Everything Elka and How They Compare

I have the twin to your truck so I'm curious at how you like this setup as I'm thinking of going the same route.

How do the Elkas ride compared to stock? Is it rough in the back with the stage 2's? I don't have much for added weight so I should probably go stage 1.

 

Honest men can differ with me. I like it but I don't consider the benefit to be worth the cost. I would not go for the 2-3 inch lift, which involves an $800 expense for UCAs. The additional height will also be seen in fuel economy.

I have a slight vibration around 40-50 km/h that definitely wasn't there before. I have an Old Man Emu kit that is supposed to reduce the drive shaft angles, not sure why this is happening.

The paint finish on the Deavers is ridiculously bad. It is not suitable for Canadian weather. Surface rust started before I had driven 100 km. I bought 2 cans of Amsoil Metal Protect (it is similar to Cosmoline, which I was not able to find in Canada) and I'll be spraying one of the springs with it. I will spray the other one with Krown and post again next spring with pics of both springs. I don't actually think the Krown one will do well, the wash from the wheel spray will remove it in short order.

The ride is definitely better with the Elkas. Much more pleasant to drive than the stock Sport suspension. The stage 2s were actually not too bad in terms of roughness. The bed never hopped over speed bumps.

I would definitely get the stage 1 springs unless you carry significant weight in the bed or are towing something really heavy on a regular basis.

I took the stage 2 Deavers out and sold them off for pretty much what I paid. I reinstalled the stock springs last week. I have stage 1 springs on the way. I will update my post with ride height measurements for all 3 leaf spring setups in the coming weeks.

 

I'm due for tires soon and want to go 285/70R17 so I'm pretty much stuck getting UCAs to maximize caster and I want to get rid of this tight sport suspension so I figure it's a good time to do it all. Luckily my commute is short so gas mileage isn't a huge factor for me.

The old man emu kit, is it the wedge shims that change the angle of the rear axle? Did you change out the needle bearing in the front diff?

Sucks to hear about the paint on the Deavers, from my research they seem to be the best in terms of quality and quietness. I have a can of rust check in the truck at all times for occasions like that. The truck gets an annual rust proofing but yah never know when you need a touch up haha

 

Got my entire lift kit installed over this past weekend. A lot of work but it will be worth it!!! Can’t go for a drive just yet until I grease my SPC UCA and get my alignment done on Wednesday.

Hardest part was the ECGS bushing install and trying to get out the UCA bolt.

What is everyone running their front coilover preload at? I want to make my truck sit level. I have the 3” All Pro standard leaf pack in the rear

 

Went in for an alignment yesterday! Everything rides so smooth now. Much better then the factory OR Bilstein!

 

With the elkas or fox adjuster option shocks please post what settings you find best for on road driving. So it is not too harsh at slow speeds but firmish/sport car handlijg at higheay speeds? I have bilstein 4600s and they are a tad harsh at slow speed and great at higheay speed. I am thibking of going with elka or fox double adjuster shocks and I assume since I can adjust them it doesnt really matter which I get?? Just wondering what settings peoole find suit them best for when I do order some

 

Around town I do 4 clicks up from lowest compression. Interstate driving, I'll go up to 7 clicks above lowest.

Offroad, I'll do lowest compression setting, but +2 clicks of low speed

 

What brand?

 

Elka 2.0?

 

Elka

 

So the elkas are double compression and around town you adjust only the high speed compression to +4 and interstate +7 of high speed compression but what is the low speed compression set at at those times? Is it the setting elka recommends and you dont touch the low speed unless ypur offroading? Just want to fully understand ..how would ypur describe the elkas? 100% worth it? Amazing ride? When you do have them at +4 does it have a shit ton of body roll? Or basically like stock?

 

2.5 res without adjustments

 

Put 5 turns on both driver and passenger, setup on 2.5s w/resis, C11.6x356mm springs. These must have had the collar resting on thread 2 or 3...
As I got them from Elka:


After


5 turns took me from 22" Driver up to 22 3/8", and passenger was at 23 1/4 and is up to 23 1/2.

Considerable Taco lean of 1 and 1/8"...not trying to put 13 turns on the driver and dropping those initial 5 from the passenger, but who knows.

 

To be completely honest, I'm not entirely sure how the LSC works. That knob turns when you turn the HSC knob, so I don't know if "scales" with HSC or if you always need to adjust it independently. But, what I do when off-roading is click HSC all the way down, then count the clicks down to a stop for LSC (which is usually just 2-3 clicks) and then click back up that number + 2. That seems to soften things up nicely but also reduces the amount of those slow body rolls on undulating terrain. I still need to mess around with that some more though.

I've not noticed any real impact of LSC on around town driving, but I haven't tested it a whole lot. I think the 700# springs the Elkas come with are overkill (I only have steel skids, no other armor) so most around town seems dominated by the springs, but I can tell a huge difference at hiways speeds between +4 and +7 on HSC. Especially, for example, on e.g. I-70 going over Vail pass where the road is torn to shit.

 

I actually noticed a big difference when playing with the LSC. I removed my front sway bar, so I had some pretty good body roll on windy roads or taking corners. I cranked the LSC all the way as firm as it would go, and it made a pretty significant difference. In fact, I adjusted them in my driveway in the evening, and when I took the truck out the next morning, I had completely forgotten that I adjusted them until I went around a curve in the road and was like "whoa... that was way better!"

I still haven't played with the HSC settings (they're still sitting on whatever they came at from the factory, which I think was +4?). I need to mess around with those settings a little and find what I like. I haven't been disappointed with how they ride now, which is why I haven't bothered to play with them, but maybe I'll like them more if they were a little softer or a little more firm. Only one way to find out.

 

Chasing a clunk noise after my last wheeling trip. I’m running the 2.0s with spc arms. It sounds like a loud thump almost a release of energy that you can feel in the floor board up front. Only does it intermittently when dropping into a dip or hole at low speed. I’ll start with the usual torque specs including the cam bolts (which I suspect).

Anyone ever dealt with this? Is the Elka just bottoming out?

 

I've had a similar noise when driving into my driveway. There is no major bump to get in but if I come in faster than normal I hear a metal on metal noise. I can't find any contacting points.
Have you messaged Krave?

 

Ya I’ve got an appt with them tomorrow to double check some torque specs after the alignment (the cam bolts). I will chat with them on other possible causes.

Mine doesn’t sound metallic like yours more of a pop. Did you check for obvious paint wear marks on the coils etc?

 

Okay sweet! Keep me posted if you don't mind please.
I have neoprene coil covers but no sign of wear on anything.

 

I have this same pop noise on my 2.5 res non-adjust. I can’t figure out where it’s coming from. It’s more apparent on my passenger side. Everything is torqued and I went over everything again this past weekend. It’s almost like something is binding and then popping