leafs or springs for sas

[RangerDan99]

so i want to know what you guys think.
should i go with a leafs on my sas or springs.
in my own opinion i think that the srping would allow for better flex and better handling on the road since my truck is also a daily driver
but i know that leafs would be alot easier and cheaper.
any ideas?

 

[Bennybooster]

This horse has been beat to death, search!

 

[4.0B2]

ah yes... leaf vs coils. age old debate, almost like ford vs chevy...

personally i think it depends on what vehicle and axle you're using. do you already have coils on your truck? if so... do coils.
if not, debate...
coils really aint much harder to set up... it will cost a little more.

what axle are you using? and what truck?


ask 10 different people, and you'll get 2 different answers w/ 10 different reasons on why to do this one instead of that one.
i personally like coils. but w/ the right leafs up front, you can get decent ride... kroussinoffroad has done both, he seems partical to leafs. RSH decided to use coils on his ranger d30 axle, and he's happy w/ it. overall i think you'll have more people say coils.

so, WHAT AXLE ARE YOU USING?! lol

 

[crazywhiteboy]

coilovers!

 

[legoms013]

Leafs are springs Prolly need some

 

[SAY789]

monocoil FTW.

Like stated, depends on what you want to do or what you have to work with

 

[RangerDan99]

well im going ot try to get a 1976 bronco front axel which is a dana 40 i believe and i heard that with coils you get a better ride and more flex and its a 1999 ford ranger with a 4.0l with 4.11 gears

 

[Bennybooster]

There is no such thing as a Dana 40, you are getting a dana 44 and coils would be way easier. It also sounds like you are in way over your head and should do WAY more research...

 

[4.0B2]

It also sounds like you are in way over your head and should do WAY more research...

i agree w/ benny here... sas, considered simple by many, are not so simple the first time.. there are a lot of small pieces you NEVER think of till you need them, plus its a good bit of fabbing stuff up. do your fair share of research and then more! you never have enough input and research on these things. just b/c you read one build of sas doesn't mean you understand how its gonna work, each one works out a little different... its not so straight forward everytime.
heck, even with the trailgear kit for toyota's... i've still had to do different things each time.

 

[cdawall]

Coils, 3 link with a panhard and a fullwidth axle.

 

[RangerDan99]

ive done a SAS swap on a geo Tracker. and the reason i put dana 40 was be i was looking at buying a axel off a guy and he kept saying dana 40 thats why i got confused. and the SAS me and my friends did was a leaf set up and i wasnt a fan but i didnt know how a coil set up would be in comparision

 

[Bennybooster]

There is no such thing as a dana 40, the guy with the axle has no idea what he is talking about

 

[4.0B2]

and leafs set up right, will ride just fine, and flex just fine... you just gotta use the right leafs.

 

[cdawall]

Got any pics of said Geo Tracker?

and leafs set up right, will ride just fine, and flex just fine... you just gotta use the right leafs.

They will flex fine they will not give amazing flex like coils and coil overs do.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Got any pics of said Geo Tracker?




They will flex fine they will not give amazing flex like coils and coil overs do.

I would argue that the right leafs and the right setup will flex as much as needed if you're not doing some crazy buggy build.

I helped do a leaf spring build on a YJ a few years ago, it got a surprising amount of flex (took a little experimenting with spring packs to get it right, but it comes with the territory). We ended up doing a 3/4 elliptical in the rear while we were at it. It actually flexed better than my choptop that is running coils up front and leafs out the back.

That said.... for the OP, I would lean towards using coils or coilover/air shocks simply because the axle is most likely set up for coils and if you decided to go with something different, why convert the axle to leaf springs....