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?