Flex OIIIO

[CoreyYoungCj577]

So i have always wondered do you really need a Spring Over Axle lifts to get the flex on your front and rear end? Great example is a Spring Under man "Old Dog" and im hoping he will give me his advice on this. When i get going on the 77 CJ7 the biggest thing i want is to have that bad a** flex that old dog has on his CJ basically so i can go up a four foot high rock and have all tires on the ground So guys i wanna hear that info that sits in your head and only comes out with a few beers!

 

[Old Dog]

Well you asked for it so, IMO the spring is only going to fex so far no matter where the axle sits. Its more a matter of which springs you have.
A soa will give you more lift so you could use springs with less lift that flex better, like stock jy springs.
I just don't think SOA is worth all the extra trouble and money but thats just me.:wasted:

 

[CoreyYoungCj577]

Well you asked for it so, IMO the spring is only going to fex so far no matter where the axle sits. Its more a matter of which springs you have.
A soa will give you more lift so you could use springs with less lift that flex better, like stock jy springs.
I just don't think SOA is worth all the extra trouble and money but thats just me.:wasted:

Well how do you put yj springs on a cj with out SOA?

 

[Old Dog]

Well how do you put yj springs on a cj with out SOA?

Ahhh grasshopper therein lies the problem, You can't.

 

[CoreyYoungCj577]

Ahhh grasshopper therein lies the problem, You can't.

Well Master Dog how does your Cj have flex without being spring over ?

 

[Old Dog]

I got lucky I guess. I run 4" superlift springs and over the years of flexing them they just got broke in.
I always just figured it didn't hurt to carry a tire off the ground as long as I had lockers to keep the other 3 turning.

 

[Petescj]

Say huh? Sure you can. You can even buy it in kit form. All your really changing out is the shackles , spring plates and hangers. Heres an example in a kit. Wow that kits gone up in price since I looked last.

Rubicon Express 4.5" Extreme-Duty™ Suspension System for 82-86 Jeep® CJ - Quadratec

Ahhh grasshopper therein lies the problem, You can't.

 

[mylittlecj5]

I have enough Flex for my uses, and its SUA on 4" SoftRide springs. It would probably flex even better with longer shocks.

 

[CoreyYoungCj577]

I have enough Flex for my uses, and its SUA on 4" SoftRide springs. It would probably flex even better with longer shocks.

You guys all got your flex without doing something special? because what i am looking at doing is reverse shackle set up,new springs,shocks blah blah blah but i want it to be lifted and i thought the only way you could get flex is SOA, or yj springs ?

 

[mylittlecj5]

I do have a shackle reversal and have cut out all the fenders as far as they will go. The rear are covered with TJ flares.
My springs are very soft, insomuch as it really leans in the corners. But I like it and somehow its still pretty stable off road (ie. I haven't rolled it yet...:laugh
If you dont want to spend a bunch of fab time on it, get a set of SuperLift SoftRide springs, (or Old Man Emu if money is no object) and see how they work for you.
IMO the best thing about a SOA is that they move the tires away from the body so you can utilize the flex from a (flat) YJ spring. But it is not a necessity to go SOA to get flex, just knowing and understanding what you are installing.

 

[CoreyYoungCj577]

I do have a shackle reversal and have cut out all the fenders as far as they will go. The rear are covered with TJ flares.
My springs are very soft, insomuch as it really leans in the corners. But I like it and somehow its still pretty stable off road (ie. I haven't rolled it yet...:laugh
If you dont want to spend a bunch of fab time on it, get a set of SuperLift SoftRide springs, (or Old Man Emu if money is no object) and see how they work for you.
IMO the best thing about a SOA is that they move the tires away from the body so you can utilize the flex from a (flat) YJ spring. But it is not a necessity to go SOA to get flex, just knowing and understanding what you are installing.

I just like the idea of having my Springs Over the Axle and it gets a good amount of lift for a great price and great quality and its all bolt on ( if i chose this route im going with rocky road outfitters) but i know there is cheaper ways to fab it yourself but when i get to that point i will probably read every article i can to decide which route to take because i will be doing it all myself.

 

[Old Dog]

Say huh? Sure you can. You can even buy it in kit form. All your really changing out is the shackles , spring plates and hangers. Heres an example in a kit. Wow that kits gone up in price since I looked last.

Rubicon Express 4.5" Extreme-Duty™ Suspension System for 82-86 Jeep® CJ - Quadratec

Pete although thoes are really good springs they are still just 3" wide LIFT springs, not stock flat yj springs, as I was talking about.

Mylittlecj5 is right the softer the spring the better it will flex.

I'm not sure a SRS will make it flex better, but it will shove your driveshaft through your tc if not set up right. I got a buddy that found that out the hard way.

 

[Petescj]

Gotcha. That one along with OME are also some of the most exspensive leaf spring lifts around.

not stock flat yj springs, as I was talking about.

 

[Chevy350 CJ7]

Corey - I had the same idea and it seem logical that you would get more flex from a SOA kit. I was going to do a SOA as well. I found out that you can get crazy flex from softer springs, longer shocks and fender flares. Sometimes people don't realize that a soft, worn-in leaf spring with a non-prohibiting shock length (ie - not hitting bumpstops or full length) will flex just as good as any other jeep.

The biggest reason I was going to do a SOA kit was for clearance. My thinking was that I would have much less to worry about, as everything was above the axle. I bet Old Dog can speak to this, but if you know how to drive you're jeep, you shouldn't be even close to your leaf springs...

 

[Petescj]

Are these the ones you guys are talking about? I cant seem to find ones advertised as softride

4" Rock Runner Suspension System by Superlift and Other Jeep Parts and Jeep Accessories by 4 Wheel Drive Hardware

 

[Old Dog]

The biggest reason I was going to do a SOA kit was for clearance. My thinking was that I would have much less to worry about, as everything was above the axle. I bet Old Dog can speak to this, but if you know how to drive you're jeep, you shouldn't be even close to your leaf springs...

Well I guess I don't know how to drive cause I bent a couple things before doing a u-bolt flip and moving my shock mounts.
I think chevy350 hacked into my cp and looked at a couple of my pics of the front and back u-bolts and shocks.

 

[Old Dog]

Are these the ones you guys are talking about? I cant seem to find ones advertised as softride

4" Rock Runner Suspension System by Superlift and Other Jeep Parts and Jeep Accessories by 4 Wheel Drive Hardware

Pete I'm not sure, they use to be called softride, but they didn't make anything called rock runner back than.

 

[Chevy350 CJ7]

Well I guess I don't know how to drive cause I bent a couple things before doing a u-bolt flip and moving my shock mounts.
I think chevy350 hacked into my cp and looked at a couple of my pics of the front and back u-bolts and shocks.

Haha. No pun intended...

 

[Kane]

In my eyes if you want to keep the spring under and get more flex go ahead and get the Teraflex revolver shakles for more droop. They are somewhat pricey but boy are they beefy as hell.

 

[Kane]

Then you could get the Teraflex Z box to allow the spring to rotate to reduce the twisting effect on them and increase spring life. They are built for YJs but who cares. Just put some spacers on the axle bolt to hold the pring into position.