Front coil advice

[Evan]

I currently have F-150 coils on the front of my Explorer. They work well, but I'm looking to get a little more flex out of the front end. I think they're giving me between 2.5 and 3" of lift.

I'd like to know what type of coil I should buy (and where I should buy it) to maintain the amount of lift I have now, yet add more flex. I will also be adding a front winch if that makes a difference.

 

[racinranger]

alot of guys go with the flipped jeep coils. assuming you have 3'' lift and want to put a winch/bumper on the front and keep 3'' atleast go with 5'' lift jeep springs or so. I used a set of rusty's offroad coils in my truck with a winch bumper and a warn xd9. they were 6'' coils and nett'd 3 1/2 inches on my supercab 4.0

 

[Evan]

alot of guys go with the flipped jeep coils. assuming you have 3'' lift and want to put a winch/bumper on the front and keep 3'' atleast go with 5'' lift jeep springs or so. I used a set of rusty's offroad coils in my truck with a winch bumper and a warn xd9. they were 6'' coils and nett'd 3 1/2 inches on my supercab 4.0

What is a "flipped" Jeep coil?

So, on an RBV, a 6" Jeep coil would give you 3.5" of lift, a 5" Jeep coil would be 3"?

I'm looking for around 2.5" of lift, so would that be like a 4" Jeep coil? I'll use some washers to shim it up a little if need be when I get the winch.

What kind of spring rate would be good? And what type of Jeep would this be for? i.e YJ, XJ, TJ...

 

[JFA_Spyderman]

Yo,
Well, you wanna be careful with those jeep coils. Most everyone uses XJ coils, and they are extremely soft. Almost too soft for anything but a B2 and maybe a std cab, 4cyl, ranger.

For an explorer, I think skyjacker's springs are pretty good. Although when running those, you need to subtract about an inch or two when they settle on an explorer. On the explorer site, most the guys rave about the skyjacker springs. I believe that the 6" skyjacker springs settle to about 4.5 on an explorer, plus a winch and maybe a dual battery, you might be there.

 

[bobbywalter]

i liked the jeep springs....but you have to use the right steering with them.



pretty much just pop them on when you want to get it a lil better on the trail.

 

[Totalled]

For a heavy explorer I would look at early bronco coils...

 

[4x4junkie]

The Skyjacker XJ coils are on the stiff side for XJ coils, they'd probably work well on a 2dr Ex, not sure on a 4dr though (I'd probably 2nd the suggestion of EB coils on a 4dr).

The SJ 6" XJ coils (pt# JC60F) netted 5" lift on my Bronco II. It'll be a bit less on a Ex (or a Ranger).

 

[Evan]

The Skyjacker XJ coils are on the stiff side for XJ coils, they'd probably work well on a 2dr Ex, not sure on a 4dr though (I'd probably 2nd the suggestion of EB coils on a 4dr).

The SJ 6" XJ coils (pt# JC60F) netted 5" lift on my Bronco II. It'll be a bit less on a Ex (or a Ranger).

What about these?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350027712166&ih=022&category=33582

I'd like to err on the low side; if the front ends up being too high, I have to return the coils. Too low and I can add some washer spacers. My truck is a 2dr Explorer that has about 125lb. bumper on the front. I want to end up with 2.5 inches of lift.

 

[4x4junkie]

Somewhere I heard RC coils sag out pretty bad.

I think if you get something beside SJ coils, stick with Jeep ZJ coils (or EB coils). They won't be so soft like some XJ coils are.

2.5" lift on a 2dr Ex, I would say around 4-5" lift ZJ coils are what you're after. You can always cut a turn off the coil for a bit less lift, too.

 

[CheapThrillB2]

i have found that Bronco Graveyard is pretty good on their Coil Pricing. They offer a pretty soft late 70's F150/Bronco coil. I got their 5.5 Superflex EB coils, soft but i was running them with std length radius arms that limited flex.

 

[Evan]

i have found that Bronco Graveyard is pretty good on their Coil Pricing. They offer a pretty soft late 70's F150/Bronco coil. I got their 5.5 Superflex EB coils, soft but i was running them with std length radius arms that limited flex.

So how much lift did the 5.5" Superflex EB coil give you?

 

[Evan]

I picked up a set of 4.5" ZJ coils. They look quite a bit longer than the F-150 coils that are in there now. I had to work pretty hard to stuff the F-150 coils in there. Am I going to need a spring compressor to get these in?

EDIT: It seems like I shouldn't be compressing the springs to get them in. Should I cut them down so they fit in snug at full droop?

 

[ZSK]

Are you running extended radius arms or just stockers?

 

[Evan]

Are you running extended radius arms or just stockers?

I have stock radius arms, and stock beam brackets.

Right now I have F-150 coils in there. They give me the right amount of lift (between 2.5 and 3") where I can still align the front and don't need a drop pitman, extended radius arms, or drop brackets for the beams. But they are a little too stiff. So I bought these Jeep coils which I was told would give me the same lift as the 150 coils, and be softer. The only problem is that they look substantially longer, so I'm wondering how I'm supposed to fit them in; if I should cut them down until they fit or if I should compress them with a coil compressor to install them.

 

[4x4junkie]

Without extended radius arms, the Jeep ZJ coils are kindof pointless, you'll never be able to use all their available travel.
I'd get a small 2-3" suspension lift on there and some ext. RAs before putting those coils in.