BPC

I'll go one step further...with all due respect to Cowhand and Baja Mike-

King does not even "build" their own springs, they purchase them from various manufacturers (3 last time I spoke with Brett & Lance). Furthermore there is no gospel in terms of travel vs single, dual, triple rate spring setups. It is entirely dependant upon the application, fitment, motion ratio, angle correction, use etc....(I'm talking coil-overs here guys) Stand alone coil springs (like on the front end of our trucks) are another story. I agree with Cowhand, a linear rate spring is the hot ticket for the dodge / cummins front end.

Getting back to Baja Mikes comment on coil freelength vs ID...This may very well be someones "rule of thumb" however it is not industry standard. A good quality coil-over spring will have the ends flat ground within 2 thousandths of parallel, when stacked with another spring of the same make bowing will not be a concern. There are a few other variables that contribute to this issue that I won't bore you with, parallelism of the ends is the main one.

Hope I did not step on any toes here guys. I have lurked here for a few months and have always enjoyed reading your posts regarding suspension. My intentions were just to bring some clarity...

Baja_Mike

I completely agree with you that it was a rule of thumb that someone came up with. But when it comes to off road coilovers it seems to be the industry standard. If you look at all the major coil spring manufacturers (eibach, hypercoil, coil spring specialties) they tend to follow that rule. Now you can have custom coils made as long as you want but I have not seen many people do this, they usually just start stacking springs on their coilovers. I also agree with you that there is no gospel for dual rate, progressive, triple rate, etc. But, there seems to be certain setups that work for certain applications, but I don't think I really need to go into all of that.

BPC

Baja Mike, I was the R&D shop foreman at Eibach Springs for 5 years, still do quite a bit of suspension development / suspension set up for some sand rail companies and 2 offroad race teams. I have set-up more off road / sand rail coil-overs than I care to think about. Eibach nor myself used it as industry standard.

Baja_Mike

Ok, maybe I just needed to clarify. Looking at the spring offerings by these companies, one would draw the conclusion that they use the same rule of thumb. For example, I believe the tallest 3in. ID spring that is available off the shelf is 18in. long.

BPC

Sorry Mike, my last post came off a bit harsh. Your information earlier makes for a great starting point, no argument.

Eibach's tallest 3.0 ID spring in the ERS catalog is 16", stacked 32" is a lot of spring, not many people need more than that(rule of thumb), but eibach has up to 22" length spring on hand, can spec / wind anything you can think of, just not in the catalog..

Baja_Mike

I usually don't let the internet bother me anyway. I too am not a stranger to the suspension industry. I have worked for a couple big name companies as well. I have set up so many coilovers and shocks I've lost count a long time ago. So I know where you're coming from.

BPC

It's all good then, I was not trying to dis-credit your or Cowhands statements, was simply trying to bring some clarity via anothers personal experience.

If I was not in the midst of building a new home I would already have a substantial amount of Carli parts on my truck.

Cowhand

BPC,

Great post, you beat me to the punch. You actually explained it way better than I could.

Baja Mike,

Perhaps I muddled the issue when I threw that statement in there about King not doing a dual rate for anything less than 14", I wasn't comparing apples to apples. Since we were talking about coils and not coilovers, I should have stuck to coils...I was trying to illustrate a point.

It looks to me, anyhow, like we all agree that a dual rate, IR or VR, whatever marketing phrase one would want to hang their hat on, is pretty much useless in this particular application.

I love good suspension threads.....

ptgarcia

I love good suspension...

Lsufan78

i'm in the process of redoing my suspension...front and back...
i've got the leaf springs worked out (pretty sure i do anyways), but anybody got some suggestions for the coils up front, that won't break the bank??
btw, need 7-8"s.

later, dustin

Boz007

Dustin, you know we're all just gonna tell you to talk to Don. (even though youve already done that) You need to just nut up and get em from him.

Lsufan78

yeah, yeah, yeah...i know. he's already doing the rest of my front suspension...what's another 400 bux when u'r already spending a couple grand??

later, dustin

Boz007

Seriously. Hey are you getting shocks from him too?

Lsufan78

haven't decided on whether to plop down the big bucks for the kings or go with the cheaper bilsteins. i'm thinking with soft springs and leafs that the bilsteins will fit my needs just fine.

later, dustin