Long Travel BS Thread

Noted, glad I asked lol

I do like the ride height overall, but it could be lower. Looking at it, the front does seem to be either level or just SLIGHTLY higher than the rear. Being lower would also give me much better angles for everything, so I might try to set the coils as low as I can and see how it does, but 600lb springs would work too. I just worry about ride quality with a weaker spring. I’m primarily on pavement, and I do have a heavy front bumper with a winch, skids, etc. I don’t want to have it too loosey goosey. Or can that be helped with some preload?

 

I wished I got the HDs. Not enough spring in the regular h70’s. I keep meaning to call Deaver to get my situation fixed.

 

longer shackles fixed the sagging issue with the h70s. I'll get a measurement and pic soon.

 

12” should be the longest shackle and what I’m running.

 

are they flat? sounds like it's time for a diet or fullsize. my experiences and conversations had with "HD" packs is they get you lift but with a huge downgrade in spring performance. Asked the gods at JD and a friend who does restomods off roaders, both said same thing...no hd packs, lose weight or redesign the rear if you want it to work at speed.

 

Leaf springs do wear out/flatten out over time and with heavy use. Hence, why they need to be rearched or replaced eventually. Yours are probably going to last forever.

Edit: I agree on HD springs though, if they are too heavy or unloaded, truck is going to ride like bricks.

 

My truck had F67’s for years. When new they had great lift, arch and worked well. They wore and sagged out. I replaced with an Entune and other custom leafs and was still botched but the Entunes kept breaking. At $4-500 a shot from my local spring shop to replace I said the next time they break I’m going with Deaver. Research led me to the H70 pack. Mistake. They are flat and have no arch. I dropped 4” in ride height by switching. I currently have 6” of up and 12” of down travel.

 

Id love to hear more. Because per my conversation with Deaver a week ago, the HD's are a stiffer pack. Really no different than adjusting spring rate up front to maintain ride height. So I fail to see how the HD's are a downgrade if you have the weight to justify them. Hell, even Harry told me the HD's were the right choice for my truck since I do carry weight.

 

It’s not a downgrade at all if you carry weight. If you don’t have a bunch of extra weight the H70’s are perfect, if you have extra weight then the HD’s are where it’s at. Also the shackle orientation plays a big role in this. These springs like hanging shackles as it allows the springs to move in a more natural arch.

 

Welp that's the thing, it's different for everyone depending on application. For you, it's needed and you probably aren't gonna be fast enough through the peat bogs to notice it. 6 one way, 1/2 dozen the other. Apples to the oranges we are talking about, but the dakar sd pack was better than stock and the HD pack made it worse than stock for ride quality even though I got the lift back and wasn't riding on the bumps as much.

 

I really have to disagree with you. I run U402's right now and when I'm unloaded it still handles high speed stuff quite well considering the lack of bump travel. But, I've also spent countless hours and days dialing in my shocks. I think too many people think they have the wrong springs when in reality their tune just sucks. I wonder how many people actually spend the time to tune when a spring change is made? Bet its not many.

 

Absolutely agree about shocks not being tuned for everyone who's gone aftermarket.

I gave up trying to make the mid travel work because I couldn't find the goldilocks zone to dial in between empty/loaded. I knew what I wanted wasn't possible and wasted a ton of time and money before doing it right... I don't miss the weight, truck is WAY more balanced and responsive.

edit: U402... basically like a dakar pack, thiiiick leafs. No bueno except for Instagram.

 

It's definitely worth the mention in regards to tune. Most taco owners don't open up their shocks period, and even more are running a factory tune. I wouldn't suppose many in this thread are like that, but for all those "influencers" running factory shocks with HD springs and all the other modifications, it's not a wonder they ride like shit.

Edit: there's this guy I follow on insta who's got a 3.5 TC kit up front with a bedrack, tent, and drawers on top of fiberglass all round. He went from SOA to the TC SUA (I concede it isn't a high-travel kit, especially on stock hangers) with 12s, and then went back to SOA deavers with an archive setup because he said the SUA rode like shit. The SUA definitely had more bump travel, he just couldn't have been bothered to tune it.

 

too bad @906taco is so far away...with Deaver being close-by, they are known for working with their products to beef them up or rebuild without replacing. Betcha they'd have a solution for you. Maybe one of the racepacks if you wanted to keep a constant weight in back.

 

Does anyone happen to know ideal weight in the back for the H70 and H70HD? I thought I remember hearing somewhere around 300# is good for the H70

 

I’m just going with the HD’s. I’m sure it will be just fine.

 

There is seriously so much to be had with some tuning. It’s a bitch to learn though. I spent a year making changes before I was grasping what the changes were doing. Definitely not something you will pick up over night. But if you plan to stick around in this world it’s a very worth while endeavor.

But let’s face it, the majority of people likely just hand a shop money and say “do this”. And I get it, because some people just don’t have the time. But why spend tens of thousands to turn around and not dial in the most important part?

 

The tuning aspect of these rigs really appeals to me, but the physics has so far been out of my grasp with out any real world experience. I rebuilt my King OEM series in 19', so opening up a shock is not beyond what I'm willing to do, but finding the time and a place to test is a challenge all it's own. Putting together my own nitro rig was a big realization at how far off my pressures were and how much better the truck performed when the shocks were properly charged. LOTS to learn......
Still have to put the DK 3.5 front on and then get the rear end sorted out, and I will definitely be taking my time.
For now all I can do is follow along here, as well as find other source material and read till they bleed.

 

Best advice I have is buy a bunch of shims and start messing around. Not many are willing to offer useful advice when it comes to tuning. I fought my rear hard for a while trying to figure it out. Finally I picked a weekend and said I wasn’t stopping till I was satisfied. I had to have pulled them bloody shocks 10 times before I was finally able to say “I can’t get it any better”. But that weekend taught me the most. So it was worth it.

 

And if the HD pack isn't enough or too much, then what? You're $1000 into the leafs plus time. Do it right and get custom leaf packs for your weight if the HDs aren't a better match. Call Deaver back and send them something nice in the mail for answering your questions.