whats a good shackle angle?

[sluginxlt]

im in the process of sas on my ranger. i started with stock yj leafs but they were way to weak and went completely flat. so today i picked up some wagoneer leafs and they are one inch longer so it made my shackles "rear mounted" really angled so im gonna have to move my leaf and shackle mounts around but what is the ideal shackle angle with the truck sitting on ground anyways?

 

[5speedin2.3]

I would assume something like this. Mine sagged a little more but its still close to that.

Here is a Jeep I took a picture of for a reference.

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

Approximately 90 degrees to the leaf spring is about ideal

 

[alpinestar]

Mines alittle more extreme, but as you can see i have a ton of down travel and just enough up travel. it really depends on how you set it up...

 

[LittleBigFoot]

45* will give you equal up and down travel. what do you want more of?

My rears are set at about 45* and fronts are at about 60 degrees. Nettin a little over 20" of travel total

 

[sluginxlt]

also what is the shortest shackle you can use "make" and function properly. i have 4" "stock jeep size" but was wondering if i could make some a little shorter maybe a 3" so i can get my springs a little closer to "level" the rear hangs down a bit because of rear mounted shackles

 

[5speedin2.3]

This is where I got mine. They're super strong and fairly priced.

http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com....html?osCsid=729ce781819fc89b95fe377a1e12b91a

 

[sluginxlt]

the ones i have now are 4 inch that i made from 3/8 same as the ruff stuff shackles, i also have a 6" set from them but i am wondering if i can go shorter to like a 3" or if there is reasoning not to go that short

 

[Bray D]

45* will give you equal up and down travel. what do you want more of?

False. That would assume that the angle between the shackle and the spring cannot be more than 90*, which of course is not true.


I haven't done a whole lot of research but I've read most guys shoot for 90* between the spring and the shackle.

 

[alpinestar]

False. That would assume that the angle between the shackle and the spring cannot be more than 90*, which of course is not true.


I haven't done a whole lot of research but I've read most guys shoot for 90* between the spring and the shackle.

i think what he means is if you were to draw a flat line from eye to eye on you leaf spring, and use that to determine the angle on the shackle, so 90* would be all you can get, unless your shackle folds all the way down straight and then in, if it does that at ride height than you got some issues....

 

[Bray D]

Hmm, I guess he'll have to clarify. The eye to eye line could (and would most likely) NOT be horizontal due to different mounting heights at the front and rear of the spring. Different springs have different arcs as well. Overall using that method wouldn't yield consistent results from spring 'A' to spring 'B'. Using the spring itself as a reference would eliminate those problems.

 

[Loanranger]

Somewhere between 45 and 90 degrees. The closer to 45 you get, the softer the ride will be, the closer to 90 the harsher the ride will be. Any more than that and it depends on the spring, and the weight on the spring.
As for shackle length, you can only go so short before the shackle will fold backwards. For your waggies, somewhere between 6-7" should be about the sweet spot for the best flex and smooth ride.