4-link or leaf spring?

[rdc]

ok, i need some help. i cant decide if i want to build a 4-link for my truck, (88 toyota) or if i should just go with the toyota 62 inch nationals. i have never ridden in a truck with nationals, so i don't know how good they work. I just need to make sure my back end can keep up with my front (king 2.5 coil-over, 17" travel, 12" wider...) if anyone has a front suspension similar to this, and has nationals, could you tell me if they keep up? mainly i just don't want to get the nationals, and have my truck still kick up in back off of jumps, and i want it to be able to be as smooth as my front suspension. they can get me 18 inches travel out of the nationals, but can leafs really keep up with coil-overs? any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks a lot. P.S. here is a picture of my truck, in case it matters.

BUILD IT YOURSELF, BREAK IT YOURSELF, THEN BUILD IT YOURSELF AGAIN - PTD Off-Road Motorsports

 

[Kritter]

Check out ATS Class 7. That thing works bithcin and is leaf sprung.

Kris

"Revenge is best served cold"

 

[JenDiggityDirt]

Give pete at Kar Tek a call (you can tell him I said to do so and if he asks tell him it's payback for that time he kept yakking at Greg while dinner was getting cold...ha!) and ask him about how he's got his truck set up. Greg was so impressed with it that after he rode in it out at Barstow he said that if he'd seen how good a leaf spring set-up could work he would have seriously thought about going that route instead of 4-link. Heck, just ask Greg...he loves to talk about how great Pete's truck is.

<font color=white>JEN</font color=white>

 

[vwguy]

nationals stuff always seems to be really stiff and would buck you off a jump so i would suggest deavers because i know they are softer and have better "customer support"

how ironic is it that most people slow down for speed bumps yet almost all of us here im sure pin it

 

[JenDiggityDirt]

Good point vwguy/Patrick! I had National race packs and they were indeed very VERY stiff. However, they were a RACE pack and I'm sure they were set up to take into account more weight in the back (fuel cell, another tire, etc) like you'd find in a race truck. I just got a new set of Deavers on Monday and I'm really REALLY happy with them. I happened to blow a seal (no jokes, please) on one of my shocks that same day so I haven't been able to test them out as much as I'd like, but I think they're going to work wonderfully. And it's true, the customer support at Deaver is just, well, I seriously don't think there is a nicer bunch of people I have ever met and they really seem to care about fitting their customers with the right application. Everyone I know who has Deavers (and those numbers are growing) have nothing but great things to say about them.

<font color=white>JEN</font color=white>

 

[Jimmy8]

Even with leafs, you can still make your truck a 3 link. Our 8 truck has 1/4 elliptics in it instead of coilovers and it will run with any truck with the coilovers (It has a 4 link). You just have to get the right spring. I would go with the Deaver's.

"We've done so much with so little for so long, we can do anything with nothing!"

 

[Curtis Guise]

I use full size 2wd Chevy leafs that are around 62" I think. I used to top 3 main leafs and then added custom cut Toyota and 63' Ford Galaxy leafs to the pack, (what ever was laying around at the time) and there are a total of 7 or 8 leafs now. the shackles and mounting point are all redone of course. This is on my class 7 Toyota and has worked for about 4 or 5 years now. And I run 16" Sway-A-Way shocks on the back also. Overall it works good, but if I ever have the time and/or money, and if it doesn't sell, then I might build a 4-link.

I don't know the exact numbers because I am at work and I haven't touched the truck in months...

hope that helps
you can see pics and video at <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.jdfab.com>www.jdfab.com</A> on the for sale page.

Curtis

 

[Volcom1095]

i happen to work with pete at KarTek and he is sure by his springs in the back but he is curently change it i forget to what i think he said full floater but not sure. the leaf springs are the way to go if your on a budget though.

 

[vwguy]

ok i will clarify a little more
nationals are more of a race pack made for more weight and harder jump what have you but if this truck sees the street it will be a real nuisance
it just seems that you see nationals more on big redneck lifted f350 nowadays than race trucks and on the big redneck f350 they are lookin mighty stiff its a wonder those shops dont charge them more to "tune" the suspension on those things

how ironic is it that most people slow down for speed bumps yet almost all of us here im sure pin it

 

[Kritter]

Probably because the majority of the shops that do that kind of work dont what the hell dialed in is. What are they dialing it in for...speedbumps, curbs, dips? Those "redneck" trucks are worthless out in the desert or any kind of dirt and would be a waste of money to dial in. They figure since they have the bypass Kings quadrupled at each corner that they are dialed.

