Helper Springs

Colin -

I have a detailed write up of the mods I did to the front shocks, namely machined the spring seat to better mate with the lift cylinder and upgraded to steel bushings (my front shocks came with Teflon bushings). I highly recommend these updates now as they're relatively easy/inexpensive and are easy to do now while the system is all apart. A real PITA to do retroactively once your suspension is fully assembled.

11. Suspended suspension – Cam's Superlite SLC

Just fast forward through all the rambling ;)
 
I found a spring from Century Spring in LA that perfectly fits between the shock and the coil spring . It is about 5.5 " long and has about 35 pounds/inch. I have the hydraulic lift mounted above the spring and this helper spring keeps it in place on full droop. I can find the part number if anyone is really interested.
 
OK, the helper springs are Century Spring part number 3110 and as a bonus, they offer these nifty thin cable reels that are spring loaded that I use to hold the rear clam shell open. They are spring loaded so the cable reels in to the unit when you close the clam. super strong and cheap. They are paart number RR101. I promise you will like them.
 

Terry Oxandale

Skinny Man
General question here:
Considering the low rate these "helper", or "take-up" springs have, I'd like to verify my understanding of their static impact on the suspension. An example would be the use of a 400 lb suspension main spring that has (or argument's sake) 4" of slack a full droop. The available helper spring has a 25 lb rate, and is 4" long. How does this influence the static ride height by adding these helper springs? As I try to visualize this, I see the helper spring fully compressing while the main spring compresses by a small (smaller than normal) normal amount until the full weight is set onto the combination of springs. My rationale for this is that at the point that the helper spring should be compressed by itself, it has imparted 100 lbs of force onto the 400 lb spring, and thus has compressed it by 1.0" before the suspension is at the normal static ride height (but at this point, perhaps the helper spring still is not fully compressed?). The remaining 700 lbs of sprung weight (from original 800 lbs) then further compresses the main spring by 1.75". Obviously it is dual spring rates, but curious as to it's impact on static ride height, and where in that ride height, the transition takes place between the two.

Second question: Would the dynamic impact on the suspension would be the same as without the helper springs in that as long as the helper spring is fully compressed, the suspension "sees" only a 400 lb spring, but once the helper spring is no longer fully compressed, the dynamic spring rate decreases to 25 lbs?
 
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I am out of town for a week but I will post a picture of how I mounted the reel the reel when I return.
The only thing the "helper" spring does is keep the hydraulic lift cylinder in place a will not allow it to un-couple from the spring. It has no appreciable effect on the static or dynamic performance of the chassis.
 
Terry,


If I understand your questions correctly:


The static ride height is raised roughly 0.7" (compressed thickness of the helper spring), that is until the ride height is adjusted back down to adjust for the added height/thickness of the compressed spring.


Since after the first 25 lbs of force the helper spring is completely compressed (basically a solid "puck" or "shim" if you will), all the weight is then imparted on the main spring. The net effect to the main spring is essentially nothing. Note, that changes once the helper spring is uncompressed as it is now starting to carry some of the weight (although this is basically irrelevant since the spring will always be totally compressed until the suspension is almost completely unloaded).
 

Terry Oxandale

Skinny Man
Yeah, that's where I was going. With a 4" helper spring, and the limited suspension movement we have on our cars, the transition point is not a consideration or concern.
 
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