doing this? thanks

http://www.coilsprings.com/

I was quoted 228 for a new pair of springs for my truck. 2" lower then stock.. They will make them whatever height you want, and softer or stiffer then stock. A friend on a local diesel forum used them to build a leveling coil on his truck and was very happy with them

[fordcummins]

I have a 2001 4x4 dodge and i took my leveling kit out but am scared to cut my stock ones down cause as it is my track bar is so close to my diff

[SMOKIN-U]

Originally Posted by SKYNYRD

the coil springs out of the 1/2 tons is a softer spring and will lower the front end of the truck about a inch or two. lowering the front end will help with keeping the weight down on the front of the truck and pull more level. kinda like blocking the rear.

i was oping that was the case. are they a direct bolt up? if so i might try and get some from a salvage yard locally and see how it works. thanks

[SKYNYRD]

Originally Posted by SMOKIN-U

i was oping that was the case. are they a direct bolt up? if so i might try and get some from a salvage yard locally and see how it works. thanks

Yes they are a direct swap for the stock springs.

[DSLWSL]

I ran half ton coils in my pull truck last season and I will tell you that if you are DD this truck you will have next to no suspension travel. In fact mine sat right on the bump stops. The only travel I had was the deflection from the front tires. I put these in because where I pull we weren't allowed to hang weights and wanted to keep the front end down. It is a good set-up for what I had though. Hope this helps

Kris

[willtravel]

Originally Posted by fordcummins

I have a 2001 4x4 dodge and i took my leveling kit out but am scared to cut my stock ones down cause as it is my track bar is so close to my diff

Did you have to replace the steel ring that was originally on top of the coil?
My truck came with the leveling kit and I want to lower it for drag racing.

[DSLWSL]

Originally Posted by willtravel

Did you have to replace the steel ring that was originally on top of the coil?
My truck came with the leveling kit and I want to lower it for drag racing.

The steel ring usually has to be removed because the levelling kit has the bolts attached to it. At least mine did, but there may be other kits out there that you dont.

[willtravel]

Originally Posted by DSLWSL

The steel ring usually has to be removed because the levelling kit has the bolts attached to it. At least mine did, but there may be other kits out there that you dont.

So, do I need to replace it to remove the lift kit or do I just take the spacer out?

[zstroken]

Originally Posted by SKYNYRD

will lower the front end of the truck about a inch or two. lowering the front end will help with keeping the weight down on the front of the truck

I would like to see the FBD that shows this is the case.

[SKYNYRD]

the weight of the truck is pivoting around the rear axle so if the front spring is pushing up on the front end then the hitch in the back is lowered as the weight is added. the lower you can keep the front end and the hitch height up you are not pulling the sled straight you are lifting up on the pan. the higher that you can keep the hitch height the more lift you are putting on the pan therefore reducing the drag force of the pan.

[j-rod]

Are we talking about using these for drag racing or pulling?

[zstroken]

While it "sounds good" while your explaining it, it doesn't appear to work that way.

The weight is still pivoting around the rear axle regardless of how low the front end is correct?

They are both starting from a 26" hitch height correct?

I am open to learning on this, but the chain doesn't care how it is hooked, all that it cares about is hitch height.

Given the same drawbar length if you pull down x inches on the back it will raise the front y inches. This is determined by wheelbase.

There are lots of other tricks to use, lowering the front end to get a different angle of attach probably isn't a big one.

[DSLWSL]

I only did this to lower the front because we werent allowed to add weight ahead of the box. This worked well for me in my set-up as it picked the front up about 6" and truck ran level down the track. This set-up would not be very nice for a DD though.

[DSLWSL]

Originally Posted by willtravel

So, do I need to replace it to remove the lift kit or do I just take the spacer out?

If your leveling kit has the bolts attached to it for the shock tower then yes you will have to get the ring.

[SKYNYRD]

sorry got side tracked there as for drag racing the advantage of the softer spring up front is when you launch from the line the rear wheels lift the front of the vehicle dude to the torque. with the longer springs from our trucks which allows it to sit level also pushes up on the front end while the torque is lifting on the front end transferring the weight to the rear. the object is to get the weight transfer to the rear wheels in a 2wd but in a 4wd leaving the line level is ideal due to all 4 wheels biting for traction. allowing the front end to drop also cuts the air from under the front of the truck and pushes it over the top. if you ever watch a dragster leave the line in slow motion the weight does not seem to shift very far to the rear axle also their wheelie bars are set to only a few inches off the ground cause they do not want the front end to lift.

[SMOKIN-U]

Originally Posted by zstroken

While it "sounds good" while your explaining it, it doesn't appear to work that way.

The weight is still pivoting around the rear axle regardless of how low the front end is correct?

They are both starting from a 26" hitch height correct?

I am open to learning on this, but the chain doesn't care how it is hooked, all that it cares about is hitch height.

Given the same drawbar length if you pull down x inches on the back it will raise the front y inches. This is determined by wheelbase.

There are lots of other tricks to use, lowering the front end to get a different angle of attach probably isn't a big one.

i was thinking of it as leverage especially since i have a shorter wheel base than a 4 door truck. My thinking is if the front were 2" lower it would be that much more leverage and make it harder for the rear to lift the front up when the pan drops on the sled. that inturn would keep the pan higher and gain footage. i dont know what i am talking about so please explain if i am wrong. thanks

[SKYNYRD]

the sled is going to put the same force on the truck no matter what it is going to cause the truck to lift the same distance. but if you start with the front end lower to the ground it will not lift the front end as far off the ground therefore keeping the weight out over the front of the truck and not on the rear axle.

[SMOKIN-U]

thats what i was trying to say. and that would in turn give the front tires more traction. im sold