Kris

"Revenge is best served cold"

 

[scott]

The A.T.S. Toyota of Scott Sells Class 7 has rear leafs that gets 20" of travel or so. I've seen it work, and it works great. With a Toyota that wide, you should have bought a full-size !!!!!

 

[vwguy]

well yes nowadays you can expect to see sway a ways on a corner of a redneck f350 but they stick them on there with stock valving and never touch them again
i guess they just put them on there because they are bigger than rancho's. maybe they should call rancho and tell them to make a larger diameter shock
they need to not dial them in specifically but make them softer, have you ever been on the part of the 91 freeway in riverside where it is like a whoop section and it really sucks with nationals in the back
i rode in a ranger with a national pack in the back and i couldnt even touch the stereo buttons and needed a kidney belt if they arent going to soften up the national pack then at least soften the sway a ways up and have it ride decent

how ironic is it that most people slow down for speed bumps yet almost all of us here im sure pin it<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by vwguy on 11/22/01 07:56 PM (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[Ryno]

I'm seeing alot of that. F250's and F350's with dual 2.5" Resevoired Kings/ SAW's/ Fox. Alot of them in Orange Co. I don't get it, Solid axle with 35" tires? Where's the travel? At the same time, they are tow rigs, for the toys. Just like my crewcab that is going solid axle (97 Chevy 1ton). IFS is a pain in the ass for the 1ton. A Dana 70 is stronger, and way less maintenance. =) I also don't understand what happened to Bilstein?? I have always had those on my street trucks, and they work awesome. Just my .03

Ryno

Build it like a Rhino, and Leave it be.

 

[Donahoe]

Well guys not to burst your bubble but we have been doing lots of super dutys f250/350 and getting like 14" out of the front plus we have been doing lots of custom valve jobs on them as well... I have 2 customers that pre-ran the Baja 1000 with 4wd f350 and they said it was great.... Go figure. They do work.. They are just REALLY heavy... Can't pound them like a Ranger but you can get a great ride out of them.

NEVER LIFT!!!!!

 

[Jimmy8]

A guy I know was talking to Brett King a few months back, and brett said he was taking an order for a super duty that wanted 8 chrome KIng Kong 4 inchers for it. Now that a lot of shock for anything, along with a lot of money.

"We've done so much with so little for so long, we can do anything with nothing!"

 

[vwguy]

kreg i meant nothing of that post to you or any other fabricators but im talking about the shops that barely own a welder or a nitrogen tank or dont even have a sway a way on the wall

how ironic is it that most people slow down for speed bumps yet almost all of us here im sure pin it

 

[Kritter]

Kreg:

The difference is that you are the only one or producing qualtiy nose bleeders. Everybody else slaps on a few kings and some 44 swapers and thinks there truck is cool when in reality its a joke. I was at a show and saw a 300k excursion that was a useless POS. I have seen plenty of 150K crew cab superdutie piles of crap. 8 kings and a few dvd players, 30" of lift, lots fo chrome, and they got a killer rig....yeah right. those trucks are gay. I laugh when i drive by them becaue the guy driving thinks it isthe offroad machine. When in reality the only off road it will see is sand high way at Glamis.

Kreg you produce a quality product regardless of what it is, but you are the only one producing a quality big rig, so when people make a generalization that those trucks dont work, it is just that.... a generalization, but like all generalizations their are exceptions. My comment s few up was towards the too much chrome, too many TVs, too many Kings, too many inch tires, too many dollars, and too many insecurities trucks.

Actually I work with a lady that I told about your work and wants her new crew cab F250 done by you.

kris

"Revenge is best served cold"

 

[toddz]

And pretty soon, every redneck F350 east of the Mississippi will have Kings on it as well. Skyjacker(Louisiana?) debutted their "SkyKing" offroad shocks at the SEMA show a few weeks ago. When I looked closer, I realized they were King shocks(Skyjacker + King = SkyKing). How in the world are Brett and Lance going to keep up with production for those? They can't keep up with all the orders they have now!

Todd Z.