Fitting 35’s with minimal trimming NOW ADDING LONG TRAVEL AND 934 CV’s

Ha…I knew it lol

read it again buddy i specifically said “the springs alone should hold the weight of the truck “

 

Followed by “ie: not the shock / valving.” Which could be taken as without the spring the shock/ valving would.

 

exactly - the shock and valving have nothing to do with holding the trucks weight hence the use of the word “ not”

either you’re day drinking or my meds aren’t working right ? or i guess both ?

 

So my main confusion on this specific topic is why people are afraid of preload? People are so willing to increase spring rate to gain ride height but think twice about adding preoload to achieve the same result. I'm obviously talking within certain parameters. Too much preload is absolutely a thing.

 

Probably because of the common misconception that more preload makes the ride rougher. I used to thing that too until I became better educated on everything.

 

.... Harsh Top Outs ....

 

Dam. I really gotta study up on shocks and tuning, this thread makes me realize I know nothing

 

Please elaborate...

 

A bound up spring is going to extend at a much higher rate than one that isnt.

 

When you preload you sit higher in the travel ie: you may have 6" of up travel but only 1" of droop and a pre loaded spring rebounds harder ...it's like hitting your bumps but upside down

 

well...technically it does... As individual coils bottom out you have fewer coils still active which does increase the spring rate = harsher ride.

 

Correct. That makes sense. I guess my question would be how much a difference that makes within certain perimeters? There's physically only so much preload you can add before coil bind regardless.

That statement seems applicable when referring to progressive springs, which we do not use.

 

Here's a good article that explains it. One thing to note, exposed threads on the coilover =/= preload. Even with the collar as high as it'll go, there is still preload on the coil on our trucks, generally speaking. Harry is right regarding the harsh top outs, especially once people get into higher lift numbers leaving minimal down travel. That's where the perceived rough ride comes from, not from it being harder to compress.

https://accutuneoffroad.com/articles/spring-preload-matters/

Take all this with a grain of salt as I'm no authority on the matter and could very well be incorrect in some facets. This is just what I've learned.

 

https://accutuneoffroad.com/articles/

 

Threads do not always equal preload ie: if you order a plain jane 8" CO from King it comes with a 16" spring and you can back the collar off an inch and remove the spring with your bare hands

I've seen that Accutune info before and it actually says that the spring gets softer with too much pre load which just doesn't make any sense at all ...it's got to be a typo.

 

You're on the correct path as far as my knowledge goes. I can see where the topic gets very particular when talking OE replacement shocks as mentioned and harsh top outs being a large complaint. Doesn't seem to be as much of a concern on LT setups.

 

Yeah, I think we're saying the same thing. Preload starts once you start tightening down the collar on a free-standing coil. In regards to OEM fitment coilovers, they're so short that I've never seen them supplied with a coil short enough to ever run into that scenario.

 

I just double checked with Professor Google and it is applicable to both reg & prog springs.

BTW they do make progressive springs that for our trucks and a some manufacturers have started using them ( and I'm completely blanking on the brand name ..Elka maybe ? ) I asked someone about them once and got one of those " the juice isn't worth the squeeze until you get into a 10" CO or larger " type of answers... I've always heard the same about a dual rate slider set up for the front of our trucks too

 

I don't think there is room for dual rate on an 8" is there?

 

When the shock becomes fully extended you have a bunch of force still trying to extend the shock further.